Here's the backstory:

Our internet team has grown over the last several years, both in terms of personnel and responsibilities  As manufacturer and customer expectations have become more exacting, our appointment setters have necessarily stepped up to the plate. We had no choice: if the customer knows about Edmunds' TMV, you'd better know how TMV works. If a customer is also considering an off-brand unit, you'd better be ready to explain why your vehicle makes for a better investment. If a customer wants to build their dream car, you'd better know whether certain configurations are available and how to price them according to supply and demand. You'd better know how much holdback is in a Corolla versus a Land Cruiser. You'd better be ready to text back and forth with an out of state grinder on your day off about interior color selection.

So that's the situation. More importantly, with an ever-increasing increasing number of iLeads and an ongoing effort to reduce turnaround time on high-quality responses, certain responsibilities traditionally left to the desk have been delegated to some extent.

Currently, almost 40% of our total business comes directly from iLeads. If iLeads taper off, we use various tools to rustle up extra business: high equity trades, service drive, galley lists. All in all, we've got 6 people out of a sales force of maybe 40 who are coming up with almost 50% of the buyers, over half of whom are essentially closed before they ever set foot on the lot.

Meanwhile, the floor staff's strategy has remained essentially unchanged over the years. Verde is the gospel. Floor salespeople make their follow up calls, but mostly just wait for traffic to head their way, either from the asphalt or the internet. Their focus is on the sales process once the customer has arrived at the dealership. I understand that the dynamics of the deal sometimes require a certain amount of willful ignorance on the part of a floor rep, but the result is that most salespeople (not all) are not very well-equipped to do anything other than work a floor customer while that customer is on the lot. More than a few can barely type an email; the same could even be said of a couple sales managers.

Bit of a rant, but I wanted to make the circumstances clear. I cannot imagine that our dealership's circumstances are typical, but I also don't think they're unique.

Here's my question: while the internet team consists of people classified as appointment setters, many of them make more money than your "average" salesperson. There are those at our dealership who think that this is wildly inappropriate. Would you tend to agree or disagree, and why?

From a personal perspective, I find it hard to ask people to work harder, better, smarter, for less money, but I am worried that I'm way too close to the issue. I'd be grateful for any input.