So looking at a recent sample of 126,904 New Car Department calls, (defined as callers that ask for New Cars-regardless of the Ad Source Dialed) we see again that almost 1 in 3; 40,148 to be exact never reached the intended call handler, as we blogged last month. Ouch.

Now add to that, that of the 86,756 that did, 56% were not asked or did not willingly provide their contact information. Take a deep breath..... 48,857 times the Call Handlers did not "earn" the caller's contact information. This is a very simple measurement---did the agent "Ask and Receive" both the name and the phone number (or email) of the caller.

We know that call handlers often use reverse look up, or CRM information to gather the phone number and the name provided there... but this measurement is made up of the subtlety "Earn-Ask-Receive". For sure a percent of these are repeat callers who are well known to the call handler....maybe 20%??

The top 15% of measured dealers have a 25% rating in this category.

A little over 75% of these calls are going to the Sales Floor, and about 25% to Call Centers, who perform much higher as a group. These stats are a blend of both.

Dealers that learn to overcome the Top 10 Profit Leaks on the phone will dominate the Automotive Rebound we are in!