Call-to-appointment ratios rise to 30% and higher, far outpacing industry average of 8%, report early adopters of patented Sales Performance Management (SPM)

Westlake Village, CA – March 31st, 2016 – CallSource today launched its patented Sales Performance Management (SPM) system, the first end-to-end call management system designed to help dealers completely close the loop on the call-to-appointment setting process.

The Company, which helps dealerships track, analyze and improve incoming call performance, previewed SPM to a select group of dealers over the past year, resulting in dramatically increased call-to-appointment ratios: call-to-appointment ratios of over 30%, far outpacing the industry average of 8%.

Offering a unique level of structure, transparency, accountability and consistency to the incoming call process, SPM solves the challenges of the dramatic spike in inbound calls to dealership sales and service departments. This increase was confirmed by a recent survey of dealers in which 6 in 10 reported that their team does not handle this growing inbound call traffic effectively – with a full third admitting to losing at least 1 in 5 car buyers to competitors.

“While that number is disturbing enough, our research shows that the situation is even worse, with poorly performing dealers likely losing 8 in every 10 sales to another dealership^[1],” said David Greene, VP CallSource Auto Division. “SPM helps dealers get in front of this growing problem because it trains dealership teams to effectively communicate with (and convert) customers, and it also helps dealers specifically identify where the pain points and vulnerabilities are in their team’s phone skills. The reality today is that most don’t know what’s happening on their phones. And what they don’t know IS hurting them. SPM aims to change that, and, in turn, drive conversions, sales and profits.”

The Patrick Dealer Group, a Chicago-based group of six dealerships, began using the call management suite in early 2015. Brent Rogers, CMO, says, “The biggest impact on our business has been a massive change in our sales culture: we now take every lead seriously and the whole team understands that every call that comes in is extremely important.”

Prior to the adoption of SPM, Rogers’ team converted just 10% of incoming sales calls into appointments – customers Rogers knew were extremely low-funnel shoppers. “Couple this with a huge increase in inbound phone leads due to smartphones’ click-to-call feature - and the significant drop in both the quality and quantity of 3^rd-party Internet leads - and I knew it was time to hold salespeople accountable for their phone handling,” said Rogers.

According to a case study release today, The Patrick Dealer Group sales team now regularly converts 20-25% of phone leads into an in-store visit. Based on the group’s average sales prospect volume, this improvement represents an additional 197 sales each year, or an additional $400,000+ in earnings annually. “There is no way you can beat this ROI,” says Rogers.

CallSource’s SPM Product Suite

-          CallTrack: Prioritizes and tracks marketing efforts, making it possible to understand the source of the call and the ROI.

-          LeadScore: Evaluates prospects to determine which leads are new and which are real sales leads – helping dealers understand how well advertising dollars are being spent.

-          DealSaver: Allows dealers to recoup lost sales opportunities by triggering alerts for mishandled calls (including rude or unprofessional exchanges, not setting an appointment, not obtaining contact information, etc.)

-          Telephone Performance Analysis (TPA): Analyzes phone skills using industry-tested criteria proven to increase the number of set appointments on the initial inbound call. By measuring key behaviors that are crucial to setting an appointment, dealers can provide targeted training and coaching based on each employee’s skill gaps and can identify and quantify the progress each individual has made, setting realistic goals for continued improvement

CallSource will be demonstrating SPM at the 2016 National Automobile Dealers Expo, Booth #569C

About CallSource

CallSource, providers of award-winning solutions to help dealerships track, analyze and improve incoming call performance, has tracked more than a billion calls since 1991. For over 25 years, CallSource’s award-winning solutions have gone far beyond call tracking to providing marketing insight, including cost-per-lead analysis and sales conversion percentages, training and coaching solutions to improve phone skills, and tools that enable businesses to recapture mishandled sales opportunities. Based in Westlake Village, Calif., CallSource recently received a patent for its Sales Performance Management (SPM) system, which combines the actionable data of its call analytics, performance analysis, advisory services, and online and phone training/coaching from seasoned sales professionals. CallSource serves multiple industries including automotive, home services and healthcare, as well as numerous franchise businesses. Visit callsource.com.

Media Relations: 

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com 

Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications, (818) 397-4630, cassandra@mwebbcom.com