CallSource clients have increased call-to-appointment ratios by 20% YOY; effective lost call recapture, strong analytics and training driving increases

Westlake Village, CA – January 26, 2017– CallSource, pioneers of award-winning solutions to help dealerships track, analyze and improve incoming call performance, has helped auto dealers recover nearly half a million (over 420,000) mishandled phone leads during 2016 through its DealSaver Alerts product alone.

DealSaver triggers an alert when a call is lost – whether it’s due to a rude or unprofessional exchange or a call handler simply failing to set an appointment with a qualified customer or obtain basic contact information. DealSaver is one of multiple safeguards CallSource customers are successfully using to significantly reduce the volume of mishandled phone calls and improve overall call handling and appointment setting, all designed to drive more cost-efficient sales.

“Our dealer customers improved call-to-appointment ratios by 20% in 2016 on a call volume that was constant year-over-year,” said David Greene, SVP, Automotive Strategic Accounts. “Zeroing in on better handling of calls that are already coming in versus increasing marketing spend to drive additional call volume demonstratively increased incremental sales and marketing ROI for our dealers.”

As an example of this, CallSource reports that the average number of validated sales calls dealers receive each month is around 100, while the average number of missed opportunities is a whopping 41. By realigning process to focus on recovering even a small percentage of those calls and converting them into appointments – and likely sales – dealerships can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the bottom line. 

“The good news is that dealers know they have a problem,” said Greene, citing a survey the company conducted in early 2016 in which 60% of dealers acknowledged that their sales teams were not handling inbound call traffic effectively – and a third were losing at least 1 in 5 car buyers to competitors due to poor phone handling skills.  “We continue to believe – and our data proves it - that our industry would do well to shift more focus onto their processes for handling phone leads.” 

Casey Jenkins, Manager at TN-based Jenkins & Wynne Ford, Lincoln and Honda, concurs: “With CallSource, we are able to see the direct link between professional phone handling and higher customer satisfaction and profits. Now that we know exactly what’s happening on the phones, we’ve enacted tight accountability measures and can accurately monitor the team’s overall effectiveness.” 

CallSource ties all the elements of a successful call management program into one system – closing the loop and delivering measurable results. Fifty-three of the top 150 dealer groups use CallSource. 

CallSource will be at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans taking place January 27-29 in Hall B1, Booth #627. 

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 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