Internet Mgr best practices
I am looking for any advice from anyone who has experience with succesful internet departments.
Our dealership operation currently does not have one person who is responsible for all leads or internet activity as a whole. We currently have three of our 10 salespeople who handle all of the leads that come in. As you can imagine between lot traffic and other daily activities our “internet team” is busy with a lot of other things than responding immediately and consistently to our leads.
Our closing ratio is not good at this point and we know we need to make changes.
Thus brings the question of what to do?
Do we hire one individual that can handle all of the leads and also monitor the websites (GM and Chrysler) to update incentives?
Does this person handle all internet activity and make it their own?
Do we pay a salary with bonus levels based on performance?
What have you found to work or not work?
Thank you for the help!
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Aaron Harris on
-
Thank you all for the replies! The information has been helpful. To clarify for anyone who has asked how many leads we are dealing with, we receive about 100 leads per month.
-
Permalink Reply by James Bunting on
-
Aaron, glad to hear from you. :)
I am assuming that with 100 leads per month, you aren't a TrueCar junkie and you aren't paying for any 3rd-party leads... that you're sort of operating from the baseline of what the manufacturer and your website give you. Probably no SEM either.
Anyhow, based on what I assume are your circumstances, here is what I would suggest.
Staffing - 100 leads can be managed by a single cradle-to-grave internet sales manager, and if your floor salespeople are one-and-done types, that's what I'd recommend. You'd want the ISM to be a top performer, potentially in line for a management position. You'd want them to be in the same office as the sales manager so that they can quickly confer with the real decision maker even as they adopt the manager persona when facing their customers. This will have the added benefit of acclimating your sales manager to the realities of the internet customer. Needless to say, the ISM doesn't work customers on the lot.
Process - I'm really really hoping you've got a follow-up program with engaging templates and so forth. But if you don't have one, or if you're not confident about the content of that program, let me know. It should take no more than 2-3 minutes for the ISM to send most emails because they should have scaffolding beneath them.
That would be my simple, in-house, recommended "right now" solution.
I don't know how helpful GM is in terms of best practices training for iLeads; I know that Chrysler is completely useless there, but training is absolutely key and your ISM will need a major mindset readjustment if they are taken from the floor.
-
Permalink Reply by Sean V. Bradley on
-
Aaron,
Joe Cala and I shot you a PERSONALIZED Video Response to this question. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erMgLTn23HI
After you watch the video, please feel free to call me or Joe at 856-546-2440. It would be our pleasure to answer any questions that you might have.
*** Also, we have been posting numerous videos on Internet Director / Internet Sales Manager Responsibilities here on Dealer Elite for you as well...
Have a great weekend-
-
Permalink Reply by William Phillips on -
100 leads a month, buy more leads and the whole staff should be working it. 30% plus of your monthly sales volume should come form lead submissions. Don't count AAA, Chat, Costco, Phone in's, Walk in's with map quest prints, and al the other NON-Internet business. Starts as a lead submission and ends up a sale. Only way its a real internet client.
-
Permalink Reply by Doug Davis on
-
I didn't buy leads from any source and our internet business was 70% of sales. We were selling over 170 internet deals a month with an average total (front a back) gross that was more than the floor. My ISM team was a third of the sales force and our budget was in the lower 50% of the group (143 stores).
A phone call from AutoTrader, Cars or your website VDP is definately an internet lead. In fact; with a strong call to action you can see an increase in internet phone calls of 30%. I would much prefer a phone call over an email. You have a great shot at selling the car the same day.
For it to be an internet deal, the customer has to come in and request an ISM by name or be a confirmed appointment.
Understand that your website is the gateway to your dealership. Your vehicles should be marketed like you would a newspaper ad. Someone needs to hear every phone call, see every email and direct the ISM's activies.
If you would like to discuss this call me some afternoon. I am retired and not trying to sell anything.
-
Permalink Reply by William Phillips on
-
If you count everyone who looks on line then all stores do 95% of their business on line. 70% is short on that type of accounting. Thats just converting showroom business to internet business. There is NO store in the US doing 70% of their business on line unless they count stuff that is phone and walk in, as now some new consumer. This sounds like a typical large group self talk belief system of calling everything internet to achieve a number for a pay plan or claimed false result.
Customers that submit leads WITH OUT talking or walking in to the store are not low hanging fruit which is why some people like to count walk ins and phone ins as internet business. Creates a FALSE measurement. You can not improve on what you need to improve on if you lie to yourself about what your doing.
Digital Business are clients who walk in, or phone in but didn't read or listen to traditional media business to cause them to do so. This digital business should be taking the place of traditional business if your smart. Its called sourcing not an internet customer.
Small markets and some domestics are running 40 to 50% of their total sales from lead submissions. NO ONE is running 70% or even close. Auto trader clients have ALWAYS called or walked in 4 to 1 over submission of a lead. That is nothing new and the easiest target to inflate numbers for internet sales. They are phone in, or walk in customers not internet customers any more than they where magazine customers when the magazine still existed, before it was RETIRED.
Keep the idea retired of math manipulation. I am selling something and its called the truth. I do this today and now, with results that BLOW AWAY any large groups false claims. They lie to themselves for their stock holders who check their stock on line.
SINCE IM NOT RETIRED. I don't have time to make you a video, or answer the lack of knowledge I see typed in some of these answers. I have 20 years experience, have run stores and my company is approaching 11 years with unequaled results, and I retain 90% of my clients. Im not spinning self promotion as as product or passing my free advise from a retirement pad. I want you as a client and any dealer who truly wants to escape the hype of self promotion and actually see the store sell more cars. Not shift the results from one pocket to another, and Im willing to be help accountable for that.
Aaron, Listen for the truth, follow the math and work hard
Im Going Back to work, best of luck in these venues
-
-
William,
Was there something about "For it to be an internet deal, the customer has to come in and request an ISM by name or be a confirmed appointment." that you didn't understand?
You are suggesting that they buy leads. Those will close at 3 to 6%. That just has your people chasing their tails and getting frustrated. A good Internet Director will develop their own leads that close at 20+%. I guess that you don't believe that is possible, either.
Sorry, but not only did that dealership do 70% of their business on line my previous did it also. Both of these were in Dallas. Patt Lobb Toyota, in McKinney, does better numbers than I ever did. Lund Cadillac in Phoenix might do 5% of their business from walk-ins. The rest comes from repeat and referral but mostly from the internet. Their grosses are staggering. The fact that your stores can't achieve this doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. Understand that market leaders aren't hiring people like you. The ones that do are desperate. An increase to 30% might be good for them.
I have plenty of people that will verify my record.
I sold my first car after graduating from High School in 1967 for Huffines Chevrolet. J.L. allowed me to sell cars while I went to college across the street. Talk to me when you have some more experience.
-
Permalink Reply by William Phillips on
-
numbers are fake and in retrospect from some one retired. Hey Davis, 20 employees and I consult 100 stores nationwide and have for 11 years now. So dealers do buy what I do because it works. 1967 is still looking for your black berry
Grab your remote and news paper its what you understand and its full of lies
-
-
Tomorrow, you will be working. I will be flying to New Orleans to see some friends and celebrate Halloween in the French Quarter.
As, I said, I have plenty of people that will vouch for my record.
People who are able to do something well can do that thing for a living, while people who are not able to do anything that well make a living by teaching.
-
Permalink Reply by Steve Richards on
-
Your last line is a "cliche" and complete bullshit.
-
-
All of these numbers seem highly situational / geographical / relative to what is counted as an internet lead / relative to the overall stature and budget of the dealership. Aaron's situation is that he's got 100 leads per month and he's looking for a better way of handling the leads. Several good ideas were put forth, and we're free to disagree over the best course of action or even the semantics related to digital business, but I don't see the point of comparing wangs here... I don't think that's what Aaron was gunning for.
And I am speaking as a 1000-year-old vampire with over 900 years of experience observing humanity's propensity for wang-related posturing, so I know what I'm talking about. Blah! Blah!
-
Permalink Reply by Elise Kephart on
-
This is an excellent post: I have seen a few different ways this would be handled depending upon the amount of leads the store receives each month.
-One Dedicated Internet Manager per 100 leads a month
This person handles all the leads cradle to the grave.and should be able to handle this amount and sell 25 cars a month
-"The Bucket"
Throw all the leads in a bucket and have 2-3 "Internet Salespeople" handle the leads as they first come in. They work all the leads cradle to the grave. The amount of cars per salesperson may be spread out dependent upon the process of each one
-The "BDC"
A few people or one person handling all the leads and setting appointments "for the dealership" in which a salesperson then takes them on the test drive(s), credit app, figures, negotiations, into F&I, delivery and followup.
PERSONALLY- I have done both, and prefer working my own leads first come first serve cradle to the grave. Survival of the fittest, and the right process brings results.
If you have the wrong process down and have the wrong people handling the leads you won't see the results. Every structure is different upon the amount of leads and the right training.
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next ›
© 2024 Created by DealerELITE.
Powered by
