Page Options
Cobalt Newsroom - In the News
Getting the Most from Your Phone Leads
Source: Dealer Marketing Magazine
March 2009
In working with thousands of dealers, delivering tens of thousands of leads, and studying 1,000 calls to dealers from used car prospects, we came up with some key findings that will help dealers optimize their success with phone leads.
Our research found that nearly half - 43% - of the callers from our study actually purchased a vehicle within two weeks of making the phone call. And according to Cobalt's 2007 Dealer e-Business Performance Study, most shoppers want to know two simple things: "Is the car still available?" and "How much is it?" Dealers who have a good follow-up process, including answering their prospect's basic questions, will have good odds of selling the car, and doing so quickly.
Three Key Things to Do to Optimize Your Phone Leads
- Ask for the appointment. In the calls we reviewed, 72% of the dealers who had an interested buyer on the phone did not ask for an appointment. Here's one way to ask: "Yes, we have that car in the lot. I'm here today until closing and would love to show it to you. Does either 3 or 5 pm work for you?"
- Suggest an alternative if the vehicle is no longer available. In over one-third of the calls (35%), the dealer did not offer an alternative vehicle to the prospect if their first choice was not available. Offer them a similar vehicle and then ask for the appointment.
