News Articles

Four times a year, we recognize those Internet departments that are closing Dealix leads at especially impressive rates. This month, the Dealix Dealer Newsletter looks at the top performers for Q1 2007 - as usual, ranking the top ten for each of three regions. When we spoke with the head of two of the top-ranked departments, we asked the same three questions: what key factor drove your success in the past quarter, what advice do you have for other Internet departments, and what are your goals or expectations for 2007?

Top Close Rate in the Central Region

Greg Easton, Internet Director

Front Range Honda, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Key to Your Success?

“As always, the primary factor in our success was our well defined, nonnegotiable set of policies and procedures. From the first point of contact up to the customer opt out, we treat every inquiry via phone or email as a good prospect. Of course, this depends a lot on the people working the leads. Our team is well trained and completely on board with every aspect of the process, and they make sure every prospect gets the service they deserve.”

Advice for Other Internet Departments?

“Plan your work and work your plan. Read as much as possible about the relatively new and ever-changing field of online automotive sales. Don’t be afraid to experiment and explore - the next great Internet sales idea may be yours. Know exactly where you stand on results, and don’t be afraid when you see that something isn’t working: this is a chance to fix it and improve.”

Goals for the Rest of 2007?

“The next year looks to be a challenge in every area of our industry. As a BDC department manager, I’ll be working to improve results on the number of existing leads, experiment with new templates and phone scripts, and listen closely to what our customers are saying and incorporate their feedback in how we work. My specific goal is to improve overall performance by 25% over last year.”

Top Close Rate in the Eastern Region

Matt Lamoureux, Director of Internet Business Development

Acton Toyota, Acton, Massachusetts

Key to Your Success?

“We’ve recently begun a very intensive effort to use third-party websites to establish our credibility online. We asked our customers to post online reviews of our dealership, and they responded enthusiastically. We now have over 300 excellent ratings at DealerRater.com, and this has done a lot to solidify our reputation among Internet car buyers. It’s driving a lot of traffic and helping us close sales.”

Advice for Other Internet Departments?

“The best advice I can offer is to learn how to take advice - to be open to other perspectives and willing to learn new things. This is true in every field, but it’s especially valuable for anyone managing an Internet sales department. I would also recommend that dealers make an absolute commitment to doing business with integrity. With this as your foundation, everything else becomes much easier.”

Goals for the Rest of 2007?

“My specific numerical goal for 2007 is to increase Internet sales another 33% - and this is something we can definitely achieve. I intend to do this while continuing to innovate, because this is the key to my longer-term goal, which is to become the number-one volume Toyota dealer for the entire state of Massachusetts.”

About the Study

The Dealix Dealership Close Rate Index^SM is a weighted index based on the number of Internet sales leads that are generated from the Dealix Lead Trading Platform^SM and result in a sale. Primary data is derived from email and phone surveys conducted on consumers that Dealix Corporation delivers to its dealer partners as Internet sales leads. The smallest sample size per dealership was 100 surveys. This study does not represent data for all dealers, nor does it claim to state close rates for dealers and Internet leads not included in the study. This report is brought to you by Dealix Business Intelligence^SM (DBI).