Ford's Online Visibility Should Mean More Closed Auto Leads at the Dealership

iCrossing just published their Online Search Visibility study for the Auto industry. The study analyzes the level of search visibility for each automaker. Ford has the highest brand visibility of any of the automakers, but are they closing more deals?

I find the contrast between Internet auto leads and Internet mortgage leads quite striking and full of opportunity.

Mortgage Leads

In the mortgage market, it is generally understood that there is urgency in calling on a new lead. It is important to be the first one to get the client on the phone and get them into processing. Yet, there is an acceptably long gap from inquiry to closing. In fact, the mortgage industry has become so complacent about this lag that there growing secondary market in consumer inquiries--it's called trigger leads.

These leads are generated from credit pulls on the borrower. Think about that, if someone buys trigger leads, they are trying to grab a client who has already invested time in completing an application with someone else. That's a hard task! But it illustrates, by the amount of people that buy trigger leads, there is significant opportunity to "steal the deal" in a mortgage transaction.

Auto Leads

Switch to an automobile transaction. I would argue the majority of closed deals take place the same day the client appears on the lot. In contrast, I don't see too many mortgage brokers with the equivalent capability to "sign and drive" deals. In fact, in the auto industry it is accepted taboo to let a customer off the lot without a commitment or credit application.

Here is the point--if urgency in the mortgage market is key, and the sales process is upwards of thirty days, how much more critical is the urgency in auto leads?

Therefore, tools must be set up to increase the speed and opportunity to connect an auto shopper to auto sales. It isn't enough to obtain leads centrally, then wait for someone to contact the person sometime--later that day, or more typically, in the next two days.

Auto Leads Need to Go Straight to the Showroom and the Lot

The customer is ready to talk now! They have the time NOW. The reason they were researching and inquired was not because they are available tomorrow. It is because they saw what they want and are excited, even emotional, about it now.

Leads have to go straight to the sales lot to be effective. What better sales pitch than the agent who is standing on the lot, having just received the lead in a text message to his phone--KeithBurwell wants to buy a 2008 black Lincoln MKS.

Can you imagine the conversation less than a minute after I inquired online? "Yes, Mr. Burwell, I am standing right next to the car. I will take the keys and and hold them safely in my pocket until you get here!"

Urgency Gets the Auto Deal

Immediacy of lead attention is about not only filtering geographically, but by availability of sales agent and product. Just getting customers to the closest dealership is not what they want. They want there dream car now, not a busy signal or an offer to find of order it.

Get your auto leads filtered in real time to the available salesperson with the customer's car.

That's closing a deal and that translates online visibility directly into revenue!

Keith Burwell is the SVP of Business Development for Kaleidico a leader in lead management software solutions.

For more information how Kaleidico can help you determine your Sales Pipeline Equilibrium, please contact us at 866-667-5253 or sales [@] kaleidico [dot] com.