Last week our Director of Sales, Russ DeVries, participated in one of DealerStrong's semi-annual SuperGroup Meetings. Scheduled to coincide with the Industry Summit at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, the SF SuperGroup includes dealer principals and senior management from some of the highest volume SF stores in the country.

Russ spent the day rubbing elbows with these VIPs before presenting his own confidential specialized data relating to the economics of an Internet sales lead. He focused on the key metrics that these dealers must track and gave them suggestions for increasing conversions in their digital marketing funnel based on IFMG's 25+ years of experience.

These were the top 3:

1. Know which concepts, costs and metrics drive a dealership's lead performance.
2. Test, test, test. From landing page design to traffic sources to calls-to-action (CTAs), everything can be tested to optimize conversion. Focus on influencing consumer behavior.
3. Identifying lead traffic sources that convert at a lower cost per lead.

And as an added bonus, Russ got to see our friend from the Howard Bentley Budget Center, Kevin Laten.

Russ DeVries, IFMG's Director of Sales (L) and Kevin Laten, Special Finance Manager at Howard Bentley Budget Center

For more about why they get along so well, check out the Success Story in our eBook "Special Finance Quick Start." You can download it here.

Last week our Director of Sales, Russ DeVries, participated in one of DealerStrong's semi-annual SuperGroup Meetings. Scheduled to coincide with the Industry Summit at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, the SF SuperGroup includes dealer principals and senior management from some of the highest volume SF stores in the country.

Russ spent the day rubbing elbows with these VIPs before presenting his own confidential specialized data relating to the economics of an Internet sales lead. He focused on the key metrics that these dealers must track and gave them suggestions for increasing conversions in their digital marketing funnel based on IFMG's 25+ years of experience.

These were the top 3:

1. Know which concepts, costs and metrics drive a dealership's lead performance.
2. Test, test, test. From landing page design to traffic sources to calls-to-action (CTAs), everything can be tested to optimize conversion. Focus on influencing consumer behavior.
3. Identifying lead traffic sources that convert at a lower cost per lead.

And as an added bonus, Russ got to see our friend from the Howard Bentley Budget Center, Kevin Laten.

Russ DeVries, IFMG's Director of Sales (L) and Kevin Laten, Special Finance Manager at Howard Bentley Budget Center

For more about why they get along so well, check out the Success Story in our eBook "Special Finance Quick Start." You can download it here.

Welcome to the final entry in our series on the Top 5 Best Practices for Following Up on leads at your store. We've worked our way through the top 4: "Make Contact Quickly"; "Sell the Appointment", "Don't Pull Credit First" and “Work Your Process.” Next up is one that seems like it’s implied -- #5: “Be Consistent.”

Yes you have a process (see best practice #4), but how consistently do you follow that process? Everyone has off days so make sure your team has the support they need to put in the effort day after day.

Put together store policies that support the process you’ve identified as the best way for your team to bring in prospects and sell cars. Then ensure that they’re being followed by reviewing and enforcing them on the sale floor.

Next, make sure that your team touches every lead – and if there’s only one person working them, you need to have a back-up in place to make sure that none of them slip through the cracks (we’ll get to that in a second).  Use a standardized phone script to set appointments.

If you’re getting email addresses, send professional-looking emails with a uniform look and feel to invite the buyer to make an appointment. The key is to make sure that the message in your phone scripts is consistent with your email copy and make sense when viewed in conjunction with your website – in short that there’s some level of standardization across all of those channels.

You’ve got your process in place, now you and your team need to use it all day, every day.

And there you have it! Our Top 5 Best Practices for Following Up. Keep your eyes peeled for our next eBook on this topic.

Welcome to the final entry in our series on the Top 5 Best Practices for Following Up on leads at your store. We've worked our way through the top 4: "Make Contact Quickly"; "Sell the Appointment", "Don't Pull Credit First" and “Work Your Process.” Next up is one that seems like it’s implied -- #5: “Be Consistent.”

Yes you have a process (see best practice #4), but how consistently do you follow that process? Everyone has off days so make sure your team has the support they need to put in the effort day after day.

Put together store policies that support the process you’ve identified as the best way for your team to bring in prospects and sell cars. Then ensure that they’re being followed by reviewing and enforcing them on the sale floor.

Next, make sure that your team touches every lead – and if there’s only one person working them, you need to have a back-up in place to make sure that none of them slip through the cracks (we’ll get to that in a second).  Use a standardized phone script to set appointments.

If you’re getting email addresses, send professional-looking emails with a uniform look and feel to invite the buyer to make an appointment. The key is to make sure that the message in your phone scripts is consistent with your email copy and make sense when viewed in conjunction with your website – in short that there’s some level of standardization across all of those channels.

You’ve got your process in place, now you and your team need to use it all day, every day.

And there you have it! Our Top 5 Best Practices for Following Up. Keep your eyes peeled for our next eBook on this topic.

I know it's a lot easier to talk to someone about a specific car over the phone, but you have to focus on getting them into your store if you really want to sell them a car. If you're talking to them, they've already raised their hand by applying for a car loan or submitting an inquiry on a piece of your inventory.  Working with them in person is the next crucial step.

In the course of your conversation, be specific on dates and times for potential appointments, ideally in the next 24 to 48 hours. These are car buyers who are looking for someone who can put them into a car today -- they're looking to move quickly, and you have to respond quickly to keep their attention.  Discussing too many details over the phone, such as financing options and terms, will result in fewer appointments.

Once you have them on your calendar, don't leave it up to them to remember their appointment with you. Reconfirm the date and time via email and call them the day of to confirm again. If they don't show, don't hesitate to call them and reschedule their appointment.   

If they do decide to hold off, don't panic. Continue to reach out to them periodically to keep them up to date with offers at your store and keep yourself on their radar. (Email marketing is a great way to do this.) 

Take a look at how you're working now - I would argue that you are more likely to close a deal if you've got someone in your store than not. Do you agree? 

Would love to hear about any exceptions out there.

Join us next week when we dig deeper into Best Practice #3, "Don't Pull Credit First."

Questions? Concerns? Can't wait for the rest of the series? Give us a call  at 800-222-8374 or drop us a line today.

I know it's a lot easier to talk to someone about a specific car over the phone, but you have to focus on getting them into your store if you really want to sell them a car. If you're talking to them, they've already raised their hand by applying for a car loan or submitting an inquiry on a piece of your inventory.  Working with them in person is the next crucial step.

In the course of your conversation, be specific on dates and times for potential appointments, ideally in the next 24 to 48 hours. These are car buyers who are looking for someone who can put them into a car today -- they're looking to move quickly, and you have to respond quickly to keep their attention.  Discussing too many details over the phone, such as financing options and terms, will result in fewer appointments.

Once you have them on your calendar, don't leave it up to them to remember their appointment with you. Reconfirm the date and time via email and call them the day of to confirm again. If they don't show, don't hesitate to call them and reschedule their appointment.   

If they do decide to hold off, don't panic. Continue to reach out to them periodically to keep them up to date with offers at your store and keep yourself on their radar. (Email marketing is a great way to do this.) 

Take a look at how you're working now - I would argue that you are more likely to close a deal if you've got someone in your store than not. Do you agree? 

Would love to hear about any exceptions out there.

Join us next week when we dig deeper into Best Practice #3, "Don't Pull Credit First."

Questions? Concerns? Can't wait for the rest of the series? Give us a call  at 800-222-8374 or drop us a line today.

New month, new blog series. This is a topic that is near and dear to our hearts -- following up on leads.

Sure, we deliver car buyers to you, but we that's as far as we can take it. Then we have to put these consumers into your capable hands and let your sales process take over from there. (Any sales rep will tell you that this is where the real magic happens.)

We've come a long way from our humble beginnings as 1-800-CAR-LOAN in 1989, and during that time we've collected some recommendations for best practices that will give you, our dealer partner, the best results.

Here are our Top 5:

1. Make Contact Quickly
2. Sell the Appointment
3. Don't Pull Credit First
4. Work Your Process
5. Be Consistent

It seems pretty simple, right?

Like most things, it's harder than it looks. Join us for the rest of this month as we dig deeper into each of these 5 best practices.

New month, new blog series. This is a topic that is near and dear to our hearts -- following up on leads.

Sure, we deliver car buyers to you, but we that's as far as we can take it. Then we have to put these consumers into your capable hands and let your sales process take over from there. (Any sales rep will tell you that this is where the real magic happens.)

We've come a long way from our humble beginnings as 1-800-CAR-LOAN in 1989, and during that time we've collected some recommendations for best practices that will give you, our dealer partner, the best results.

Here are our Top 5:

1. Make Contact Quickly
2. Sell the Appointment
3. Don't Pull Credit First
4. Work Your Process
5. Be Consistent

It seems pretty simple, right?

Like most things, it's harder than it looks. Join us for the rest of this month as we dig deeper into each of these 5 best practices.

As thrilling as it has been to watch dealers migrate their store marketing to the web, there are still some places that you need to do your homework. Featuring a privacy policy on your website is one of them.

If you've been paying attention, you know that you need a privacy policy if you're collecting consumer information. The U.S. federal government requires that you describe what you're gathering and why, and how it will be used. Your website visitors also need to be able to find it easily, which means it needs to be linked on each page and featured prominently on any of your contact forms.

Want to see a sample? Check out the footer on this page, or any page on our website, for that matter. It's always there, always in the same place so that visitors can find it.

The one we have developed is for use with our network of websites that car buyers use to apply for financing. Since they're filling out a full application, including employment information and SSN, we have to be sure that we make clear what our intentions are for the information they're sharing...and that it's secure -- potential for a whole 'nother series of posts on that topic alone. We spent a lot of time with our legal team developing this policy, which includes clear language describing what we do, why we do it, and how.

So why is the privacy policy on your website important? It gives the consumer the opportunity to limit how we share information, or to opt out of the process altogether, all of which is important to ensure that we are in compliance with federal regulations governing the use of this data - similar to CAN SPAM on the email front. You're leaving yourself legally vulnerable if you don't have one.

It should be noted that we're just giving you a taste - if you don't already have a privacy policy on your website, you'll need to work directly with legal counsel well versed in these laws in order to develop your own. If you copy someone else's and run into legal trouble, you will have no recourse.

Looking for more on this topic?

Download our free eBook, "7 Best Practices for Protecting Consumer Privacy." In addition to this recommendation for a privacy policy, you'll find other tips for making sure that you are in compliance with the Red Flags Rule for preventing consumer identity theft, brought to you by the Federal Trade Commission. Some serious stuff.

We think you'll find it useful -- and it's just another way that we're working every day to give you the right information to help you SELL MORE CARS!®

Got Questions? Feel free to get in touch today.

As thrilling as it has been to watch dealers migrate their store marketing to the web, there are still some places that you need to do your homework. Featuring a privacy policy on your website is one of them.

If you've been paying attention, you know that you need a privacy policy if you're collecting consumer information. The U.S. federal government requires that you describe what you're gathering and why, and how it will be used. Your website visitors also need to be able to find it easily, which means it needs to be linked on each page and featured prominently on any of your contact forms.

Want to see a sample? Check out the footer on this page, or any page on our website, for that matter. It's always there, always in the same place so that visitors can find it.

The one we have developed is for use with our network of websites that car buyers use to apply for financing. Since they're filling out a full application, including employment information and SSN, we have to be sure that we make clear what our intentions are for the information they're sharing...and that it's secure -- potential for a whole 'nother series of posts on that topic alone. We spent a lot of time with our legal team developing this policy, which includes clear language describing what we do, why we do it, and how.

So why is the privacy policy on your website important? It gives the consumer the opportunity to limit how we share information, or to opt out of the process altogether, all of which is important to ensure that we are in compliance with federal regulations governing the use of this data - similar to CAN SPAM on the email front. You're leaving yourself legally vulnerable if you don't have one.

It should be noted that we're just giving you a taste - if you don't already have a privacy policy on your website, you'll need to work directly with legal counsel well versed in these laws in order to develop your own. If you copy someone else's and run into legal trouble, you will have no recourse.

Looking for more on this topic?

Download our free eBook, "7 Best Practices for Protecting Consumer Privacy." In addition to this recommendation for a privacy policy, you'll find other tips for making sure that you are in compliance with the Red Flags Rule for preventing consumer identity theft, brought to you by the Federal Trade Commission. Some serious stuff.

We think you'll find it useful -- and it's just another way that we're working every day to give you the right information to help you SELL MORE CARS!®

Got Questions? Feel free to get in touch today.