Catching up with my reading on DrivingSales.com yesterday morning, I came across a post called "The Secret to My Success." (I also tweeted about it with the comment "Shh...it's 'answer the leads' - don't tell anyone!")

I was astonished to see some of the facts and figures in there, including:

• 2 out of 10 leads never were responded to.
• 2 out of 3 weren't invited in for a test drive.
• 75% of the leads weren't quoted a price when requested.

Better than you might expect, actually, but there's still opportunity being missed left and right. It's been a while since we've discussed best practices, and it's time to revisit that.

We train dealers on how to work our auto finance leads using the 14-Day Quickstart when we bring them on board. It's been nicely encapsulated in a video on our YouTube channel called "Top 5 Best Practices for Follow Up."

Selling a car to a consumer who has reached out to you for help via the Internet is pretty simple when you get down to brass tacks: make contact & get 'em in. Your inventory and your skill as a consummate automotive sales professional will do the rest.

Because you're all consummate professionals, right?

In that case, it's making contact and setting the appointment that becomes the key to success -- just like Jim Bell said.

What are you doing to make sure your team is working the leads, and doing it the right way?

It's been a while since I've posted anything here on DrivingSales -- it's taken me this long to recover from NADA enough to write anything worth sharing here! And in the meantime, we've moved on to that other big part of Q1 for auto dealers, Tax Season.

For most of us who have to file a tax return, "tax season" means pain and suffering.

But for a lot of consumers, it's the one time of the year when they know they're going to have a big chunk of change to put down on getting into a car -- their tax refund.

And we write about this every year because it's important every year.  Car dealers plan inventory and staffing around this 5th "season" to take advantage of this influx of cash into the car-buying market.

According to the National Retail Federation's 2012 Tax Return Survey results, just released last week, 12.3% of the consumers expecting a refund were planning for a major purchase, such as a car.

The best quote in the release:

"For some, tax season is a way to reward themselves, for others it is the perfect opportunity to get ahead on their bills or other expenses," said Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights Director, BIGinsight. "Whatever the decision, many consumers this year are looking forward to taking back some of their hard-earned money from Uncle Sam."

Sounds good to us.

These are exactly the kinds of folks that we see coming through our network of auto finance sites -- people looking for financing to go with that down payment from the IRS.

And we've gotten the jump in website traffic in the past few weeks to show that this is going to be a banner year for auto dealers who know how to take advantage of our auto finance leads. Check out our free Volume Estimator to see what the traffic looks like in your area and how we can help.

In the meantime, we'll just leave you with one question: what is your dealership doing to make hay while the tax season sun shines? 

Auto Dealer Monthly has published the results of their field survey, and it's more evidence that the great automotive subprime numbers we've been reading about in the paper are being seen in the street. We've been seeing it on our side too, with a jump in the number of people applying for car loans through our sites.

The article has a great chart that gives a five-year overview of Special Finance activity for both franchises and independents. You can see the dip for the recession and see how the numbers are recovering, particularly in the grosses.

Here's my favorite part of the article:

Over the last three months, compared to the same period in 2010, 55.5 percent of franchise dealers said their subprime credit volume is better or much better, and 30.1 percent said it’s about the same. Among independents, 75 percent said their subprime credit volume is better or much better. This indicates the subprime market is growing and is wide open for those who know how to capitalize on it. (my emphasis)

Straight from the horse's mouth, since it was the dealers themselves who responded to the survey.

Why do I like to see that?

It means that the members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network are going to continue to get the volume of finance leads they're looking for to help them sell more cars. Couple that with the start of tax season, and Q1 2012 looks to be a great time to get involved with special finance.

Not a member of the Network yet? Check out our FREE Volume Estimator to see what we have available in your area. And come see us at NADA 2012 in booth # 968!

Following our own advice and getting our ducks in a row to prepare for the big NADA show in (gulp!) two weeks.

There is a wealth of breakout sessions to choose from at this year's show, as usual. There are seven different tracks in all, and you can find a great summary/description over on the Dealer Marketing Magazine website here.

Here are some I'm particularly interested in:

1. "Ten Digital Marketing Strategies That Work Now" - Brian Pasch, CEO of PGB Digital Marketing
2. "How to Digitally Engage Car Buyers" - Kim Stonehouse and Peter Leto, Google Inc
3. "The New Science of Used-Vehicle Sales and Stocking" - Dale Pollak, Founder & Chairman of vAuto
4. "Eight Ways Mobile Can Improve Your Bottom Line" - Len Critcher, President & CEO of eCarList
5. "Proven Social Media Strategies of Top Dealers" - Shaun Raines, Natioanl Director - Automotive of DrivingSales.com
6. "Twenty Persuasive Ways to Sell F&I Products" - James Ziegler, President of Ziegler Supersystems, Inc.

And that's just for starters.  What sessions look good to you?

It's always inspiring to see everyone come together for this show every year, and the optimism it brings with it. We're really looking forward to being there in booth #968!

So we've all had a couple of days to adjust to signing "2012" on our checks and can take a little bit of a look back at the end of 2011.

Great news featured by Bloomberg last week with the headline "Dealer's Best December in Five Years Follows U.S. Sale Ads". Consumer confidence is climbing and looks to be about to continue its momentum into Q1. Couple that with the rebound by the Japanese automakers recovering from the tsunami that knocked out production capacity in March, and inventory looks to be on track to meet the demand.

Now it's on to 2012 - if you're looking for a more complete summary of 2011, check out this article from Ricky Beggs at Black Book, featured on Auto Remarketing.

There's are two 2012 predictions in Beggs' analysis that I'd like to highlight here:

“We expect new-car sales levels to continue to climb, hopefully to at least 13.5 million,” he continued. “This creates another possible 700,000 to 800,000 potential trade-ins.

“But with end-of-term lease return volumes to bottom out this year, there will continue to be a tight supply of used vehicles, thus used values will be strong again this year,” Beggs projected.

That means that handling used inventory will continue to be an important part of an effective dealership strategy for a profitable 2012.

And then there's this tidbit:

“The lending part of the industry we feel will be aggressive again in overall approvals of even slightly lower beacon scores, increased advance amounts in relation to actual cash value and longer length of loan terms,” Beggs estimated.

Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

Here at Carloan.com, we've been talking about how "special finance is back" for months now as lenders have been loosening up through Q3 and Q4 of 2011, and it continues to grow as more consumers are coming back into the market and looking for cars to buy.

Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a great ride in 2012!

Although it's a couple of months away, everyone in the industry is talking about it. And when I say talk I mean blogging and tweeting. A Google search of 'NADA convention and expo 2012' resulted in over 300k hits.

On Twitter when you search #NADA2012 that too also resulted in many posts about the event.

A great way to stay in the know is to follow those accounts who are Tweeting about anything related to your industry. An example would be the Digital Dealer conference-  #DD11- that took place this year. Since we did not attend, we still kept up with what was going on through blogs and tweets that attendees were posting. Not only did those posts make us feel as though we were there, but it also gave us the opportunity to interact with attendees, as well as gain more followers.

Keyword: followers! We gained about 40 new followers from #DD11 simply because we participated on a digital level, thus letting others know who we were. This year we plan to do the same with #NADA2012, except we will actually be in attendance allowing us to make personal and online connections.

So make sure you check us out in person @ booth #968, or on Twitter @Carloanco!

Caranddriver.com named their top 10 cars of 2012 recently and of many candidates the following were chosen.

1. Audi A6/A7 3.0T Quattro - This car looks great, drives great, and at what some consider a practical price of around 50k+ - it's a great all around pick.

2. BMW 3-Series/M3 - Sporty, sexy, and with an 8300-rpm V-8 this car has yet to be knocked off it's pedestal.

3. Cadillac CTS-V - Definitely a car with "swag." While it's not designed for a fast getaway it's definitely made for smooth sailing.

4. Ford Focus - Although the Focus has had its share of issues in the past we got to give to the the 2012 Focus for its sensational ride handling and admirable power/mpg index. Only warning: don't do the MyFord Touch system!

5. Ford Mustang GT/Boss 302 - Having the name Boss in your title says it all. This car screams "HOT"! Definitely a favorite. It's loud, it's fast, it's... perfect (and at a price tag of 41k it's also affordable).

6. Honda Accord - The name says it all. Reliable, affordable and trusted for decades the Accord is an old favorite that will never likely go away.

7. Honda Fit- This pint sized car packs a big punch. It has the most in-class passenger space compared to other smaller cars as well as a 5- speed manual that is "among the great ambassadors to the stick."

8. Mazda MX-5 Miata - Not a big fan of the body of the car. Looks very 90's to me, but I am impressed that the 2.0-liter, 7200-rpm four offers 167 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque

9. Porsche Boxter/Cayman - Hey if you can afford this, than go for it! This is a true sports car and considering it costs about 30k less than the Porsche 911, it's also a great deal.

10. Volkswagen Golf/GTI - Sporty and affordable are words used to describe this car. While I am not a fan of the look I can appreciate its engine and fuel mpg.

Which would you have added and which, in your opinion, should not have made the cut? Check them out and share your thoughts.

NADA released the December 2011 edition of their Used Car Industry Update last week, and there are several bits that I like to see:

“Looking ahead, we’re anticipating that used car and truck prices will remain relatively flat through the remainder of the month and into January before moving upward again per the seasonal norm as we head deeper into the first quarter.” (p.5)

This is a change from the usual pattern, where used car prices slump significantly in Q4 in response to slackening demand due to the holiday season.

However, this year, strong demand from people who are finally giving up their old cars, coupled with tight inventory levels, has been keeping the prices relatively stable:

“In addition, used vehicle demand indicators remain strong, which when viewed alongside an anticipated ~8% reduction in year-over-year used supply supports the view that used prices will remain firm through the end of the quarter.”  (p.5)

Why do I like to see that?

It means that members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network are going to continue to be successful with the finance leads we send them. They’re going to continue to be able to get a higher price for their used inventory and not have to wait till January to keep cars moving off their lots.

We’re still seeing demand from consumers in our network too — which is even better news for our Carloan.com dealers. And there’s only going to be more as we head into tax season.

Not a member of the Network yet? Check out our FREE Volume Estimator to see what we have available in your area.

"In a ruling that could literally alter the lifestyles of millions of Americans, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended states completely ban the use of all mobile phones and other portable electronic devices while driving except in emergency situations."

Do you agree with this ban? Read these articles from this past week concerning the ban on use of electronics while driving, and weigh in on your thoughts. Effective or exaggerated?

NTSB To Drivers: 'Stop Texting And Get Off The Phone:'  According to the National Highway Safety Administration, nearly one put of every 100 motorists is either texting, emailing, surfing the Web or otherwise using a handheld electronic device at any given time. NHTSA says drivers are more than 24 times more likely to crash their cars if they're texting while driving. In 2009 (the last year statistics were available), nearly 5,500 people were killed and 450,000 more were injured in distracted driving crashes.

Safety Board Proposes Ban on Cell Use While Driving: "When it comes to using electronic devices, it may seem like it's a quick call or a quick text or a tweet, but accidents happen in the blink of an eye," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. "No emails, no texts, no calls. It's worth a human life."

Why banning drivers from using any electronics is a drastic overreaction, and won't work: The problem isn’t smartphones or gadgets: it’s us. We don’t take driving seriously enough and even those who do can’t avoid all distractions. Perhaps we do need our roadways full of self-driving Google cars after all. At least then we could drink a coffee without fear of causing an accident.

NTSB wants to ban mobile phone and electronics use in cars across the country: In August of last year, a 19-year-old pickup driver received 11 texts in as many minutes while traveling down a Missouri highway outside Gray Summit. The truck rear-ended a stopped tractor trailer at speed, which was then struck by not one, but two school buses, resulting in a massive, multi-car pileup that left 38 people injured and two dead – including the serial texter and a 15-year-old student riding in one of the buses.

So after reading these articles that are for and against, which do you agree with? Should the ban go into effect totally? Or should the restriction only be limited to texting?

"According to [our] automotive credit analysis, 21.87 percent of all new vehicle loans went to customers in the nonprime, subprime and deep subprime categories. The largest percentage increases were in the two highest-risk segments — deep subprime, which jumped 17.3 percent, and subprime, which jumped 17.8 percent.”

– Experian Automotive, December 1, 2011

Music to our ears.

We’re seeing a lot of activity in the special finance leads market, and this latest data from Experian shows us that the finance lead business is booming because more dealers are getting back in.

It’s been a rough couple of years, but dealers who have stuck with it and know how to handle this kind of consumer are seeing some really nice numbers these days. Including the members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network.

What’s your strategy for getting into this part of the market? If you're already in it, what are you doing to grow your share?