For many dealers, business falls off after the first of the year as shoppers are essentially in a ‘holiday hangover’. Businesses and many buyers had to make vehicle purchases before the end of the year for tax reasons, and others have overspent or filled up credit cards. In any case, there are fewer people on the lot or shopping on dealership websites.

Here are three things a dealership can do to generate additional sales opportunities during this sales slump:

1. HIT THE PHONES – Now is the perfect time to wish sold and unsold customers a Happy New Year and perhaps invite them for a winter or cold weather inspection
2. SHARPEN PROCESSES – Strengthen your sales team with training that helps them make the most of your processes and convert more visits to sales
3. ADD / UPGRADE  LIVE CHAT – Now is the worst time to ignore the potential of having a top-rated live chat option on your website, that can greet every shopper and initiate the sales process while they are still on your website

While there may be less showroom traffic during January, that doesn’t mean car dealers have to lay down and suffer through it. A few proactive measures can help boost sales.

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Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with more than 15 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He began working with the internet building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to web development and viral marketing.

For many dealers, business falls off after the first of the year as shoppers are essentially in a ‘holiday hangover’. Businesses and many buyers had to make vehicle purchases before the end of the year for tax reasons, and others have overspent or filled up credit cards. In any case, there are fewer people on the lot or shopping on dealership websites.

Here are three things a dealership can do to generate additional sales opportunities during this sales slump:

1. HIT THE PHONES – Now is the perfect time to wish sold and unsold customers a Happy New Year and perhaps invite them for a winter or cold weather inspection
2. SHARPEN PROCESSES – Strengthen your sales team with training that helps them make the most of your processes and convert more visits to sales
3. ADD / UPGRADE  LIVE CHAT – Now is the worst time to ignore the potential of having a top-rated live chat option on your website, that can greet every shopper and initiate the sales process while they are still on your website

While there may be less showroom traffic during January, that doesn’t mean car dealers have to lay down and suffer through it. A few proactive measures can help boost sales.

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Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with more than 15 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He began working with the internet building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to web development and viral marketing.

Did you know 100,000 tweets are sent every minute? That pales in comparison to the 700 million Facebook posts per minute. People are living life online around the clock, and that includes shopping for cars. You don’t have a part-time website, so why would you only chat with your shoppers part time? The millions of tweets and Facebook posts referenced in this graphic from internet data company, DOMO, are 100 percent proof that buyers want to use their phone, tablet, and computer keyboards to communicate. Our data show that nearly a third of chat requests are generated after business hours and on Sundays. Why would you skip these opportunities?

In the uber-competitive world of car sales, dealers can’t afford to do anything part-time and that includes live chat. 

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Tom LaPointe CarChat24 CHAT EXPERT

Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with more than 15 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He began working with the internet building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to web development and viral marketing.

Did you know 100,000 tweets are sent every minute? That pales in comparison to the 700 million Facebook posts per minute. People are living life online around the clock, and that includes shopping for cars. You don’t have a part-time website, so why would you only chat with your shoppers part time? The millions of tweets and Facebook posts referenced in this graphic from internet data company, DOMO, are 100 percent proof that buyers want to use their phone, tablet, and computer keyboards to communicate. Our data show that nearly a third of chat requests are generated after business hours and on Sundays. Why would you skip these opportunities?

In the uber-competitive world of car sales, dealers can’t afford to do anything part-time and that includes live chat. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom LaPointe CarChat24 CHAT EXPERT

Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with more than 15 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He began working with the internet building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to web development and viral marketing.

The number of car dealers with live chat software on their websites has jumped dramatically in the past couple of years.

According to dealermarketshare.com, about 37% of the 34k dealer websites had code from a chat provider, up more than 75% over 24 months. This increase can be attributed to many factors, including greater consumer acceptance, word of mouth at dealer meetings and conferences, more aggressive marketing by chat providers, and a growing number of providers joining the market. (see full graphic at http://www.carchat24.com/blog/automotive-business-news/live-chat-auto-dealer-websites-skyrockets-sold-units-still-primary-measure/ )

Quality of service provided through chat is critical, but dealers also want to choose a vendor based on how well the chat product helps close car deals – and there is a significant difference in performance. So how do dealers know which provider to choose?

There are several ways to perform due diligence. These include:

• Discussion and vendor review websites, such as DrivingSales.com
• References from dealer 20 groups
• Empirical research from independent analytics companies, such as C-4 Analytics

Regardless of the reasons for the growth of chat, as more Millennials and Gen Y buyers shop for cars, the number of website visitors who prefer to chat over a phone call or filling out a form is sure to rise.

The biggest question dealers have to ask is whether they want chat to have a cool way to communicate with shoppers and land an occasional deal, or use it as a valid lead channel that helps sell more cars. The decision can make an annual profit difference in the tens of thousands of dollars.

But one thing for sure is that dealers that don’t have chat yet are soon to be in the minority.

The number of car dealers with live chat software on their websites has jumped dramatically in the past couple of years.

According to dealermarketshare.com, about 37% of the 34k dealer websites had code from a chat provider, up more than 75% over 24 months. This increase can be attributed to many factors, including greater consumer acceptance, word of mouth at dealer meetings and conferences, more aggressive marketing by chat providers, and a growing number of providers joining the market. (see full graphic at http://www.carchat24.com/blog/automotive-business-news/live-chat-auto-dealer-websites-skyrockets-sold-units-still-primary-measure/ )

Quality of service provided through chat is critical, but dealers also want to choose a vendor based on how well the chat product helps close car deals – and there is a significant difference in performance. So how do dealers know which provider to choose?

There are several ways to perform due diligence. These include:

• Discussion and vendor review websites, such as DrivingSales.com
• References from dealer 20 groups
• Empirical research from independent analytics companies, such as C-4 Analytics

Regardless of the reasons for the growth of chat, as more Millennials and Gen Y buyers shop for cars, the number of website visitors who prefer to chat over a phone call or filling out a form is sure to rise.

The biggest question dealers have to ask is whether they want chat to have a cool way to communicate with shoppers and land an occasional deal, or use it as a valid lead channel that helps sell more cars. The decision can make an annual profit difference in the tens of thousands of dollars.

But one thing for sure is that dealers that don’t have chat yet are soon to be in the minority.

In his book, Customers for Life, Carl Sewell says to MEASURE EVERYTHING. So how do you measure how well your team is doing with live chat? For many dealers handling chat in-house, ‘measuring chat’ means tracking the number of chat conversations and leads, and possibly the number of sold units. But what else should a dealer take a look at to see how well their staff is doing with chat? After all, BDC team members and salespeople must learn their product, master handling phone ups and walk-in traffic, and legal requirements, as well as basic sales skills.

Here are a few of the key metrics to track:

• Number of chats
• Number of leads and conversion percentage
• Time to respond to a chat
• Sales-to-service chat ratio
• Length of live chat conversations
• Staying on process with pre-written responses
• Amount of time logged on / off the chat console

In his book, Customers for Life, Carl Sewell says to MEASURE EVERYTHING. So how do you measure how well your team is doing with live chat? For many dealers handling chat in-house, ‘measuring chat’ means tracking the number of chat conversations and leads, and possibly the number of sold units. But what else should a dealer take a look at to see how well their staff is doing with chat? After all, BDC team members and salespeople must learn their product, master handling phone ups and walk-in traffic, and legal requirements, as well as basic sales skills.

Here are a few of the key metrics to track:

• Number of chats
• Number of leads and conversion percentage
• Time to respond to a chat
• Sales-to-service chat ratio
• Length of live chat conversations
• Staying on process with pre-written responses
• Amount of time logged on / off the chat console

What if your receptionist answered the phone and just put people on hold, never to return and handle their call? That is exactly what is happening if you have live chat on your website and the chat operator is unable to respond to the invite. An OFFLINE message on your dealership website may not be ideal, but at least you are telling them you can’t respond right now and offering them a chance to leave a message without hunting down the contact form. But inviting them to chat and then leaving them in limbo is potentially a deal killer before it starts.

One statistic tracked a few years back showed dealerships missed as many as 50 percent of chats during business hours. In fact, we tell the story about the origins of CarChat24 due to just such situations.

Chat is supposed to add a key component to your ability to communicate with your buyers in a comfortable, non-confrontational manner. Like greeting your buyers on the lot, it encourages them to start the communication process without going out of their way to fill in a contact form. From getting basic lead information to actually setting an appointment, you can leverage dealer chat substantially increase your website lead count in many cases.

That all goes down the drain if your operator or provider isn’t there to answer the call. If you are handling your own chats, be sure you have the staff trained and available when the chats come through or have them take their consoles offline so the shopper doesn’t click the ‘Chat Now’ button, only to be ignored.

Just like answering your phones, responding to chat requests is critical. To remedy this dilemma, you can add staff to handle the conversations, arrange a backup option with a top-notch live chat provider, or opt for a fully managed chat option and use your people to handle the leads when they come in.

What if your receptionist answered the phone and just put people on hold, never to return and handle their call? That is exactly what is happening if you have live chat on your website and the chat operator is unable to respond to the invite. An OFFLINE message on your dealership website may not be ideal, but at least you are telling them you can’t respond right now and offering them a chance to leave a message without hunting down the contact form. But inviting them to chat and then leaving them in limbo is potentially a deal killer before it starts.

One statistic tracked a few years back showed dealerships missed as many as 50 percent of chats during business hours. In fact, we tell the story about the origins of CarChat24 due to just such situations.

Chat is supposed to add a key component to your ability to communicate with your buyers in a comfortable, non-confrontational manner. Like greeting your buyers on the lot, it encourages them to start the communication process without going out of their way to fill in a contact form. From getting basic lead information to actually setting an appointment, you can leverage dealer chat substantially increase your website lead count in many cases.

That all goes down the drain if your operator or provider isn’t there to answer the call. If you are handling your own chats, be sure you have the staff trained and available when the chats come through or have them take their consoles offline so the shopper doesn’t click the ‘Chat Now’ button, only to be ignored.

Just like answering your phones, responding to chat requests is critical. To remedy this dilemma, you can add staff to handle the conversations, arrange a backup option with a top-notch live chat provider, or opt for a fully managed chat option and use your people to handle the leads when they come in.