I once heard a manager at a Tom Stuker phone training class joke that if every vendor promise came true their dealership would be selling a million cars a month. And so it goes with managed chat providers and even some chat software. There are live chat vendors who pitch insane lead counts to dealers that have no basis in reality, and often the leads they do provide are little more than names from a phone book. One definition for weasel as a verb is to “achieve something by use of cunning or deceit.” That precisely describes some chat leads.

An effective chat program can convert about a half a percent of unique visits to leads, and a stellar program can get up around one percent. But what is a quality chat lead? It’s one in which the shopper actually said they would like someone from the dealership to contact them, not one in which the email or phone was hijacked. Here are three weasel tricks to capture contact info:

1. What is your email address in case we get disconnected? It’s a viable phone up technique, but asking for contact information up front risks the shopper bouncing out and certainly isn’t an OPT-IN lead.
2. Would you like a transcript of this chat conversation? Again, this is hardly an OPT-IN lead, and can you even call it a lead?
3. Requiring name and email before the chat even starts. This is REALLY NOT a lead! Would you ask for a shopper’s phone number and email the moment they walked on your lot? The same applies to a website chat conversation. If you give them a good experience with chat, you will earn their information and an  INVITATION to contact them with more information and to start your selling process.

Handing names harvested this way to a dealer hardly constitutes a lead, and yet that’s what happens. In fact not only is this not a true lead, but can actually create a hostile relationship with shoppers who were misled into giving up their info and start receiving emails or phone numbers out of the blue. Furthermore, gathering information this way and making contact risks violating federal and state laws in the U.S. and Canada.

One of the key appeals of live chat for auto shoppers is the ability to shop with anonymity, and pushing for contact information up front or weaseling information out of them violates this premise. Just like on the lot or the phone, if you help buyers with their journey to purchase a vehicle, they will open up with not only personal contact information, but insight into their needs and wants that can help you move them closer to a purchase.

Managed chat and chat software give dealers a great way to start the sales conversation with shoppers, but how it is set up is a major factor in its success – or failure on dealership websites.

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Tom LaPointe CarChat24 CHAT GURU
www.carchat24.com/ 24/7 Interactive Automotive Dealer Website LIVE CHAT Solutions Hosted or In-House Options – FREE web chat software 727-638-0195

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with nearly 20 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He has been involved with the internet from the beginning, 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 BDC / internet sales and viral marketing.

Just like in the 90’s when shoppers wouldn’t lease because they had already had a bad experience with is, such is the situation with auto dealers adding QUALITY chat to their dealership websites.

“We tried chat and it didn’t work for us”

Again and again we hear that chat didn’t work. But like leasing, it depends on the structure and the company with which you partner. There are dozens of nuances that affect the success of live chat, including, software, customer interface, operator console and tools, scripting, and much more. Just like a little tweak can make a massive difference in a Major League Baseball player’s batting success, little things can make a HUGE difference in chat.

Here are five ways to unintentionally blow up your chance of success with chat:

1. Slow or no response to chat request (including OFFLINE notice)
2. Demanding too much info too soon (name, contact info, department)
3. Robotic or illogical responses
4. Too much delay in conversation
5. Bad information or (worse) lying

Regardless of the time and money to implement live chat or any other website service, the last thing you want is for it to self-destruct for these or any other reasons. To ensure your dealership has a chat strategy that can get you as many leads and (most importantly) car sales, be sure to shop carefully, compare return on investment, and examine reviews. Chat can be a great website tool when steps are taken to protect from a nuclear catastrophe.

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.

Have you ever been to Starbucks at 11 p.m. when it closes and seen the number of people still on their tablet or laptop?

Once a novel technology that gave internet auto shoppers a novel way to communicate with the dealership, live chat, and especially managed chat, has become a viable source of additional auto sales leads for the sales team.

Does it surprise you that there are now more posts on Instagram then on Facebook? The younger generation doesn’t even make time to fill in a Facebook update – do you think they are going to take the time to fill in a form. Having live chat available around the clock for your customers is one way to get a leg up on the competition, because people like to know there is a live person at the other end of the line, even if that line is a chat conversation.

Today’s car shoppers are more impatient than ever, and not just when it comes to getting the ‘best price’. We even see chat conversations in which people click the chat button to ask for the dealership phone number, when the chat icon is NEXT TO THE PHONE NUMBER. They don’t even want to read far enough down the page to find the number.

How about at the airport early in the morning waiting for a flight. THESE are some of the people you are missing by only having chat during ‘business hours’. Our data show that 30% of chat conversations happen after hours and on Sundays. The internet auto shopper has evolved, and your website chat should evolve to meet their needs – and help you sell more cars!

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.

Selling cars can be a challenging venture. You hope someone comes in to buy, then try to convince them your product and your dealership are their best choice.

I have great admiration for entrepreneurs, especially ones trying to carve a niche in the automotive vendor space. To find success, you have to have a hook, a new way to look at old challenges, and inspire dealers and / or management teams to buy into your concept.

At the end of the day, though, it isn't specifically about the semantics of calling it steps to the sale or the road to the sale, selling a car is about connecting with PEOPLE - one at a time and in a manner that builds a relationship. If that isn't part of the 'selling process' than selling a car is more akin to being on the highway to hell!

If you can't connect with your buyer on a human level, you are literally just a number - the price you give them. Therefore, the best way to sell a car is to Keep it Simple, Silly - or KISS.
Whether it's in the showroom, over the phone, or through internet communication, selling a car still comes down to several factors:

• First, get in front of a customer - that may mean asking for referrals, work the service drive or call orphan owners while your fellow salespeople are busy complaining about management and the economy
• Find out the buyers wants, needs, and purchase ability (everyone wants navi, but not everyone can fit it in their budget)
• Determine the SPECIFIC vehicle the customer would like to purchase. More than half buy a vehicle different than their original search!
• Make every effort to have a demonstration drive with YOU, the BUYER, and the CAR they want. This gives them an emotional connection to the car and a human connection with you, even if you have to bring the vehicle to their work or home, subject to your dealer's policies and safety concerns.
• Here is a KISS secret: ask for the sale! Call it a 'closing question', 'trial close' or whatever, you need them to say 'YES, I / WE WANT THIS CAR, if the terms are acceptable. Did I mention, get a purchase commitment?
• Agree to pricing and trade value, then give the buyer a great delivery experience they will tell their friends about on social media.
• Finally, if you want to ensure your sales business is strong next year and subsequent years, STAY IN TOUCH. Find every reason to call them...that's CALL THEM every few months. Sure an occasional email is good, too, but nothing replaces a call. Birthdays, purchase anniversaries, time change...these are all reasons to ring their phone.

If you implement the tried and true KISS technique into your auto sales routine, you greatly increase your odds of success in the car business. This can put you on the path to success.
 

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

Dealers - this is a great graphic from the TODAY SHOW for your newsletter, Facebook, blog, or other social media. Grab a larger version of the graphic at http://www.carchat24.com/blog/dealers-hot-car-safety-graphic/

See the full article about Tennessee legalizing breaking windows to save a baby from a hot car at http://www.today.com/parents/tennessee-law-lets-you-break-hot-locked-cars-save-kids-1D79887285

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.