Based on Forbes study

• Companies take 46 hours and 53 minutes to pick up the phone and respond to a lead
• Only 1.3 attempts are made to reach a lead on average
• These factors combined lead to loss of 71% leads

Lead times are much better for the auto industry, still, there is room for improvement and valuable leads are lost due to latency around internet manager assigning a lead and then sales representative checking the lead and then calling/ texting back. With right technology and channels, dealerships can lower lead time and create a better tracking system to increase lead conversion. Here are few tips and tools that can help dealerships improve conversion rates.

Going Mobile: Desktop-based CRM adds latency and requires constant monitoring. Going for a mobile based platform to receive leads can remove the latency and improve the customer connect time by as much as 20 minutes or more.  

Calling vs Texting: Calling, on an average requires 5-10 minutes. On the other hand, with saved templates, a representative can send 20 texts in 5 minutes. This ensures that leads are reached within 5 minutes, increasing the probability to qualify a lead 21 times. And representatives can further follow up with a call if required.

Auto Lead Assignment: Manual lead assignment adds latency. Additionally, the lead might not get assigned to the sales rep who is available at that time, making the situation worse. Next-gen platforms like Braango allow leads to be broadcasted to all the representatives and available representative can grab it by replying back via call or text

Track And Refine: Next-gen customer mapping tools allow sales reps to map their progress and customer journey. They can see for themselves what worked for them and what did not, automatically increasing the awareness and motivation to make more attempts to reach a lead. Given these reports are also available to GMs, it also increases accountability on representatives’ side.

Using right technology can boost sales. Please comment on what tools and channels are preferred and are working for your dealership.