I stumbled across this nifty program several weeks back. I don’t want this posting to sound like a sales pitch, but if you’re tired of managing duplicate leads every month you should really consider checking into i-LeadControl.

After spending some time on the website I was intrigued and decided to make a phone call. I had a long conversation with Steve Williams (one of the owners and ALSO an Internet Sales Manager!) about his product and sat through a quick demonstration. Needless to say I was impressed and wondered why didn’t I come up with this myself?

You basically forward ALL of your leads (3rd Party leads, dealer website, AutoTrader, etc.) to i-LeadControl. As your leads pass though the system, it gathers all the information then instantaneously passes the leads along to your ILM or CRM system. i-LeadControl automatically monitors, analyzes for duplication, and documents every lead that you receive.

I get tired of tracking all of my duplicate leads (since eLead Evolution 1 does’nt have a duplicate lead report). I try to keep track of it on a day by day basis but I eventually get behind and find myself trying to track them down at the end of the month. There are a few CRM’s that do a decent job tracking your duplicate leads but most do not. And the ones that do, don’t produce and actual credit invoice that you print off and send in with your bill, saving you some money .

I’ve been on board for a a few weeks now and it’s really simple to use. The set up was easy and pulling the reports is even easier. I will say, I don’t think the lead providers are going to like this too much BUT HEY; they have been screwing the dealers for so long, now it it’s time we stand our ground and get credit for all of those duplicate leads they send us.

After speaking with Steve, I really wanted to help him get his product off the ground while letting everyone know of a program that will save us ISM’s some time and money. SO we decided to offer a "DealerRefresh Special"!! If you are interested in trying out i-LeadControl, DealerRefresh readers get $100.00 OFF the setup fee.

The normal set-up fee is usually $499.99 but IF YOU MENTION DealerRefresh you get your set-up fee at a reduced rate of $399.99.

If you have a few questions before calling, you can
read the FAQ’s about i-LeadControl. I recommend taking 5 minutes and sitting through a demo to see if it works for you.

www.ileadcontrol.com

Screen shot of a duplicate lead report.

Screen shot of a generated invoice that you send it with your bill.

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Are any of you using embedded video clips within your emails for your internet sales process?  If so, where are you hosting the videos?

Are you running into problems with spam filters?

What do you put in your videos?

Many thanks for any insight!

Kevin Frye
eCommerce Director – Jeff Wyler Automotive Family

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Corey Mosley is apparently declaring a state of emergency for automotive dealerships across the country. After completing a series of mystery shops nationally, Corey said “It’s enough to make a guy want to retire and run the other way”.

I’ve never performed a nationwide mystery shop but do shop several of my local and competitive dealers and it’s amazing to find how inconsistent most dealers are. The 3 day rule seems to be the average follow-up time frame most dealers / sales people stick with. I know some of my sales people are at times guilty of this. This is where a strong BDC effort needs to come into play, just a simple 5 day PR phone call can make a nice difference.

Here is the complete article and a
link to the original.

Internet Sales State of Emergency – by Cory L. Mosley

This month I bring some grim news, after completing a series of mystery shops nationally I must declare a state of emergency for automotive dealerships across the country. It is seriously alarmed that an overwhelming percentage of dealerships do not brand their dealership, make phone calls to contact prospects, don’t believe in follow-up past 3 days, and just plain ole’ don’t get it! It’s enough to make a guy want to retire and run the other way. The icing on the cake however was the amount of general managers and dealer principals that did not want to see their stores results and/or didn’t want to do anything about fixing the problems. Deficiency of knowledge is one thing, but a desire to not fix a problem that in the long run will cost a dealership millions of dollars in lost front end, back end, and service grosses is just plain ole’ astonishing. The one fun part about having your own newsletter is that you can be as direct as you want, so here it is.

10 questions to ask yourself regarding your commitment to Internet sales success:

1. Does my dealership have a clear vision of the expectations for the Internet?
2. Other than buying products from vendors, what investment have I made to
   ensure the success of my dealerships Internet department?
3. What investment have I made in my Internet personnel (for dealer or GM)?
4. What investment has my dealership made in me? (for Internet/BDC sales professional)?
5. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, what is the overall value I put on the Internet department at my dealership?
6. Do I believe we are maximizing our Internet sales opportunities and if not what am I doing to change that?
7. What is holding me back from embracing the Internet customer or taking my Internet sales efforts to the next level?
8. If I am not going to invest in building a successful Internet operation
   then what is my game plan to control the sales I will be losing to my
   competitors?
9. Is it possible that I have to reevaluate my belief system in regards to the Internet customer?
10. Do I want help filling the gaps in my Internet sales results?

The industry is gearing up for the summer selling season, let’s make sure we make the most out it! Don’t we all deserve it?

Any Feedback?

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I do apologize, I need to make a more conscience to inform everyone of up and coming training seminars, whether it’s online webinars or actual seminars. So, to start off this new effort I want to let everyone know the Dealer Synergy “Internet Sales Bootcamp”. Here are the details:

Dealer Synergy is very excited to announce its alliance with NCM 20 groups, the most prestigious 20 groups in the country. Sean V. Bradley is the official Instructor and designer of the new NCM Bootcamp, "Internet Sales Bootcamp".

May 15 – 17th in Atlanta Georgia, its going to be an intense two and half days.

“We guarantee that if you attend this seminar and implement our solutions, you will sell more cars, more profitably and more often.”

 

Until Monday, NCM is offering an early bird special at $1995.00. After Monday the price goes up to $2495.00.

I have no doubt it will be worth every penny. Sean is an excellent speaker and really knows his stuff. 

For more information
here is the PDF that you can view and print or

sign up for the “Internet Sales Bootcamp” at the NCM website.

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I’m curious as to how various dealerships are counting Internet deals for pay?

We use a simple system:  If a customer submits an Internet Inquiry, we require either a direct phone conversation with the customer be logged into our CRM or have two email responses from the customer.  We also count phone calls that originate from various web sites/lead generators as deals worthy for compensation in the Internet department.  Basically, it is an Internet deal when either two emails or a phone call are logged in the CRM.  My staff is only paid on sold units that they had a provable hand in selling, and we audit the inputs into the CRM.

From speaking to many other dealers over the past few years it sounds like we are a bit more stringent in this area than others.

Alex Snyder
Director of eCommerce – Checkered Flag Motor Car Corp.

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