Kelley Blue Book’s New York/New Jersey eNetwork Brunch

Where: Sheraton Suites on the Hudson
500 Harbor Boulevard
Weehawken, New Jersey 07086
201-617-5600

When: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
*Breakfast served at 8:30am – Lunch will also be provided

How Much: FREE

Who Should Attend:

Internet Managers
Used Car Managers
Marketing and Advertising Personnel
General Managers

SPACE IS LIMITED! GUARANTEE YOUR SPOT BY REGISTERING BY NOVEMBER 6th!

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Do you brand your Internet sales department so that every customer feels compelled to ask for you when they arrive at your dealer?

There’s nothing more frustrating then looking across the showroom floor only to see YOUR customer sitting at another sales persons desk signing the paperwork for their new vehicle. This is the same customer you had been corresponding via email and phone over the last several days. Why are they buying from that guy? Why didn’t they ask for you? This happens every day, and many times results into a heated conversation between the salesperson, sales manager and the Internet sales department.

Walk the higher road and let the sales floor have the deal. Take responsibility for the customer not asking for you, and instead find ways of branding yourself so when one of your next potential customers arrives at the dealer, they want nothing more than to work with you and your the Internet sales department. Here are five proven ways that are quick, easy and will help brand your Internet sales department like no other:

1. Sharpen your Image with Great Photos

Potential customers are initially on your site for one reason: Inventory. When the customer finds the vehicle they are looking for, the first thing they gravitate to are the photos. Use this opportunity to grab their attention and start branding your department.

Slide a photo of your Internet sales team members in the line of vehicle photos between the exterior and interior shots. Be sure your team photo radiates professionalism while also portraying that you’re easy-going and fun to work with. Don’t forget your glamour smile on the day of the photo shoot.

2. Leverage the Dealer-Rating Websites

A strong WBFM (“Why Buy From Me”) message can give you the competitive edge. Your customers love you — you hear it all the time about how great of an experience they had. Why not get them to share their positive experience for everyone else to read?

Condition yourself to ask every one of your customers to share their experience on one or several of the consumer or dealer-rating Web sites, such as dealerrater.com and insiderpages.com. As you build enough positive customer comments, you will now have a tremendously strong WBFM message that you can talk up to all of your potential customers.

3. Be Fearless and Build Transparency With Video

Video is yet another way of gaining the competitive edge, since most people shy away from the camera. Nothing builds transparency quicker then a few short videos of you and your team. Commit to filming several videos that distinguish the difference between you and the competition. Let your customers know you and your team are the solution to their vehicle-buying needs. Consumers are looking for the right car, just as they’re looking for the right dealer and the right person with whom to do business.

Video is easier then ever. You can certainly go high-end, buy a simple Flip Video Camcorder from Amazon or your local electronic store will do the trick. Check out videospin. com for free and easy-to-use video editing software that works great with the Flip camera.

Take your filming to next level and get your positive customer testimonials on video, as well.

4.  Master your “About Us” Page

What is the real value of your dealers “About Us” page anyways?

When a customer clicks on your “About Us” page, they are looking for a reason to do business with your dealership. For lazy reasons, most dealers ignore this page or use the default text provided by the Web site vendor.

Take advantage of this page and brand your Internet sales department to another level while cementing a relationship between you and your potential customer. Let customers see a more human side of your dealership. Remember, just because the page is labeled “About Us” doesn’t mean you get to talk the “Me, Me, Me” message. The key to great marketing is not what you say about yourself, but what your customers say about you. This is a great place to display those customer testimonial videos.

5. Don’t Forget Your Sensational Signature

This might seem like a no-brainer, but believe me, many sales people overlook this effective element for branding themselves. Every e-mail you send is yet another opportunity to brand yourself and your Internet sales department. Before you hit “send” one more time, make sure your signature line says all it needs to about you and your Internet sales department. Your signature line should include your name, job title, the name of your dealership, your direct phone line along with your cell phone number and your Web site URL. These are, of course, the obvious elements — but why not take it a step further? Include a photo of yourself, a dynamic tag line and/or a P.S. note linking the customer to your consumer ratings profile page or your new “About Us” page.

Many Internet sales managers are left to believe that you need special “Internet pricing,” a “Benefits Package” or a “Free Give Away” in order to get the customer to ask for you. Instead, sell something larger than the price of your vehicle. Sell your brand, sell your image and sell your customer what they are truly looking for. Be the rock star you are — take full ownership of your Internet sales department and find every opportunity to brand it to the max.

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AutoUSA Reports 17.6% Rebound in Truck Leads

AutoUSA, the industry’s leading provider of the highest quality Internet-generated consumer leads to auto dealers nationwide, today announced a 17.6% increase in truck leads and 11.9% drop in car leads for 3rd Quarter, 2008. Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) October 28, 2008

AutoUSA, the industry’s leading provider of the highest quality Internet-generated consumer leads to auto dealers nationwide, today announced a 17.6% increase in truck leads and 11.9% drop in car leads for 3rd Quarter, 2008.

“Truck leads decreased when gas prices shot up during the 1st and 2nd Quarter of 2008. Now that fuel costs are have declined, we’re seeing more truck inquiries,” said Phil DuPree, president of AutoUSA.

Despite the increase, truck lead volume, which includes Large Pickup, Large SUV, Small Pickup and Small SUV leads, is still down 26% YTD, driven by a fall-off in lead volume from Small SUVs (-33.6%) and Large SUVs (-27.9%).

The lead decrease in the car category of CUV, Large Car, Luxury Car and Middle Car brought total volume back to beginning of the year figures. The stop-loss was Small Car leads, up 20.6% since January. All other car leads were down YTD, including a large drop in CUVs at -14.6%.

Car lead market share, which was 82.9% in January, and grew to 89.1% in June, dropped back to 85.5% in September.

Conversely, trucks market share shrank in June (from 12.4% to 7.0%), and rebounded in September (10.0%), reflecting the stabilization of gas prices, which drew some consumers back into the trucks market.

AutoUSA provides leads to more than 4,000 dealers nationwide from a partnership network that includes leading automotive web sites including Edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book, MSN Auto, Yahoo! Autos, AOL and AutoVantage.

About AutoUSA (www.AutoUSA.com):
AutoUSA, Inc., is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a subsidiary of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), the largest retail automotive company in the United States. AutoUSA is an independent third-party provider of leads to more than 4,000 dealerships. The company has built its success on a combination of advanced web-based technology and a network that includes the country’s most well respected online automotive resources, including Edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book, MSN Autos, Yahoo! Autos, America Online, NADA Analytical Services Group, AutoVantage.com, AutoNation.com and AutoUSA.com. The vast majority of Ward’s Top 100 eDealers use AutoUSA.

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The all new DealerRefresh 3.0 is live!!

I want to THANK EVERYONE for making DealerRefresh what it is and what it has become over the last 3 years. When I started DealerRefresh, I had no idea what I was getting into; I merely wanted a place to voice my thoughts and hopefully gain a little feedback from other Internet Sales Managers. Since then, this has grown into one awesome community that has given me the privilege to meet and become friends with some truly fantastic people in this industry.

So what’s new with DealerRefresh?

As you can see, the look and layout is different BUT not extreme. I wanted to keep the overall feel the same, though you will quickly notice a few key additions like:

• Search Feature in the upper right corner (works very nice if I might say, give it a go!)

• Popular Posts right under the ad space; keeping some of your favorite articles only 1 click away.

• Better Ad Placement – I figured that would make the sponsors happy

• Added a few NEW Categories to make it easier to find what you are looking for.

• See what everyone is talking about with additional and a cleaner layout to Recent Comments.
• The addition of Alex’s mug shot. Alex has been a tremendous addition and it was time.

• I also added an Industry Announcements category to keep everyone updated on the latest Press Releases.

The biggest improvement to DealerRefresh (though not visible) is the move over to WordPress. I absolutely LOVE Typepad and would recommend to anyone that wants a personal blog but as DealerRefresh has evolved, WordPress was the obvious choice due to its flexibility.  Big thanks to Ethan and the rest of the Groove Commerce crew for a seamless transition and superior redesign.

So what do you guys think? I would love to get your feedback!

While you’re here and reading this, don’t forget there’s several way of keeping yourself updated with what’s happening on DealerRefresh.

1. Subscribe to the Newsletter
2. Get the RSS feed
3. Follow DealerRefresh on Twitter

Thanks again for everyone’s support over the last 3 years and farewell to the old DealerRefresh!

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ActivEngage (www.ActivEngage.com), the automotive industry’s premier provider of proactive live chat for dealer websites, today announced the expansion of the full-service ActivConcierge to include new features to decrease abandonment rates and increase lead submission. Since the service launched in March of this year, the company has carefully monitored the consumer traffic patterns on their dealers’ websites and listened to feedback to continuously improve and offer the most effective, comprehensive live chat service. Orlando, Florida (PRWEB) October 21, 2008

ActivEngage (www.ActivEngage.com), the automotive industry’s premier provider of proactive live chat for dealer websites, today announced the expansion of the full-service ActivConcierge to include new features to decrease abandonment rates and increase lead submission. Since the service launched in March of this year, the company has carefully monitored the consumer traffic patterns on their dealers’ websites and listened to feedback to continuously improve and offer the most effective, comprehensive live chat service.

ActivSubmit is a key component of ActivConcierge’s new enhancements to increase lead submission rates. Website abandonment rates are typically highest on “forms” pages, where site visitors can request information and submit their contact information. ActivSubmit alerts a chat representative when a site visitor begins to complete a form on the dealership website. The representative can then invite the site visitor to chat and help the person complete the form and answer any questions. Alternatively, the chat rep can get the visitor’s contact information directly through the live chat.

In addition, dealers using the expanded ActivConcierge service can now collect the data a site visitor entered on a form, even if the person does not fully complete or submit the form. As a part of the new features, chat representatives can also be alerted when site visitors are on specified pages. For example, chat reps can be notified when visitors view particular vehicle pages and offer consumers customized specials, based on their behavior at the site.

“The new enhancements are a big part of our ongoing goal of providing dealership website visitors the right message, at the right time, to increase overall lead generation,” commented Ted Rubin, ActivEngage co-founder. “Abandonment is a huge issue for dealership websites, and this is especially true on forms. The new features can dramatically improve lead submission and offer a way to really pay special attention at critical junctions in the online car buying process.”

About ActivEngage: (www.ActivEngage.com)
ActivEngage’s proprietary business logic was designed in dealerships to meet the needs of sophisticated automotive shoppers. It laser targets each website visitor with the exact right message at the exact right time to get them to take action. The system has been strenuously tested for every type of dealership. It works because the company founders have over 30 years of retail automotive and technology experience, giving ActivEngage a true 360° understanding of the needs of automotive shoppers. Partnering with ActivEngage increases lead generation and offsets the increasing marketing costs associated with the sale of new and pre-owned automobiles. ActivEngage offers three tiers of service to ensure that all website visitors’ experiences are enjoyable and uncomplicated, thereby increasing the value of dealership websites through better lead generation.

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