4 Ways to Make More Money with Pay-Per-Lead

Guest Posting by Mat Koenig

What do you think about when you hear the words ‘pay-per-lead’?

If you’re like many dealers that I talk to you probably just said something like: “They aren’t doing that great and we’re looking at what we can cut.”

What would you think if I told you that a five franchise dealer in Southwest Michigan buys leads from every lead provider available for his five franchises and has massive success with every single source?

Sounds crazy right?

What does this dealer do? What are his secrets? Is he really successful with every source? What is his process? Nobody sells that many cars from pay-per-lead products do they?

When I asked my friend how many sales he got from his pay-per-lead products he said: “It doesn’t really matter if they buy from me right now or not.” This made no sense to me at first but once you understand what my friend is doing you may change the way you look at pay-per-lead products forever too.

Money Maker Option 1 – Sell them a car

Obviously most of us look for the quick buck on your pay-per-lead purchases right? The first way to make money is the one that we’re all trying to accomplish now: Get a lead, follow a process and try to sell a car.  This is why pay-per-lead products exist isn’t it? In a word; YES! While selling them a car is the fastest way to get a return on your investment, it’s not the only way to make money though.

Money Maker Option 2 – Get them into service

When my buddy told me that he didn’t care if they bought a car or not I have to admit, I thought the stress of the business was finally causing him to lose his mind. Then he explained why the immediate sales aren’t his only concern.

About 8 years ago I was at a Joe Verde workshop where one of Joe’s trainers said: “67% of all service customers who are surveyed said that they would like to purchase their vehicle from the same place that they service it.”

Using that philosophy my friend doesn’t get upset if his pay-per-lead customers buy from another dealership because he immediately sets them up on his service department email list as well as their list for mailing service coupons, etc. If they come in and have one minor service done on their new car my friend has recovered his initial cost for the lead.

If they keep servicing with him, he will keep making money on that $25 dollar lead for as long as they have the car. Plus, if he continues to service them well, he may earn their business in the future which brings us to option 3.

Money Maker Option 3 – Future Sales & Direct Mail

Let’s assume that the average consumer still buys about 12 vehicles in their lifetime. Let’s assume that they have already bought ½ of those by the time they send that lead to you. Wouldn’t this still mean that you have the opportunity to sell them six more cars?

If you follow up with the customer as if you had sold them a car, it will increase your chance of earning their business on future sales. Let’s face it, most dealers don’t have a good personalized follow up process that goes beyond 90 days so if you just follow up with them and prospect you could earn their business.

My friend said that he uses his pay-per-lead names for his direct mail campaigns rather than buying by region or zip code.  He said: “Mat, why would I buy random names of people who might want my products that might still live in my area and might be in the market for a car? I’d rather spend $25 on people who are within driving distance who have shown interest in my product. This gives me a much higher quality opportunity with my direct mail and keeps me from wasting money on people who may not even exist.”

Money Maker Option 4 – Think beyond the lead sender

Many of us only think about the person who actually sent the lead to the dealership but that is just flat selling ourselves short on the true opportunity available.

While the lead sender still has a few purchases left in their lifetime, isn’t it possible that they also have others in the household that will need a vehicle in the future? If that’s true, couldn’t they also have friends, or family outside of the home, that will be buying cars in the future?

If you follow up with all of your lead senders on a regular cycle you may be able to establish a relationship with them even if they didn’t purchase a car from you.

If you connect them with your service department it’s even better because they will already have a relationship with your dealership.

Let’s say the lead sender purchased a vehicle elsewhere but you make a note in your CRM to follow up in two and a half months. Let’s say that you make that call and offer to set them up for an oil change at your dealership.

After that oil change, wouldn’t it be a perfect opportunity to do a service department survey and update your records? How many drivers…how many vehicles…of the drivers who’s next?

I know that there are going to be some people reading this thinking: “Geez this seems like a lot of work to do on someone who is a $25 lead.”

Let me say this: You are correct.

In today’s economy however, if we really want to be successful and create ongoing growth for our business, isn’t it worth it to work a little smarter and a little harder?

That $25 lead could potentially turn into another six sales, a lifetime of service business and unlimited referrals and who knows, you may even get an immediate sale too.

About the Author: Mat Koenig is a 12 year veteran in the Automotive industry and is currently serving as a Sales Training Manager for Cars.com.