Internet Sales – industry averages

I just started back working at a smaller mom and pop store selling Jeep and Chrysler, where the owner and GM don't feel that the internet, internet customers, and internet marketing is valuable/viable.?. Having been at a big multi-franchise, internet savy store, I ve seen the results! Any suggestions on how to win over my new GM/owner and provide them some good data?

Has anyone tried www.autoalert.com?

This tool was developed initially for Mercedes-Benz stores. It has the ability to capture data from your DMS and matches your customers with the current Mercedes programs for the month that would put them into a new lease or retail contract with an equal or lower monthly payment with $0 out of pocket. We saw the presentation on Tuesday and were floored at the examples and results we saw. I was just wondering if anyone else had seen or used this product.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Tommy Justice
Atlanta Classic Cars Mercedes-Benz
BDM/ISM

Gerald~
Thank you for mentioning the cost / lead & cost / sold! We can always look at our #'s and be pleased with them from what we see, but not taking into consideration the expense of the lead itself! Your information is taken into consideration. Keeping track in the amount of the lead and the leads you had sold will define if the lead is being worked correctly or the lead provider is not effecient enough. They can be pricey at times, but sure pay off if they are worked right!

Some other numbers you may want to trakc would be cost/lead and cost/sold.

You want to strive to keep your cost/sold around or under $20, and cost/sold under $300. This will help ensure if you are paying for 3rd party leads and they are not producing, you will be able to trim the fat and put those monies elsewhere so they can help your bottom line. The obvious exceptions would be if your cost/sold was say $400, but your average gross was great enough to offset the higher cost. Then you can negotiate with your vendor and see if they can save you some money on your cost.

Good luck!

Gerald Hand
Internet Director
Toyota of Irving

Dan -

That is great you use the sales department as your internet team. I did that for a long time. I worked hard in the department, set the appointments, did the meet and greet with the customer and whomever the salesperson that had welcomed the customer got them. The salesman were very receptive with getting the honor of the internet customer. For they are serious buyers.
I now have 2 active salespeople in my department & they get alot of sales out through the internet. Working hard and keeping up the good work does get you further & surely pays off.

**We work hard to stay #1 in Michigan & #5 in the nation for KIA**

Jennifer Schrader
Internet Sales Manager
Williams KIA

We also use our Sales Department as our Internet Team. We are positioned in an Automall in Cincinnati, Ohio. These are statistics for a combination Mazda-Kia dealership.

Appt/Leads = 30%
Appt/Kept = 50%
Appt/Sold = 50%

We consistently close at about 8% on purely internet leads. We do not take phone calls from our website or third party vendors into consideration.

I had to go back an tally up some numbers here. I use my sales floor as my "internet sales" department and my apppointments to sold ratio get mixed in with the rest of the numbers.

Appointment to leads set = 42% (most of our leads are phone calls)

Appointments kept = 72%

Appointments Sold = 78%

Being a Mercedes dealer, my appointments kept are usually very good. I have a strong sales team to achieve the 78-82% Appts Sold. I agree with Bobby Harris that the manufacture your selling can effect these numbers but most of all it's your followup process. Are you confirming appointments? Do your sales people TO at the right time, are your managers strong closers?

After seeing the percentages for the appointments made, kept & sold, I am impressed with the varities. I am the Internet Manager & BDC Director for Williams KIA. Ensuring the following up process with the leads will make a large difference. If you want a department to be successful and to work right, you need to have the right person running it and the right team to follow through with it.
Set/Kept - 81%
Kept/Sold - 61%

Overal holding 19%

Good luck to you all!

As a former BDC director I can tell you your appt kept and sold ratios are right in line however, your appt set ratio is too low. It should be around 37% and you should be able to maintain the same show and sales ratio. My suspicion is that the dept is not following up on leads often or long enough.

Chrysler & Jeep is our brands. Nashville Metro area. Right now I am doing:
22% Set appt
of that 60% keep appt
of that 53% sold
7% overall lead to sold ratio

Anyone know of any reports/studies showing this type of data for the industry?

Thanks in advance.

I think the Brand of vehicle you're selling comes into play as well.

My overall numbers are as follows:

* Lead to Appt ratio%
around 40+%
* Appointment Kept %
around 60%
* Appointment to sale ratio
around 50%
Overall about 8-9%

BUT I have a GM franchise and a Mazda franchise. When you break out Mazda everything changes because Mazda as a brand and their customers are more internet saavy.

This is after 2 months with me working my system.

My own feeling is that the salesperson who gets the customer when they arrive is a HUGE determining factor in whether or not you make a deal.

All these numbers can vary greatly depending on a lot of things-- lead source, your internet manager, time of the month/year; and remember you probably won't see these numbers the first 30 days, but here's some rough averages I've seen:

* Lead to Appt ratio%
around 25+% -- with the type of customers I have in my competitive market, people typically make an appointment they'll keep.
* Appointment Kept %
around 80%
* Appointment to sale ratio
around 80%

My lead to sale ratio is right at 17%, and some of these customers (like one I'm working now) have all but signed papers before even coming in. I don't count those as appointments per my CRM.