Comments on: Will the Internet sales department fade away? http://www.dealerrefresh.com/will-the-internet-sales-department-fade-away/ Obstacles, Observations and Opinions of an Automotive Internet Sales Manager Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:45:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: umer farooq http://www.dealerrefresh.com/will-the-internet-sales-department-fade-away/comment-page-1/#comment-531 umer farooq Fri, 04 May 2007 19:45:27 +0000 http://dealerrefresh.groovecommerce.com/?p=189#comment-531 Yes about time for the separate department/coordinator to fade out. I have been on a quite a few website training calls where the coordinator just wants to hog the internet deparment, not share the leads and do the follow up's himself. Doesn't want anyone else to get the training on how to manage the inventory online or how the ILM works... Silly you... what will happen when you are on Vaction or Sick?? I have to agree with Alex.. you have to do proper follow-up and data-mine... but to mine that data you need the correct and up to date data. Amazing that most dealers DMS systems do not even have up-to-date inventory or customer information. Further to mine that data you must have full access to it... it is your data and you own it... not the DMS provider. So please support Open Secure Access. www.opensecureaccess.com. Regards, Farooq Yes about time for the separate department/coordinator to fade out. I have been on a quite a few website training calls where the coordinator just wants to hog the internet deparment, not share the leads and do the follow up’s himself. Doesn’t want anyone else to get the training on how to manage the inventory online or how the ILM works… Silly you… what will happen when you are on Vaction or Sick??

I have to agree with Alex.. you have to do proper follow-up and data-mine… but to mine that data you need the correct and up to date data. Amazing that most dealers DMS systems do not even have up-to-date inventory or customer information. Further to mine that data you must have full access to it… it is your data and you own it… not the DMS provider.

So please support Open Secure Access. http://www.opensecureaccess.com.

Regards,
Farooq

]]> By: Andrew Salamone http://www.dealerrefresh.com/will-the-internet-sales-department-fade-away/comment-page-1/#comment-530 Andrew Salamone Thu, 03 May 2007 18:01:24 +0000 http://dealerrefresh.groovecommerce.com/?p=189#comment-530 In the near-term, I think Alex is right about the issue of GM's effectively following-up and data-mining. We have been in this space for over 12 years and that has been a somewhat consistent issue. There are certainly very successful exceptions and we are seeing more and more of them over time, yet they still represent a minority of the whole. With the convergence of technologies, and a younger generation moving in, we may start to see a shift. The kids having txt-speed contests with their friends today (whom have grown up surrounded by these technologies) will eventually be representative of the majority of the workplace; unlike today. Not only will there be a more tech-savvy workplace, but as the technologies themselves improve it will be easier to stay on top of things with less effort. That's where we try to help : ) It will be interesting to see how the future unfolds. -- Andrew Salamone carsgofaster.com In the near-term, I think Alex is right about the issue of GM’s effectively following-up and data-mining. We have been in this space for over 12 years and that has been a somewhat consistent issue.

There are certainly very successful exceptions and we are seeing more and more of them over time, yet they still represent a minority of the whole.

With the convergence of technologies, and a younger generation moving in, we may start to see a shift. The kids having txt-speed contests with their friends today (whom have grown up surrounded by these technologies) will eventually be representative of the majority of the workplace; unlike today.

Not only will there be a more tech-savvy workplace, but as the technologies themselves improve it will be easier to stay on top of things with less effort. That’s where we try to help : )

It will be interesting to see how the future unfolds.
–
Andrew Salamone
carsgofaster.com

]]> By: Alex Snyder http://www.dealerrefresh.com/will-the-internet-sales-department-fade-away/comment-page-1/#comment-529 Alex Snyder Thu, 03 May 2007 17:38:47 +0000 http://dealerrefresh.groovecommerce.com/?p=189#comment-529 Our "Internet Department" (a non-BDC-like department) lasted from 1997 to July of 2006. In our larger stores we had a BDC-like Internet Department since late 2004. Up until that point, our BDC's were separate from the Internet Departments. We had also been through 6 different department models ranging from a selling Internet Coordinator/Manager per store to a completely centralized Internet/BDC solution for our entire company (current model). If the idea that the traditional Internet Department is dead because those departments have been integrated into a BDC-like environment, then I have to agree. Of course, this will not be as evident the case for single-point dealers, but I do believe a mixed phone/Internet department is the way to go. I have heard people take things a step further by saying the BDC's will go away as CRM systems get better and better - it will once again become a salesperson's responsibility to follow and harvest the incoming analog and digital business. I think this will never happen. For the same reason the Internet Departments and BDC's exist today is the same reason why they will exist tomorrow: salespeople, salesmanagers, and GM's will not effectively follow-up and data-mine. Will the BDC/Internet model change again? I don't know. Technology changes too often to make that prediction. Our “Internet Department” (a non-BDC-like department) lasted from 1997 to July of 2006. In our larger stores we had a BDC-like Internet Department since late 2004. Up until that point, our BDC’s were separate from the Internet Departments.

We had also been through 6 different department models ranging from a selling Internet Coordinator/Manager per store to a completely centralized Internet/BDC solution for our entire company (current model). If the idea that the traditional Internet Department is dead because those departments have been integrated into a BDC-like environment, then I have to agree.

Of course, this will not be as evident the case for single-point dealers, but I do believe a mixed phone/Internet department is the way to go.

I have heard people take things a step further by saying the BDC’s will go away as CRM systems get better and better – it will once again become a salesperson’s responsibility to follow and harvest the incoming analog and digital business. I think this will never happen. For the same reason the Internet Departments and BDC’s exist today is the same reason why they will exist tomorrow: salespeople, salesmanagers, and GM’s will not effectively follow-up and data-mine.

Will the BDC/Internet model change again? I don’t know. Technology changes too often to make that prediction.

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