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Lead-to-appointment set ratios. Internet/Phone ups

Like I said in a similar thread, I would like to see the CRM companies develop a master report with appointment and close ratios on different lead providers.

Dealersocket has one.

It's time dealers start holding some of these companies accountable.

Its been time, forever, dealers are just historically lazy and throw more money at the problem.
 
I'm going to change direction, and go ahead and post some numbers...3 months worth. Hopefully, others will do the same, and we can all get a good idea of the averages so that we can set goals for improvement. Here goes...

Phone ups:

61% appointments set
68% shown (of those set)

So, out of 100 phone ups, we have 41-42 customers in the door. They meet with the sales manager, and are flipped to a salesman. The salesman is pre-determined before the customer arrives, and is responsible for prepping the car of interest if there is one.

Internet leads:

18% appointments set
81% shown (of those set)

So, out of 100 internet leads, we have 14-15 customers in the door. The same process as above applies.

Overall, the dealership has closed 44% of those who show for an appt.

I know the internet numbers are below what everyone says they should be. I am taking steps to improve this number, the biggest one being that we are scheduling more phone calls earlier in the process than we had. There is also an issue with a pop-up coupon on our website that doesn't require a vehicle selection or phone number or e-mail address. So, I might get a lead that looks like this:

Name: John Smith
Phone:
E-mail: [email protected]
Vehicle of interest: SUV


Regards,
Tripdad
 
Phone ups:

61% appointments set
68% shown (of those set)

So, out of 100 phone ups, we have 41-42 customers in the door. They meet with the sales manager, and are flipped to a salesman. The salesman is pre-determined before the customer arrives, and is responsible for prepping the car of interest if there is one.

Your phone-up numbers look pretty good. As far as Internet goes I think there's room for improvement. The more dials you make the more likely you are to make contact eventually. Also consider doing some of these e-mails with the embedded videos. Or a walk around video on pre-owned vehicles.
 
I am not talking about for one dealership, I am talking about looking at all the data from all the dealerships that use their CRM tool and then compiling a master report. Now that would be some good data. If they have a report like that I would love to see the data. Shellie, you here?

A CRM vendor just called me and they love the idea, they are going to consider doing this. I suggested they publicly display the results each month. I really hope this happens.
 
Drew, I have to disagree with some of your numbers. 40% appointment ratio is average at best. 40% might be more an Internet lead. I've seen dealerships double that number when talking phone-ups. 75% show ratio is achievable in some cases, but on the high side. 66% closing ratio might happen when the stars are aligned and the incentives are off the charts. Generally closing ratios are 50% or less. I know these numbers well from looking at yearly data from the CRM reports of reputable dealerships. I once compiled a master report for all the CRM clients using iMagicLab and came up with the numbers I mentioned above.

I think what Drew was referring to were web leads. Depending on who is handling the leads...ie..CRC personnel or a salesperson will determine numbers to look at. For web leads handled by a CRC person you should strive for 40% appt to lead, 75% show and 65% close. That will give you about a 20% close rate. Of course different sources will vary but overall if you are achieving those numbers you are well above the average.

For a salesperons handling leads from cradle to grave you shold expect a lower appt to lead, same show rate and a higher close rate...

Your phone numbers look fine...
 
IFor web leads handled by a CRC person you should strive for 40% appt to lead, 75% show and 65% close. That will give you about a 20% close rate.

The dealers I have seen close 20% on web leads had a higher appointment percentage. Achieving 75% show and 66% close in conjunction would be very difficult. I am not doubting that 20% is achievable, the appointment percentage needs to be higher. That is accomplished with an effective follow-up campaign using both e-mail, video and phone.
 
Here's a more realistic approach to closing 20%.

April you get 100 leads with the following results:

40% appointment ratio = 40 appointments
65% show rate = 26 people show
50% close rate = 13 sales

May you get 100 leads with the following results:

40% appointment ratio = 40 appointments, plus you get 22 people from previous months to appoint since you've been doing outstanding follow-up. That would be appointing 12% of April's customers and 10% from March or prior months.
65% show rate = 40 people show
50% close rate = 20 sales
 
50% seems really low for a close %...

I would think it should be closer to the 70%-80% range... with the exceptions being people looking for specific packages you do not have in stock or the occasional unreasonable price shopper (qualifying them should have eliminated this).

If you have the vehicle the person wants in stock it should be a 90%+ close...

Sure there are times when you just can't close someone but I would have to take a long look in the mirror if I had a customer come in to look at the right car and not spot/sell them.