How Is Your Internet Department Setup?

[ajholland]

I'm looking for some feedback or advice from anyone regarding the structure of your Internet Departments or thoughts on mine. I have 6 locations, 1 of which is about 30 miles from all of the rest. When I started we had 1-2 Consultants at each store who worked the floor and serviced internet leads when they weren't needed on the floor. Phone tracking was non-existent except for me listening to every call every month.
We then moved to have 2 Internet Sales Coordinators handling all of the incoming internet produced phone ups and leads. Their goal is to answer, follow up, and set appointments for Sales Consultants at each location. At this point, I am not convinced this model is working. It just doesn't seem efficient.
If anyone has a model that they have found works really well for a similar size dealer group I would really be interested in hearing about.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Alex Snyder]

Is a centralized BDC a possibility?

 

[Jeff Kershner]

I think you need to keep working on the set up you have.

"2 Internet Sales Coordinators handling all of the incoming internet produced phone ups and leads" - I've used this model across several stores with success.

"Their goal is to answer, follow up, and set appointments for Sales Consultants at each location" - here could be your issue. I would have you 2 Internet Sales Coordinators place ALL appointments on a welcome board in the front of the showroom floor BUT more importantly ALL appointments need to be scheduled for a manager. The Manager MUST call to confirm the appointment.

Allowing the Coordinators to have relationships with the sales people on that level, rarely works out.

Pay of course is always a driving factor as well.

 

[Matt DoCampo]

I have two stores with two different setups:

Store A: Single ISM (ME!) handing all internet leads, follow up and appointment setting. Appointments are turned over to floor when the customer arrives. All internet phone ups are pointed to the generic sales line and are handled by whichever salesperson picks up first.

Store B: Sales Manager distributes leads on a round robin basis to all sales people. They handle the lead cradle to grave. I peek in on leads from time to time to make sure they are following our lead process. Internet phone ups are handled the same way as Store A.

 

[joe.pistell]

I think you need to keep working on the set up you have.

"2 Internet Sales Coordinators (ISC) handling all of the incoming internet produced phone ups and leads" - I've used this model across several stores with success. .

JK,
What are your experiences with the ISC being off site (working for multi-roofs) vs having them on site? Are the ISC's results stronger when on-site? ISC onsite with an in-person greeting and handoff looks like it would create a higher show/close ratio. What are your thoughts here?

If it's offsite, I can see how critical the manager hand-off is and how important the manager call becomes.

Also, How many leads a month can an ISC work?

 

[ajholland]

Alex, we are attempting to have a centralized BDC. The problem I am facing is because of the budget I have been given, my two ISC have no car experience. They really can't talk price except for what's on the sticker. They are walking distance to three locations, two are about a mile away, and 1 is 30 miles away. The appointments being sent to the manager is an interesting idea. It is just taking a long time to get my people the knowledge of all the makes and models we carry. If I had been given a bigger budget, I could have brought experienced sales consultants.

What do you guys think about having an Internet closer who works next to the ISCs and takes all of the appointments?

 

[joe.pistell]

AJ, phone training expert Jerry T is a regular here. He's got a gal with nearly ZERO experience doing quite well.

Jerry T! Where are you? Post a link to your new gal's recorded results

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

AJ, phone training expert Jerry T is a regular here. He's got a gal with nearly ZERO experience doing quite well.

Jerry T! Where are you? Post a link to your new gal's recorded results

Right here Uncle Joe! Yes Carey is doing quite well and her GM is very happy, Here is a link to that thread

Thanks for the plug Joe! Mr. Holland and I have spoken a few times and I am hoping he comes on as a client soon.

 

[Alex Snyder]

Alex, we are attempting to have a centralized BDC. The problem I am facing is because of the budget I have been given, my two ISC have no car experience. They really can't talk price except for what's on the sticker. They are walking distance to three locations, two are about a mile away, and 1 is 30 miles away. The appointments being sent to the manager is an interesting idea. It is just taking a long time to get my people the knowledge of all the makes and models we carry. If I had been given a bigger budget, I could have brought experienced sales consultants.

What do you guys think about having an Internet closer who works next to the ISCs and takes all of the appointments?

Sorry about the very tardy response AJ.

I wouldn't look at your people lacking car experience as a problem - the glass is half full ....this is an opportunity to train them right! I actually prefer to hire people without any car experience because the car people typically have bad habits that carry into the department and infect the whole thing. I've lived through that twice.

Empower your BDC reps with a price range. It could be as simple as giving them all the invoices for every car and the sales manager or GM of that store giving a range over invoice they can quote down to. This is how it is done at Checkered Flag.

The key to the whole thing is the communication channel to the sales managers. You have to make sure they're bought-in and then the sales managers will help the department succeed.

With a phone and email, distance makes zero difference. The Checkered Flag BDC is within a few stairs of one sales and service manager, but they're too busy to make that trek. A phone call or email saying "mind looking at this customer in CRM?" is how they operate when things go beyond the pricing guide the stores provide the BDC or when they're having a tough time explaining a particular service/maintenance to a customer.

By the way, when we started the BDC (roughly 6 years ago) it was easier and less painful to pull my own teeth out than it was to get a sales manager to provide any assistance. But in quick order they started to understand and value the new accountability they had in the BDC. Today, many sales managers have new pricing to the BDC for ta new month before they've even figured out what they personally made in the previous month. It is a first thing on their priority list and it wasn't forced on them - they just do it :thumbup:

P.S. I'll plug Jerry too - I bet he can do a great job on helping you train and find the proper incentive for your BDC staff.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

JK,
What are your experiences with the ISC being off site (working for multi-roofs) vs having them on site? Are the ISC's results stronger when on-site? ISC onsite with an in-person greeting and handoff looks like it would create a higher show/close ratio. What are your thoughts here?

If it's offsite, I can see how critical the manager hand-off is and how important the manager call becomes.

Also, How many leads a month can an ISC work?

Joe, there are pros and cons to both setups but from my experience, if you can find the right people, having the ISC onsight works best and offers some nice advantages.

Out of sight out of mind. The key is the relationship not just with the customer but also with management. When the ISC/BDC is off site it becomes just that..the ISC/BDC department and not so much part of the "TEAM". When the ISC is scheduling appointments for the sales managers and closely working with them, a relationship comes about. Too many times would I see the off site fail due to not having total buy-in from the dealer and management.

As you pointed out - the "hand-off" with the off site ISC can be a tricky situation and when the communication is lacking, it becomes a he said / she said. Too many times, a customer builds a relationship with the initial person of contact and seeing that friendly face when they arrive can make all the difference as they are introduced to a sales manager. A simple "thank you for coming in, let me introduce you to my sales manager - can I get you something to drink?" can go along way in getting the customer feeling comfortable. This is something you don't get with an off site ISC.

Off site ISC vs NO ISC - Give me the off site and I'll make it work.

If you go Off Site - it's imperative that your team make frequent trips to the dealer and sits in on meetings to help establish rapport between the 2 departments. Appointments MUST be scheduled for the managers (this goes for onsite and off).

How many leads a month? I would keep it to around 150-200.

For shit and giggles and example purposes only...

150 this month
- 15 to 20 sales average
- 30 non buyers / bogus
- 10-20 bought elsewhere
70 still remaining to be worked

150 next month
- 15 to 20 sales average
- 30 non buyers / bogus
- 10-20 bought elsewhere
70 still remaining to be worked

You now have 140 from the previous months (estimating) and another month about to start.

This all depends on your long term follow-up process as well.