Which third-party lead sources are still worth the money?

[KennySmithAutoUnite]

Going through our lead bills again and wanted to compare notes.

Cars.com, CarGurus, Autotrader/KBB, TrueCar, OEM leads, whatever you have in the mix.

Not looking to beat anybody up. Some of these work in one market and fall flat in another.

What are you guys running right now?

Roughly what are you paying, and what are they really producing after the duplicates?

I’m less interested in CPL than appointments, shows, sold units and cost per sold.

Which sources are still worth the money?

Which ones are on the bubble?

Anybody cut one recently and realize you didn’t miss it or cut one and regret it?

Rough numbers are fine.

 

[Dan Sayer]

Going through our lead bills again and wanted to compare notes.

Cars.com, CarGurus, Autotrader/KBB, TrueCar, OEM leads, whatever you have in the mix.

Not looking to beat anybody up. Some of these work in one market and fall flat in another.

What are you guys running right now?

Roughly what are you paying, and what are they really producing after the duplicates?

I’m less interested in CPL than appointments, shows, sold units and cost per sold.

Which sources are still worth the money?

Which ones are on the bubble?

Anybody cut one recently and realize you didn’t miss it or cut one and regret it?

Rough numbers are fine.

@KennySmithAutoUnite would you just clarify whether you're a dealer or vendor? This question you posed is great, but just wondering the line between your interest in these answers as a dealer going through your expenses or the AutoUnite lens as a vendor researching what dealers are using? Thanks!

 

[KennySmithAutoUnite]

Dan, fair question. Both. This came from the dealer side.

I’m a GM with Safford Automotive Group and have been in the business about 20 years. We’re looking at our own lead spend, duplicates, appointments, sold units, and whether each source is still earning its place.

I’m also building AutoUnite, so of course I’m paying attention from that side too. It’s still in development, and I’m not trying to turn this into a pitch. I wanted to hear what other stores are actually seeing because the same source can work in one market and fall flat in another.

 

[Dan Sayer]

Dan, fair question. Both. This came from the dealer side.

I’m a GM with Safford Automotive Group and have been in the business about 20 years. We’re looking at our own lead spend, duplicates, appointments, sold units, and whether each source is still earning its place.

I’m also building AutoUnite, so of course I’m paying attention from that side too. It’s still in development, and I’m not trying to turn this into a pitch. I wanted to hear what other stores are actually seeing because the same source can work in one market and fall flat in another.

Excellent, and thanks for your transparency. You're in the right forum! I'll post our data after my day settles down.