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Think Before You Sign - Third Party Lead Providers

Apr 16, 2009
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Blake
I know this is similar to many other threads but I needed to rant. :mad:

When are dealers going to stop signing up for every third party vendor. If none of us sign up, they will go away. I love what AutoNation is doing. Let’s see what happens if we stop relying on third parties for leads.

Every week there’s another company wanting our inventory and dealers can’t wait to sign up. Think before you sign! These vendors may start you out at a low introductory price, but where do you think the rate is going to go in two years.

I hear dealers everyday complain about Autotrader and Cars.com pricing, yet they’re the first to sign with new vendors. If you think paying two vendors crazy money is bad, just wait until you have five.

Please start this conversation with your 20 groups, dealer associations, and dealers. We need to make a stand now!

#ThinkBeforeYouSign
 
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✨ AI Highlights

Blake Arbogast warns dealers against signing contracts with multiple third-party lead vendors, arguing that introductory pricing inevitably increases and that dealers collectively empower these vendors by constantly adopting new services rather than building their own customer databases. The thread suggests dealers should prioritize generating their own leads and consider what AutoNation is doing as an alternative model, with a key insight that every vendor signed represents future cost escalation similar to the pricing complaints dealers already have about Autotrader and Cars.com.

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