• Stop being a LURKER - join our dealer community and get involved. Sign up and start a conversation.

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

tripdad

Green Pea
Apr 23, 2010
6
0
First Name
Jarrod
Being fairly new to the BDC side of dealerships, I am really not sure what the accepted "standards" are for lead-to-appointment set ratios.

Specifically, my BDC handles all inbound sales calls where the customer does not ask for a particular salesperson. How many appointments should we be getting for every 10 inbound calls?

We also handle all inbound internet traffic from 4 new car lines (we carry 7 overall, but do not get CDJ leads), as well as autotader/cars.com, edmonds, kbb, etc...plus our own website. Is there a general rule of thumb for leads-to-appointment set ratio? Is it different between websites? Personally, we have much better luck with contact, appointment setting, and selling Honda i-leads as compared to Ford-Mercury i-leads, and GM leads are far behind both.

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Tripdad
 
To get some of your answers, start with this thread: http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f6/internet-roi-report-902.html

As far as the phone-ups go, it depends on how well trained your staff is. We have trained individuals who have averaged 80% appointment ratios. That is on the high side and it takes a very skilled person to accomplish that. You should be able to appoint 6 out of the 10 easily. With a 60 percent show ratio (very achievable) you'll see 3-4 customers show. You can expect to close 50% of the people who show. Good dealerships with good process can close as high as 20%. 15% is respectable. Most dealers out there are well below 10% which is why they should be talking to Phone-up Ninjas. See my Ninja Calculator to see what increasing your closing ratio by 5% will do to your commissionable revenue.

Now with the Internet lead it's not as good since you can't always get them on the phone*. But if you can get them on the phone it then becomes a phone-up and the above numbers apply. Better dealers are closing anywhere from 10 - 15 percent of their Internet leads. Quality of lead source also plays a factor in this. I am sure some of the Internet managers here can provide you with more data.

* The more dials you make the more likely you are to get the customer on the phone. Most salespeople make one dial and then schedule a call for the next day at the same time. Then after a few days with no results they give up. Want to increase your chances, call within 15 minutes of receiving the lead. Try 3-4 times during the course of the day. It takes on average 9.1 dials to reach an Internet lead. Most people give up after several attempts.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Ryan.

William, I am guessing you're saying that 25% of all your phone-ups come in. I am talking about if I make the appointment what percentage of people will actually show for their appointment. In my experience it's on average about 60%. There are variables that will alter this. The larger the city, the lower the show ratio; smaller the city, the higher the show ratio. Also, the sooner the appointment the higher the show ratio. Management confirmation calls can also help increase the show ratio.
 
IMO - Lead should be defined as a unique inbound phone call or unique email lead that is valid.

40% Appts to Leads
75% of those should show
66% of those should sell

So, 100 Leads = 40 Appts = 30 Shown = 20 Sold

If you do the math, and are front to back (full) salespeople in selling, each average internet salesperson should not be receiving more than 80 fresh new leads a month.

There is a whole people/process to look at - your mileage may vary.
 
40% Appts to Leads
75% of those should show
66% of those should sell

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.
 
Some observations I have made that may apply... Internet leads...

Source is a HUGE variable... leads from the dealer website should have a much higher appointment rate than bought leads (auto usa/dealix) and the reverse applies.

A lot of purchased leads are much harder to get in for various reasons... Inventory/competition/the person was just bored at 3am on Edmunds.com (lol)

I have had tremendous success with leads from our dealer site and have struggled with bought leads, I am actually developing a completely different 'lead lifecycle" for certain bought leads just because of the difference in how they respond.

If you are able to get someone on the phone who is interested (at all) in a product you have in stock, you should be at a very high appointment rate. 70%+ I would think... I mean they want what you have, how much more could you ask for?

Now if we are talking non-responsive leads or people looking for very specific vehicles you do not have, obviously the rate will plummet.
 
Source is a HUGE variable... leads from the dealer website should have a much higher appointment rate than bought leads (auto usa/dealix) and the reverse applies.

Agree with everything you said. Spot on!

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