Thank you Clay for the insight.
If you are successful marketing your cars and inventory, then you won't have a need for our site. But as you say, you don't want to miss any opportunity out their either.
As for only buying the best lead, how is that determined? How big the website is that you're buying from or how quickly the lead turns into a prospect and showroom appointment?
As for being as big as Cars.com or Edmunds, that will take time. Rome was not built in a day, we just launched and we launched on a small scale just to test the waters.
Again, you misread and misinterpreted what I said.
I never said I want to miss an opportunity. I have canceled ZAG, dealix, autobytel, carsdirect, etc etc. And I'm not ever going to go back. Clearly I am okay missing those leads.
I said that "in order to not miss a significant portion of shoppers".
How, then do I equate that to the sites I listed as the best sites to buy from?
They are a trusted source of car buying information for shoppers and, unfortunately, command my attention because of their sheer size and brand recognition.
But there is one thing that differentiates them from you. They bring in leads based on their own brand and sell them to me.
You, on the other hand, would be using my inventory and my deals and my brand to sell me my own leads. I don't need a middle man to do my online marketing. That is why my boss pays me.
Basically, your entire model reminds me of ZAG.com - an experience I never wish to repeat.
We gave them our best deals and they never even charged us for a lead! Just a sale.
What a great idea. Until you realize that in order to be competitive you had to sell cars for $1,000 below invoice and then pay another $299 to ZAG. What a ripoff.
So, I wish you the best of luck on your adventures - but, again, you are asking a lot of people who don't think very highly of 3rd party lead providers - what they should think of your idea to take out money.
I hope you can see how this is a conflict of interest for all of us who want to generate our own leads. Because, in your model, whether I get the lead or not, I am still competing with other dealers with my inventory and my pricing.
Sorry to put this in reality for you. I am sure there are dealers that prefer to be lazy that would love your idea. But, this is not the forum to push it in and expect a positive response.