Digital Dealer Q&A
Bill Page Toyota/Bill Page Honda
Falls Church, VA
50+ units per month sold online
By Todd Smith
David, what is your background in the car business?
I've been in the car business the last seven years and for six out of the seven I've one way or another been doing it over the Internet. I've been with Bill Page for the last five months.
How do you generate your leads?
Well, first of all, we have our own Web sites. We also have third-party lead providers who are a great help to us. Third party, I believe, helps in the sense that many consumers feel it's a little bit safer through a third party; meaning, it's not a dealer or a manufacturer telling them the information they want them to hear. They think they are getting a third party recommendation. This may not be true, but for some, that perception is reality.
What percentage of your leads come directly from your Web site versus through buying services?
Well, obviously we want to get as many as possible through our own Web sites. We're getting 20-30 per month now and hopefully in the hundred range before long.
And how many would you say you're now getting from the buying services?
Upwards of a hundred and fifty per month.
Do you see that there's any difference in the closing ratio between your Web site shopper versus a lead provider?
The closing ratio is higher with the people who go to our website. It seems they know exactly what they're looking for and with our website you have the ability to view every vehicle we have on the lot, pictures and so forth, and you can request the exact vehicle you're looking for. It seems that people go in, find the exact car they want, know we have it and then it's pretty much a done deal.
Take me through your sales process from the moment that you receive a lead to the moment that you're delivering the vehicle.
If I have all the information that I need, which is most of the time, from the initial lead without even having to call them, I play it assuming that no one wants to be talked to by a car salesperson, at least the Internet-oriented customer doesn't. They don't necessarily want to talk to me, they want information and they want their information and in a timely manner. We try to give full up-front pricing as soon as possible. I'm trying to get it down to an 8-minute response time.
From the time that you receive the lead?
Yes, from the time that we received the lead. Have we gotten there yet? We're almost there, we're not quite there yet, but a lot of technology we're using is helping with our lead response time.
What type of technology?
Pagers, cell phones, depending on the application we're trying to do, but basically it's e-mail. As soon as we get the request I try to respond to it as fast as possible and that's as fast as my fingers can type. Eight minutes is our goal. Right now, our average response time is probably around ten minutes, with full and complete pricing.
What's your next step after the information has been transferred back and forth?
We highly believe every customer should drive the vehicle they want to buy, so we send out the pricing information first. Then we follow up with a phone call, just to make sure"Did you receive your pricing information, etc. Do you have any questions about it? Well, if you don't have any questions about it, then what time would you like to come in for a test drive?" We'll schedule the test drive or if they've already test-driven the vehicle and we know for a fact that's what they want, which a lot of the people do, they have shopped other places, they've already gone out and test-driven the vehicles and so forth-if they already know what they want and we've got that car in stock, I'll have it ready for them when they come in. I'll have all the paperwork ready and it's, "Just sign the papers and you can be on your way."
What difference do you see between the closing ratio of an Internet buyer who responds to your test drive offer versus a walk-up who is shopping and takes the test drive?
Our closing ratio for an experienced salesperson for walk-up traffic is around or just under 25%. As far as the closing percentage for the Internet, the industry standard seems to be around 10 or 11%. I'm getting around a 14% closing ratio. However, it's astronomical, the difference of the closing percentage for the people who actually show up. A lot of leads are bogus, someone playing on the computer and things like that, but for the Internet person who does respond back, who does show up on the lot, our closing ratio is in the high 80's to the low 90's. And generally, to be perfectly honest with you, the only problems we have would probably be a dispute on a trade. But if there was no trade involved, they would have bought, too.
How many vehicles did you sell online last month?
Last month we did 53.
What has been the customer's reaction to the way you're selling cars?
Very favorable. Toyota tracks it via the Internet and most are in the completely satisfied area, 100% customer satisfaction index. I have yet to see a bad survey from a customer who came to us through the Internet.
How have you worked to integrate the best of the dealership staff into this Internet endeavor?
We are trying to integrate service into our Web sites also, in regards that you can set your service appointment online. It is available now, you can set a service appointment through our Web site.
Are you selling any parts online yet?
We do have a parts order form online, so we have the capability. We're getting that up and running, but that's something to work on this quarter also.
David, where do you see the Internet and the automobile industry going in the future?
The dealers are starting to realize that the Internet is the wave of the future. I say the future was yesterday and if you're not on the boat you better get on it now. Three to five years down the road, I'm not seeing showrooms disappear, not in three to five years, but I'm seeing the Internet usage just booming.
