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Autobytel Inc. Appoints Lenny McGinley Vice President of Dealer Sales


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Automotive Internet Veteran Continues Mission to Help Dealers Drive Sales, Improve Customer Relationships

Irvine, CA - August 27, 2008 - Autobytel Inc. , a leading automotive Internet marketing services company, today announced the appointment of automotive Internet veteran Lenny McGinley as vice president of dealer sales. McGinley has played a major role in advancing Autobytel's dealers relations over the years, most recently serving as director of sales for the western region. In this position, McGinley worked side-by-side with dealers, coaching and training them on process implementation, CRM tutoring, and building customer relationships.

"With a shaky economy and lagging auto sales, Lenny's extensive experience assisting dealers in improving their processes and increasing lead conversion is a tremendous asset to Autobytel and our network of dealers," said Mark Garms, Autobytel's senior vice president dealer operations and strategy. "Over his ten years working with dealers to maximize their Internet sales, Lenny and his team have been instrumental in helping Autobytel's member dealerships not only survive in the competitive marketplace, but to thrive and grow by using our game-changing catalog of dealer services in the most effective ways."

Autobytel's commitment to deliver innovation and real-world value to its dealer base is backed by its quality customer referrals and pioneering lead notification programs, which will be a particular focus for McGinley's team. Recent studies show that dealers are increasingly, and successfully, embracing lead notification programs - such as Autobytel's pioneering Rapid ResponseSM service - to improve their follow up and contact rates on online leads, the number of which have dramatically increased since 2001. Rapid Response, which puts dealers on the phone with customers immediately following a purchase request submission, is an integral part of the Autobytel program, and has dramatically improved dealership contact rates.[1] McGinley and his team will be focusing on helping dealerships further evolve their online lead processes with Autobytel's recently launched Email ManagerSM and LeadCallSM services which help ease the follow up burden for dealers by providing automated email and live call programs to follow up on leads and set in-dealership appointments.

McGinley joined Autoweb.com (acquired by Autobytel Inc. in 2001) in 1998. As national dealer trainer for Autoweb, McGinley ran Internet best practices seminars across the country just as consumer adoption of the automotive Internet was ramping up. These early seminars demonstrated that dealerships needed "hands on" help analyzing and improving their Internet sales practices, so McGinley inaugurated a new department at Autoweb, dedicated to training and helping struggling dealerships become successful with the Internet. In 2003, he became Sales Director at Autobytel Inc., with a mission to refocus account management on training and certifying each of the company's nationwide field teams to help the company's thousands of member dealers with process implementation, CRM tutoring, and building that all important customer relationship.

"In this climate, it is critical that we not only continue to provide dealers with high quality leads, but also the tools, training and support they need to be successful with those leads. With products ranging from our Rapid Response program to our newly-launched LeadCall 'live call' solution, our dealers know they can rely on our support to help them make it through these tough times," said McGinley. "Autobytel has always led the way in providing the most innovative Internet-based solutions for dealers, and I pledge to continue this mission as I take on this new role."

Since launching the first car-buying website in 1995, Autobytel Inc.'s mission has been to empower automotive consumers with the tools and information they need to make smart, well-informed vehicle purchasing and ownership decisions. The company has helped millions of car shoppers and generated billions of dollars in car sales for dealers. Today, the company's innovative, consumer-driven flagship site, MyRide.com, expands the company's mission across the automotive purchase and ownership life cycle. As the first vertical search experience for the automotive marketplace, MyRide.com is designed to help Internet-savvy consumers FIND, SEE, BUY and LEARN anything automotive and BELONG to a diverse community of people who have similar automotive interests.

By providing a convenient and comprehensive automotive consumer experience across the purchase and ownership lifecycle, Autobytel provides new value and touch-points for automotive marketers. Through MyRide.com and Autobytel's marketing network, the company connects dealerships with a steady, diverse stream of motivated, serious shoppers, while providing both dealers and manufacturers with precision-targeted brand and product marketing opportunities. The company's advanced web-based advertising and marketing programs also help dealers and manufacturers build relationships with customers, as well as help them to efficiently manage and convert online business. ________________________________ [1] According to a study by Survey.com sixty-five percent of dealers improved their customer contact rates with Rapid Response. (October 2007)