Tanner Hulette, General Manager of Mechanicsville Toyota, Named Autobytel Dealer of the Month

IRVINE, CA--December 6, 2013: Autobytel Inc. , the company dedicated to connecting automotive consumers with dealers, has named Tanner Hulette, General Manager of Mechanicsville Toyota in Mechanicsville, Virginia, the Autobytel Dealer of the Month for October 2013.

“An Internet lead is a hand raiser and you want to respond to them in a way that qualifies you…in a way that reinforces how you’re the most qualified to help them find the perfect car”

The company’s Dealer Awards Program honors exceptional Autobytel dealers who employ the highest standards in customer service and Internet automotive retail sales and lead management processes. The Autobytel Dealer of the Year Award is slated to be announced at the NADA Convention & Expo in New Orleans in January 2014, with the crowning dealer chosen from this year’s pool of monthly winners.

Tanner joins Patti Scipione of M’Lady Nissan, Paul LeRose of Pauly Toyota, Tim Morgan of Radley Acura, Steve Roberts of Crown Motors Redding, Kenny Jakel of Lee Johnson Kia, Rese Ballou of Hendrick Toyota Scion and Tony Thorstad of Smart Motors Toyota—who were named the Autobytel Dealers of the Month for March, April, May, June, July, August and September 2013—in that pool of winners.

“The key to Mechanicsville Toyota’s success is the way the entire dealership operates as an Internet department,” said Jeff Coats, president and CEO of Autobytel Inc. “This innovative approach enables each member of the dealership to be a customer touch point, from the initial contact to the sale, from F&I to service, all the way through to post-sale communication. Tanner and his team have been banner members of the Autobytel family for nearly 14 years, are consistent Toyota President’s Award winners, and deserve to be named an Autobytel Dealer of the Month for excellence in Internet retail sales.”

Each month, Autobytel’s sales and dealer operations teams evaluate prospective candidates from a competitive field of thousands of automotive retailers in the Autobytel network, with a monthly winner selected based on key online automotive best practices.

Criteria evaluated for the Autobytel Dealer Awards Program include conversion rates, lead management processes, customer service principles, customer and brand retention analytics and Internet department practices, among others.

“An Internet lead is a hand raiser and you want to respond to them in a way that qualifies you…in a way that reinforces how you’re the most qualified to help them find the perfect car,” said Hulette. “At Mechanicsville Toyota, we give our customers clear and concise answers and provide them with the full spectrum of services when it comes to their automotive needs—from a staff of qualified team members who understand how to meet those needs.”

Mechanicsville Toyota is part of the Page Auto Group of Richmond, Virginia that represents brands such as Toyota, Audi, Honda, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Scion. Under the direction of Hulette and Dealer Principal, Larry Page, the store has won the Toyota President’s Award—the highest honor a dealership can receive from Toyota and awarded to dealerships for excellence in Sales, Service, Parts and Customer Satisfaction—for the last four consecutive years.

Named # 1 Dealers’ Choice Awards in 2012 by Auto Dealer Monthly, a finalist of the 2013 DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight Award, and a Power 250 Company by Auto Remarketing Magazine, Autobytel consistently ranks as a top quality Internet lead provider, with the company’s internally-generated leads converting at approximately three times the rate of the estimated industry average.