http://www.activengage.com/article_rss.xml Keep up to date with our articles RSS Feed. http://www.activengage.com/images/main/AE_logo.jpg http://www.activengage.com/article_rss.xml http://www.activengage.com/Art_Chat_For_Auto_Dealer_Website.shtml Tues, 30 June 2009 12:40:00 EST Traveling across the United States visiting dealerships has taught me many lessons about using chat to engage website visitors and sell more cars. From the dealerships that do it themselves to dealerships that outsource the whole operation, I have identified five key “Must Do” things to make chat work for you. http://www.activengage.com/Art_Website_Conversion_Rate_For_Auto_Dealers.shtml Tues, 30 June 2009 12:30:00 EST Too often at the dealership we are bombarded with data and statistics delivered to us by each vendor, yet never tied together to give us a complete view of our Internet operations. Each vendor scurries to justify their existence by providing “Key Metrics.” At my last store, I sometimes felt like I was trying to put together a million piece puzzle, in the dark, attempting to understand how our Internet business was performing. http://www.activengage.com/Art_Make_My_Internet_Sales_Soar.shtml Tues, 30 June 2009 12:20:00 EST The question that seems to be on everyone’s mind these days is “Where are the buyers?” I can tell you one thing for sure; they aren’t walking into the showroom. One look at the desk log and that becomes apparent, but you don’t have to go too far to find them—all you need to do is look at the number of your website’s monthly unique visitors. http://www.activengage.com/Art-Continued_Erosion_of_Showroom_Traffic.shtml Tues, 30 June 2009 12:00:00 EST The best automotive websites are still just informational but moving them to become conversational will have a dramatic impact on website leads and sales. http://www.activengage.com/pdf/Active-Engage-DMM-March-Profile.pdf Tues, 10 March 2009 12:42:49 EST Spending money to drive traffic to your dealership website without personally greeting site visitors is like launching an expensive direct mail campaign to increase showroom traffic without having sales people available to greet them. http://www.activengage.com/pdf/AE_AutoDealer-09-2008.pdf Mon, 1 September 2008 08:00:00 EST Let's say that your dealership makes a major investment in a series of special promotions hoping to drive traffic to your store. And voila, it works. Before you know it, hundreds, maybe thousands, of auto shoppers flock to your showroom. They mingle. They kick tires. They open and close doors, site in the seat, play with the steering wheel. http://www.activengage.com/pdf/Auto_Digest_Article.pdf Tues, 1 July 2008 08:00:00 EST What are now the basic strategy and mission of the company? We are in the business of helping dealers get more qualified leads from their existing websites by using proactive live chat. Increasing the volume of these leads is incredibly beneficial for dealers because their website leads have the highest closing ratios. Dealer who work with us typically triple their website leads. http://www.activengage.com/Art-ChattingYourWay.shtml Thurs, 1 May 2008 08:00:00 EST It is not hard to see that in so many ways, the Internet has changed the way that dealerships interact with their customers. It has made the most profound change to dealership operations since the creation of the F&I department. Some statistics suggest that more than 65% of dealerships today utilized some type of Internet lead management tool. Even more, some have expanded their leverage of the Internet to assist them with managing floor and service traffic through . . . http://www.activengage.com/Art-KnowYourCustomers.shtml Tues, 1 April 2008 08:00:00 EST I was sitting in front of a friend of mine the other day that is the GM at a fairly large store. He was looking over his advertising budget for the month and discussing with me how he should approach the upcoming month. He had two different ads that he was thinking of running. http://www.activengage.com/Art-CRMSoundsGreat.shtml Fri, 14 March 2008 08:00:00 EST Back when I was managing at a dealership, I remember thinking that there had to be a better way to track and manage our customers and their information. Using the traditional desk and phone logs to track customers seemed tedious, but it was what we were all use to. http://www.activengage.com/Art-DeathSalesman.shtml Wed, 27 Feburary 2008 08:00:00 EST I was recently speaking to a friend of mine, a GSM at a store in Tallahassee, about how much the industry has changed. We discussed the changes in the sales force that have occurred in the last several years. “I remember when we (the salesperson) use to do it all. There was no such thing as an F&I departments. There was no such thing as a ‘Closing Manager’. Salespeople knew how to sell!” Then there was some sort of reference to the ”good old days” as he smiled in fond remembrance and began to shake his head in mild disgust and disappointment. http://www.activengage.com/Art-PlaidJackets.shtml Tues, 12 Feburary 2008 08:00:00 EST In case you haven’t noticed, these days are gone my friend. And, all I can say is . . . thank goodness! Gone are the days when you could slam someone into a car,, nail them for a huge front end gross and then pound them again in finance for even more. I personally have not been around the business long enough to have worked in this environment. However, I have worked with many over the years that seem to speak with longing about “ the good ole’ days”. http://www.activengage.com/Art-NegotiatingSport.shtml Tues, 5 Feburary 2008 08:00:00 EST Negotiating is as much a part of daily life as it is a part of sales. As you meet and interact with people throughout the day, often these interactions are inclusive of a negotiation. What you consider to be acceptable behavior from your children is often the result of a negotiation that you have had with them. Which movie you are going to see with your wife, who’s turn it is to take out the garbage, or should you buy that new coffee table are all types of negotiations that you probably have with your family or friends every day. Thus the term, “negotiating your way through the day.” http://www.activengage.com/Art-NoThanks.shtml Tues, 29 January 2008 08:00:00 EST Sound familiar?? While you may not have actually heard these words come our of your salesmen’s mouths, many have thoughts that say it so loud, it’s as though they spoke the words! http://www.activengage.com/Art-ThePathToSale.shtml Fri, 18 January 2008 08:00:00 EST “If you don’t know where you are going, when you get there, you won’t even know that you are there.” This slightly altered Chinese proverb has been a mantra of mine for some time. I believe it holds great truth, especially with regard to the way that most dealerships have been managing negotiations with their customers. http://www.activengage.com/Art-ProcessIsEverything.shtml Tues, 8 January 2008 08:00:00 EST It is said that, if you don’t know where you are going, any road can take you there. There is a lot of truth in that statement. Process is your roadmap that will take you where you want to go. Without it, you may happen on some successes and fall into some failures, but it will be purely by accident, and therefore may not be able to be replicated. This is especially true with technology, and specifically CRM. http://www.activengage.com/Art-CarSalesNotAboutCars.shtml Fri, 4 January 2008 08:00:00 EST I was sitting in my office just off the sales floor, and I was excitedly reviewing my progress for the month so far. I had been given a goal which I was not far from, but running low on time. If I could achieve the goal, it would bring me wealth and fame…at least in this particular dealership and somewhere in the conceit of my mind.