If you’re a dealership that’s struggling with how to convert leads into sales, you’re in the majority. Every business owner who reaches out to our automotive BDC is drowning in lukewarm auto dealership leads that fizzle out and fail. While external economic pressures like interest rates and inflation definitely influence buyer behavior, the real breakdown between leads and conversions often hides within the lead management process. Automotive sales success requires speed, structure, and accountability – but how do you fix that?
Rather than continually losing leads, auto sales can be yours for the taking if you know how to move customers through your funnel with BDC best practices. Take a page from the Strolid playbook by exploring our tips for auto dealer lead generation, qualification, nurturing, and conversion below. If our leads and conversions methods impress you, schedule a free consultation with our BDC professionals to see what Strolid knows about how to convert leads into sales for your dealership.
The Top 5 Reasons Auto Dealership Leads Don't Convert
Slow or inconsistent follow-up
Studies show that leads contacted within five minutes are 21 times more likely to convert.
Poor lead qualification
Without a proper qualification framework, salespeople waste time chasing cold leads.
No dedicated lead handlers
Without a dedicated BDC or structured process, auto dealership leads don’t get the attention or persistence they require.
Non-personalized communication
Customers expect relevant, customized responses, not canned emails or vague texts from overworked employees
Subpar Technology
If your CRM doesn’t guide the sales process through data trackers, analytics, and AI automations, it’s little more than a glorified phonebook instead of a system that can consistently generate leads that convert.
No dealership is perfect, so even the most well-intentioned owners may see their stores reflected in this list. Fortunately, there are steps you can take, and you can start as soon as today. Use Strolid as a resource to improve the quality and conversion of your auto dealer lead generation, either by following the guidance below or by scheduling a free call with our BDC.
PROVEN TRACK RECORD, EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
Step 1: Converting Leads With Quick Engagement
Your first priority when learning how to convert leads into sales is to examine your customer engagement timeline. When a prospective buyer contacts your store with a model-specific question or to schedule a test drive, how quickly does your sales team answer these emails, voicemails, and web submissions? Do you employ a dedicated social media manager to respond to people’s questions and complaints?
It’s crucial to engage virtual visitors right away. If your staff needs two weeks to return a call or provide a digital answer, most shoppers will have moved on to another local dealership to complete their lease or purchase. Take a closer look at your current response metrics to determine whether your auto-response emails, chatbots, or staff-to-shopper communications are providing this level of customer care. If they aren’t or can’t, then your best path toward leads that convert is to join forces with an outside sales BDC that’s equipped to handle large volumes of customer interactions.
Step 2: How To Get Leads That Last via Proper Qualification
Every new ad campaign, promotion, or community event you’ve launched has likely garnered leads. In car sales, this is a promising step toward profits, but forward momentum often stalls once customers express interest. Why is that? Auto dealer lead generation tactics that gather data but fail to move shoppers through the entire sales cycle are missing one critical component: qualification.
Lead qualification is vital to obtaining auto dealership leads that actually last because it’s the only way you can assess which people intend to buy and which are simply browsing. To effectively determine when a lead is a lead, your store must filter for buyer intent, identify which customers are most likely to purchase soon, and prioritize them for follow-up conversations. Regardless of whether a customer reaches out by phone, email, or social media, you’ll need a mix of data gathering, smart questioning, and behavioral tracking to see it through.
- Data Gathering: Obtain detailed information about the customer’s needs, budget, and timeline.
- Smart Questioning: Determine buying intent by asking about model and payment preferences.
- Behavioral Tracking: Prioritize customers who proactively submit trade-in or financing applications or who use your online payment calculator.
If your dealership and its existing CRM are unequipped to track, measure, and converse with customers in this way, an automotive BDC partner like Strolid can handle all these tasks for you. With our BDC tools on board, you can level up your qualification process to source auto dealership leads that last.
Step 3: Seal the Deal By Educating, Not Selling
Although it might sound counterintuitive, marketing is not always about selling – at least, it’s not about selling hard. The vast majority of people who reach out to your dealership won’t be ready to buy immediately. Instead, they’re looking for more information about a vehicle, struggling to understand why your store is the best place to shop, or holding out for better incentives. In terms of your sales funnel, they’re firmly planted in the “Interest” and “Evaluation” stages and need you to educate them about your inventory, reputation, and value proposition before they’re ready to move on to paperwork.
Educating consumers is a delicate balance between giving away free information and underscoring why your dealership is their best option, but with practice and a dedicated BDC staff, you can learn how to convert leads into sales. Our Strolid BDC professionals use the following methods to keep leads warm and spur them toward conversion; feel free to implement these strategies yourself or hire Strolid as your outsourced BDC partner and we’ll integrate them for you.
- Share information about the type of interactions and experiences customers should expect when they visit or work with your dealership.
- Invite people to stop by your store or attend an event you’re hosting.
- Build and nurture relationships through enticing offers and promotions.
- Listen to each person’s needs and then provide tailored solutions, even if those solutions don’t include an auto sale.
- Make your value proposition crystal clear so people have no doubt why your dealership should top their list.
- Follow up with prospects by highlighting the ways your retailer solves their problems or beats the competition.
- Offer your support, but don’t crowd shoppers with too many or irrelevant communications.
- Don’t give up on high-value leads; develop a nurturing strategy that keeps your store top-of-mind with relevant offers and deals on their favorite vehicles.
Strolid Experts Know How To Convert
Leads Into Sales
Strolid is adept at handling leads with BDC excellence. We are dedicated to helping dealerships manage and optimize all forms of customer communication, from calls and chats to form submissions and emails, and we make sure every opportunity for customer engagement is handled swiftly and effectively so you can reach your ultimate goal of selling more cars.
Our objectives are three-fold:
- To relieve your staff of the immense pressure of communication, thereby freeing up their time and enabling them to focus on the task of selling vehicles and services.
- To streamline your customer engagement process to the point that no calls, emails, or other digital communications are neglected and all profits are maximized.
- To create the most pleasant and welcoming atmosphere possible for potential and returning customers, which serves to bolster your dealership’s reputation, trustworthiness, and authority.
Request your complimentary Strolid consultation today to learn more about auto BDC cost, how to convert leads into sales, and why our automotive BDC is your ticket to growth and success.
Handling The HEAT Since 1987
FAQ
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Will Strolid integrate with my existing lead sources and systems?
Yes, Strolid integrates seamlessly with your existing lead sources and elevates your CRM to new heights with deeper insights and faster follow-ups. Your Strolid partnership also removes any need to integrate internal BDC staff and spend thousands on external trainers to keep your processes up to date. Instead, we provide real-time guidance to your staff to keep operations smooth and seamless.
Does Strolid help with both sales and service leads?
Our Strolid leads and conversions model enables our team of professionals to track, organize, engage with, and follow up on any sales and service leads your dealership receives. This means that not only can Strolid increase your auto sales, but we can simultaneously increase your service and parts sales for an overall profit boost. Our expertise also frees up your sales and service staff to perform more critical work.
Can Strolid help me identify why my leads aren’t converting?
Schedule a Strolid consultation call today to discuss how to get leads, why your existing ones aren’t converting to sales, and how our signature approach can make all the difference. Should you choose to work with Strolid long-term, our auto BDC team can finesse and fine-tune your strategy around how to convert leads into sales to help increase profits even more.