Some of the most asked questions for me are what should I do about my third party lead source providers? Who is the best, who has the cheapest leads? I find from our clients coast to coast the same thing… Dealers are so quick to cancel a 3rd party provider. They will shut them down for all of the wrong reasons. If the closing ratio is off or if they aren’t making enough gross or they didn’t meet their quota. You are probably saying “Yes! That is exactly why I would cancel a 3rd party provider”.

That folks is exactly the problem. Most dealers don’t realize that they are thinking the wrong way. That is a decision based on emotion not science or fact, or even logic for that matter. But, in all fairness to the Dealer Principals and General Managers out there you don’t know how else to make that type of decision. The manufacturer doesn’t give you guild lines; most dealers out there don’t exactly have this down to an art form yet. And the dealers are skeptical of what the 3rd party providers are saying, because they feel that they are being told whatever to pacify them so they keep buying leads. So, in this article I am going to break it down for you.

Even though you are reading this article in Carsdirect’s newsletter it isn’t biased information. I write for several national publications, some are lead source providers, some are website companies and others are general automotive resource centers. Beyond that I was on the front lines as an Internet and BDC director for over five years and have been the CEO of an International automotive training and consulting agency for two years focused on Internet sales and automotive business development. Furthermore, I am the CEO of a Special Finance lead generating service. I have been generating leads for over six years. Bottom line is this; I am giving you information based on multiple levels of experience, as a dealer, as consultant and trainer as well as a lead source provider. Granted my AutoCreditApproved.com site wasn’t a national lead source provider. It was geo-targeted to specific locations… but we generated leads like the big boys did.

The very first thing is to realize what a lead is. A lead is simply an opportunity to do business, nothing more and nothing less. Dealers drive themselves crazy trying to grind for a dollar a lead or are worried about if the dealer next door has the same lead. Granted some leads are higher quality than others.
Carsdirect.com has been an industry leader since the beginning and their leads are of higher quality than some of the lesser known companies but why do dealers mistakenly cancel? Why is it that a Ford dealer maybe 50 miles away from another Ford dealership, both on the same lead program not be doing as well? Why is it that you have lead source providers in the business for 10 years… some of their clients are literally making millions of dollars a year and others don’t? Why is that? They are on the same program; they are receiving the SAME lead quality. It goes to show you it is not just about getting a lead. Buying a lead for $20-$25 dollars does not guarantee you will sell an automobile and make $2,000 profit. Sorry, they do not make magic leads.

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