An “Efficient” Market meets an “Inefficient” Sales Process.
The traditional method of selling used vehicles is out of step with today’s “efficient” Internet market based approach that ties vehicle research, acquisition, pricing, retailing, and even wholesaling decisions to real market data from Live Market.
Economists describe a market as “Efficient” when there is roughly equal knowledge between buyers and sellers and as a result the retail prices are largely governed by supply demand and price sensitivity.
Is there roughly equal knowledge between buyers (dealers) and sellers (guests) in today’s Internet dominated used vehicle marketplace? YES!
The Internet is the “great equalizer” that arms potential guests with more information about vehicle prices, options, trim levels, vehicle history, values and dealers’ reputations than they’ve ever had before.
It’s not uncommon for guests to bring printouts of competing vehicles when they come to dealerships. But they don’t usually tell you!
It’s not uncommon for guests to be comparing your stock with the market using their smart phones, even when they are in your dealership used car yard, after hours and even during the negotiation process.
The longer a vehicle stays in a stock, the lower the gross profit, the less likely it is to sell. The best Internet dealerships reporting their Managing by Numbers statistics to us, are reporting that 46-85% of total selling opportunities originate from an Internet lead.
More importantly 30% of those leads come from their own website generating local business with zero costs and a better ROI. With the massive cost of third party unqualified leads, many dealers are looking for more cost effective selling solutions.
Brian's top achieving dealers are reporting a “real” 25% plus Internet lead closing ratio.