Automotive leads can be both the bane and the bone of a car dealers’ work. Quality automotive leads can make it feel like Christmas all year long. Hack auto lead generation software, on the other hand, can leave you paying out of pocket for a service that gets you little or nothing in return. Don’t get stuck with auto internet leads; try one of these unique strategies to generate automotive leads:
- Use your website
Think of your website as the gateway to automotive leads Heaven. If you use it right, your website can guide you right to the leads you covet. Optimize your website by posting video content to catch viewers’ attention on your blog and putting relevant and search engine optimized content on every page. For instance, 43% of car owners are looking to refinance their cars. A post talking about the average auto loan rate of 4.16% and how these interest rates increased from 4.13% to 4.25% in the past two years could help such consumers by providing relevant and useful information, thus creating a draw to your site.
Your website should also serve as a funnel to your email list. By providing a free gift as an incentive for joining, you can create an email list of potential automotive leads. - Get personal with email
Once you’ve procured an email address from potential automotive leads (be it through your website or from past customers), stay in regular contact with them through email. Email marketing has one of the highest return on investments of all marketing strategies. Using your email list, you can create targeted campaigns based on demographics, family size, or past vehicle purchases. Personalized email promotions that are targeted to these individuals specific needs or desires are great ways to add them to the pipeline with the click of a button. - Put it in ink
You can take the personal touch one step farther by adding hand-written notes. Sending a note in the mail with a promotion attached is a great way to draw them in. The trick is to stay in touch – – on average it will take seven reach-outs before you get a response. - Stay in touch
Speaking of staying in touch: don’t let your past customers leave without getting their contact information. You never know where your next automotive leads will come from. Maybe that past customer is looking to refinance, or he knows someone who could become a solid auto finance lead. You’ll never know what referrals could bring unless you ask, and in order to ask, you have to stay in touch. - Referral programs
For better referral programs, you have to think outside the box. For instance, instead of simply asking for referrals, tell former customers you’ll give a discount to any person they refer. Everyone loves to help out family and friends. Utilizing targeted referrals for your various demographics is a great way to give them incentives that they’ll actually act on. You could ask them to spread the word for you with social media posts, promising a free service if they reach a certain number of likes or shares/re-tweets on their post. - Socialize
Social media is another great place to screen for auto dealer leads. Potential customers are frequently talking about their car shopping on places like Facebook and Twitter. Searching for keywords can help you pinpoint local automotive leads. A little background research can also help you determine their needs or wants for a targeting sales approach. - Smile and dial
You may not want to hear it, but sometimes picking up the phone is still the best option. Cold calling can be a nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. Help your salespeople out by providing training and in-depth knowledge they can use to conquer those dreaded, “Why should I?” questions. Having a cold call script can be hugely beneficial and help keep your team from getting tongue tied at opportune moments with their automotive leads.
Food for thought
Automotive leads are the feast or famine of auto dealers. Good leads can mean good eats; poor leads mean long hours of running in a hamster wheel that takes you nowhere. Don’t let the same old auto sales leads hold you down – – mix up your approach with these seven automotive leads generator ideas.