How Online Tools Are Driving Sales

The way North Americans buy cars is changing. According to a recent study commissioned by Autotrader, 88% of car buyers use the Internet when shopping for a vehicle, and those shoppers are estimated to have spent, on average, 60% of their total vehicle shopping time on third party websites and apps. Where dealership salespeople once closed sales on the showroom floor on the strength of their pitches, customers are now much more likely to have made up their mind about which car they would like to buy before ever setting foot on a dealership lot.

While most of the data suggests that dealerships remain an important part of the automotive sales landscape, these changes to shopping habits represent a real challenge for dealerships. How can a dealer make a robust sales pitch if customers are doing all their research online?

For many dealerships, the solution has been live chat software or IT help desk software . Live chat  and IT help desk software is an online tool that helps dealers turn their website into a digital showroom. With live chat, visitors to a dealership website are automatically greeted by a chat window staffed by a remote salesperson working for the chat provider. The remote salesperson has access to a dealership’s inventory, and is able to field questions about everything from location and hours of operation to the latest available deals. They can also help interested customers apply for financing or book a test drive. Dealership staff can monitor these chats, and if a conversation seems promising they can even jump in and negotiate a sale.

Dealerships that want to optimize visits from new users with dealer chat software should consider providers that can offer them an integrated experience. While some chat providers simply set up software that allows a dealership to manage chat sales using its own sales team, this is hardly the most productive use of the technology. Because many website visitors’ queries have to do with mundane questions related to location and hours of operation, staffing chat windows with dealership personnel can be a poor use of employee time.

The best chat providers have their own teams of remote salespeople who handle lead generation on a dealership’s behalf, only turning the conversation over to a dealership salesperson once the conversation has advanced to the point where a sale is a real possibility. Dealership chat providers like Florida’s Gubagoo, for example, allow dealership staff to monitor chat conversations and jump in if they see an opportunity to convert a lead. With the right provider, live chat not only helps generate quality leads, it allows dealership staff to focus on what they do best: closing sales.

As the automotive sales industry becomes more and more geared toward reaching customers online, dealerships that are able to provide shoppers with a seamless, friendly, and accessible experience are likely to benefit most from the transformation of the industry. By using the latest sales technology and embracing the radical potential of online lead generation, dealerships that adapt quickly can become the biggest beneficiaries of this evolving economy.