Post by Paul Rogers
Another Internet department structure model is what we refer to as Supervised Integration. This is a little like a combination of the Beginning-to-End and Appointment Setter models.
For this one, the Internet Manager who is in charge of monitoring and updating the web site also takes on the task of the initial response to incoming emails and phone calls. This keeps the response time low. They decide then, based on what they know about the customer from the information in the lead and what they know about the work load of their salespeople, to whom they should assign that lead for short and long-term follow-up.
This system works well when the dealership has some established salespeople that want Internet leads. In fact, this is the secret to making this system work. You should only allow a select group of salespeople to handle Internet leads – those who like them and are willing to do the long-term effort required for Internet success. It’s very common to have salespeople that would like to have the additional income, but they either:
A. Hate working with the ‘informed buyer’ because of the perception that grosses will be low, or
B. Lack the willingness to follow-up long enough to effectively close these leads. They tend to be interested in the quick and easy sales.
The benefits of the Supervised Integration structure are that you don’t need to support two different methods of selling. It also tends to improve the purchase experience of all of your customers – walk-in, repeats and online.
The difficulty of this structure is that the activities of the salespeople receiving leads need to be continuously monitored. Because the walk-in traffic always takes a priority, sometimes salespeople place Internet lead follow-up on the ‘back burner’. If a salesperson falls behind on their follow-up with incoming Internet leads, they should be denied additional leads until they can catch up and maintain their lead management.
We are frequently asked which structure works the best – B2E, Appointment Setter or Supervised Integration. The answer is that they ALL work – you must determine which one works best for your sales force, your clients and your philosophy of selling.
For this one, the Internet Manager who is in charge of monitoring and updating the web site also takes on the task of the initial response to incoming emails and phone calls. This keeps the response time low. They decide then, based on what they know about the customer from the information in the lead and what they know about the work load of their salespeople, to whom they should assign that lead for short and long-term follow-up.
This system works well when the dealership has some established salespeople that want Internet leads. In fact, this is the secret to making this system work. You should only allow a select group of salespeople to handle Internet leads – those who like them and are willing to do the long-term effort required for Internet success. It’s very common to have salespeople that would like to have the additional income, but they either:
A. Hate working with the ‘informed buyer’ because of the perception that grosses will be low, or
B. Lack the willingness to follow-up long enough to effectively close these leads. They tend to be interested in the quick and easy sales.
The benefits of the Supervised Integration structure are that you don’t need to support two different methods of selling. It also tends to improve the purchase experience of all of your customers – walk-in, repeats and online.
The difficulty of this structure is that the activities of the salespeople receiving leads need to be continuously monitored. Because the walk-in traffic always takes a priority, sometimes salespeople place Internet lead follow-up on the ‘back burner’. If a salesperson falls behind on their follow-up with incoming Internet leads, they should be denied additional leads until they can catch up and maintain their lead management.
We are frequently asked which structure works the best – B2E, Appointment Setter or Supervised Integration. The answer is that they ALL work – you must determine which one works best for your sales force, your clients and your philosophy of selling.
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