How do I get more leads that convert into sales?
In today’s market, car dealers are finding that leads are becoming more important than ever. While there has been talk about trying to move away from the “obsession” with leads, a recent Urban Science dealer survey found the majority, 75%, of dealers say that leads are more important than they were 5 years ago with 36% saying they “much more important”. With growing inventory on dealers’ lots and shoppers stretched by affordability issues, the reality is that the more opportunities a dealer has to engage with an in-market active car shopper, the more chance they will sell a car because engaging leads to driving more quality leads and more sales for dealerships.

While increasing leads is important, the secondary issue at play is that dealers need quality leads that have a high chance of converting into a sale. BDC staff are well familiar with chasing CRM leads with multiple phone calls, emails and texts only to never be able to get that shopper into the store.
So how do dealers not only get more leads, but high-quality leads that will convert? According to NCM Associates, when it comes to internet leads the highest performing are those being generated by a dealer’s website. They outperform OEM leads and even 3x outperform 3rd party leads.
Since a dealer’s website will be its #1 source of internet leads that contribute to sales – it makes sense to concentrate there first. When in-market shoppers are landing on a dealer’s website, what are the factors that will contribute to the highest conversions possible?
The reality is there are a few basic strategies dealers can use, all of which address today’s car shoppers wants in how they shop:
- Make things easy. By setting things up on the website so that it is LESS WORK for shoppers to move through their questions and shopping journey will always win the day. This includes not making them repeat information or sending them into standalone shopping entry points that do not talk to each other. Does your website move shoppers along a connected digital shopping experience on your website where information they provide in one step, say a trade, is then pushed to another step like calculating payments? Does your website even provide the option to take one self-service step such as checking availability on a vehicle and then offer up a next step such as scheduling an appointment? Are there options for the shopper to ask a question live when they hit a wall and need help – at every digital shopping step?

- Provide options. Shoppers today want options. If they want to self-service, such as getting a trade value quickly and easily without engagement with the dealership – give them that option. If they want to ask a question and get an immediate answer – give them that option. Customers do not always want to immediately hand over their phone number the minute they land on a dealer’s site. Setting up options so they can get answers first so the dealership earns the customers contact information can go a long way. Looking at many hundreds of thousands of leads generated from dealers’ websites, when given the option to chat or text first (and not have to immediately provide their cell phone) 86% of website shoppers chose to start with a chat. And by doing this and engaging with them, providing answers etc – close to 80% of the time they will end up providing their PII and generating a lead.
- Offer human connection. Even if a shopper wants to self-service initially, if they have a question does your website provide for that? Having an option for your staff to engage live with your website shoppers can make all the difference. When done right, your dealership staff can turn a customer from “just looking around” to, within minutes, setting an appointment to come 2 hours later (real life example from a large Toyota dealer!)
“Show Me the Money”
While this all sounds like good advice or a potentially good strategy, at the end of the day dealers will always want to know – does it help me sell more cars? At CarNow, our dealer platform offers all the options above for a dealer’s website. We are in a front-line position to know if it works or not. Our dealers use these strategies every day with our platform and they tell us the results they are getting!

We received the data above from 6 dealers that included Nissan, Toyota, Buick GMC and CJDR brands covering a variety of time periods over Oct 2023 – August 2024.

We received the data above from 5 dealers that include Ford, Subaru, Chevrolet, GMC and CJDR brands covering a variety of time periods over Sept 2023 – August 2024.
When website engagement tools on your website are set up to make things easy for shoppers, give options, and offer human connections, dealerships will drive more quality leads and sales (as the data above reveals).
It’s about quality, not quantity

Dealers need as many “at bats” as they can get, but don’t forget the importance of quality leads. Quality leads ensure your staff doesn’t waste time chasing consumers who don’t plan to make a purchase…or at least any time soon. Not only will this improve your bottom line, it will help overall employee morale. Although CarNow wasn’t the number one provider of leads for the above dealerships, we were still number one for appointments set, appointments shown AND solds. This goes to show that it’s not about having a large pool of consumers to chase, it’s about connecting with consumers who are actually ready to purchase.
Put the right tools on your website and invest in tech that makes the lives of your staff easier. When you make it easy for consumers to engage and shop and easy for your staff to connect with quality leads with tech that will help guide the sale, your dealership will
- Close at 16 – 19% on average (some dealerships even close at a 42% rate).
- Recognize more units solds and gross profit.
- Give experiences to consumers that makes them want to come back.