AN eLEAD IS AN UP. BUT WHAT KIND?

Is an eLead just a phone up that sent you an email instead of calling? I’ve met a lot of dealerships that say “Yes.” And they are right. And then again, they’re wrong. When prospects send their personal contact info to a store or other business they are stating their case and asking for a response. In most instances the prospect is sending you one of the following two messages:

- 1). I am using the Internet to speed things up by giving you what you need to know about me in advance via email. Please read it over, utilize what I have given you, and respond via most appropriate method with the info I requested.

- 2). I am using the Internet because either I do not have time to talk on the phone or do not yet want to get close to you and talk on the phone. Please just respond as best you can via email with the info I requested.

The problem is, when we receive the eLead we often do not know which category it fits into. If it is scenario # 1, then, yes, it’s possible that this prospect is a phone up who sent an email first instead of calling. If it is scenario # 2, then, no, it is NOT a phone up who sent an email first instead of calling. But if we don’t know which category the prospect falls into we have to cover our bases and respond to both scenarios at the same time.

Therefore, our 1st response the majority of the time must be to reply using all available media: 1) Email, 2) Phone, and, if possible, 3) Text Message.