Do you know of a dealership that allows potential buyers walk around the lot browsing vehicles for hours, days, weeks, even months, without being assisted by a sales professional? In all of my years in the automotive industry, I have never witnessed this, and the chances are, neither have any of you. On the other hand, I have witnessed special finance departments receive phone and/or Internet ups and not call those individuals back for days, weeks, or even months on numerous occasions. The question is: What is the difference?

When people browse the lot looking for a vehicle, sales associates will leap tall buildings in a single bound to greet them within minutes of setting foot on the lot. Meanwhile, phone and Internet ups are more than likely seeking financing, but special finance departments around the country let these leads sit on fax machines, software programs, and email inboxes for ridiculous amounts of time.

If someone browses a car lot and is not greeted by a sales associate in a timely fashion, this person will more than likely go to another dealership and browse their lot instead, which is why the greeting is so vital to initiating the sales process. The same goes for someone who has applied for financing over the telephone or the Internet. If they do not receive a response in a timely manner, chances are they will call another number or go visit another Website until someone follows up.

In todays competitive special finance market, finding a toll-free number or a Website to apply for an auto loan is not difficult. So why do special finance departments force prospects to look elsewhere because of their inability to follow up effectively? There could be a few reasons (or should I say excuses) as to why this takes place in special finance departments all over the country. Let us look at a few of them.

&middot- Well get to it when we get to it. They have bad credit and cannot get financing anywhere else anyway. That may have been true in the past, but we are not in Kansas anymore Toto. This is not the good old days of special finance where none of us had to work very hard because times were so good. Today, selling the ability to finance is no different from selling new or used vehicles. It is highly competitive and moves at the speed of light!

&middot- In conversations with national trainers, general managers, and sales managers, one common denominator stands true for sales people of all industries: Most prefer selling to a live person rather than a voice on the other end of the phone. Some salespeople even refuse to pick up the phone and make the initial follow-up call. This isnt true in all cases, there are certain people who have very good phone skills and excel in this environment, but car sales have traditionally been done face to face. None of this matters, however, because the purpose of the initial follow-up call is to get the prospect in the dealership, not to begin the sales process.

&middot- Today, 75 to 80 percent of special finance departments are equipped with some type of software to assist the department with tracking leads, many of which download leads directly for follow-up. This is a wonderful tool that has eliminated a great deal of paperwork. Time and time again, however, when I speak with a special finance manager who has some type of software, I am told, I havent logged into that thing in days. Well, if your leads go directly into this system and you havent logged in for days, that means you have no idea if you have any leads or not, much less if you have followed-up with the leads.

Dealerships that use the traditional method of logging each and every incoming lead as soon as it comes in are the ones that know, month in and month out, exactly how many leads are coming in, where those leads are coming from, and how many of the leads turn into sales. If you receive leads from multiple sources, which I am positive most of you do, it is imperative to log each lead in a timely manner. That way leads will filter down for someone to call and set the appointments, in a timely manner.

Michael Snider is national sales manger with Voisys (www.voisys.com), complete lead generation experts offering the automobile industry marketing programs specifically geared towards the special finance industry. He can be reached at 800-438-8642 x102 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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