Want to boost your conversions? Assign your automotive leads with a strategy—use our best practices for faster follow-ups and higher performing workflows
You’re a sales manager. You walk into the dealership one morning, take a seat at your desk, sign into your CRM system, and see a long list of leads waiting for a follow-up. Wow, sounds great, right? Well, not exactly—those leads are bellied-up, dead fish. They didn’t receive a response right away, and now they’re probably in a meeting with the dealership down the street. Ouch.
So what happened? It all starts with one section of the sales pipeline: assigning automotive leads. Without a polished system for lead management, it doesn’t matter what CRM you use—your close ratio falls behind every month. But don’t worry. We have a few tricks up our sleeves to help sales managers establish a foolproof system.
Use a dealership CRM to streamline your automotive leads and assignment strategies
We know a lot about how CRMs work here at AutoRaptor. But we also know that every dealership has its own way of doing things. Especially when it comes to converting automotive leads into customers. Your workflow is unique, so your CRM needs to be flexible.
There are three major methods of assigning leads within our system: round-robin, individual claims by sales reps, or delegating them manually (by the sales manager).
Each one of these has to potential to work for your dealership. But you have to dig a little deeper. CRM features work best when customized to your specific assignment rules.
Without an assignment strategy, automotive leads fall through the cracks, and money is left on the table. Don’t let that happen. Pick a method and implement our best practices.
1. Set a time limit. Give your salespeople 30 minutes to follow-up with an inbound lead. The faster your sales reps respond to leads, the more likely they will close the deal. If they don’t respond within the set timeframe, reassign the lead to a new person.
2. Only allow active reps to claim leads. If your sales rep signs into the CRM to claim leads on his day off, he won’t follow up until the next morning. By that time, the lead has already moved on to another dealership. Only salespeople who are currently on shift at the dealership should be allowed to claim leads.
3. Follow a system that is fair. Every dealership is different, so you have to find the system that works best for you. What matters is that all of your sales reps are receiving the same amount of opportunity. Round robin is a great way to automate the assignment tasks, but don’t shy away from manually delegating leads when necessary.
4. Assign leads for specific purposes. For instance, if a lead has expressed interest to work with a certain salesperson, don’t assign it to someone else. Use your common sense to assign the lead so that the dealership has the best chances to close the deal.
5. Make status changes mandatory. Make a rule that all reps currently working leads cannot claim new leads in the pipeline. If they’re following up on other leads, they must change their status to “busy” in the CRM tool. This keeps the flow moving with salespeople that can respond right away.
6. Assign automotive leads asap. Managers need to keep tabs on the flow of incoming leads into a CRM tool and hand them out quickly. You’re the first step in the process. Figure out what sales reps are available to take the lead and if he is best prepared to continue the sale.
7. Customize your workflow in the CRM system. Once you’ve nailed down a process for assigning automotive leads to your team, instill them into AutoRaptor. Our CRM is customizable to your strategies. It also provides intuitive features that support your fast-paced sales floor.
8. Automate the leads assignments when you’re away. Set the CRM to hand out leads in a round robin fashion when you’re out of the office. It will be easier for your assistant managers or top salespeople to monitor on their own. Let the CRM work for you when you can’t manage it manually.
Channel your automotive leads to the right people for quick follow-up (and gain the business!)
Remember the end goal: converting leads into buyers. People today are looking for speed—quick responses and answers to their problems. You have to create criteria for assigning leads and then focus on speed. Assign the lead, follow-up, or re-assign to another salesperson. For inbound leads, this process should happen within 30 minutes. Use your CRM to automate your efforts and streamline your workflow.
Do you have any suggestions for managing automotive leads? How do you assign leads to your team? Share your story!
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Frequently asked questions
Questions About This Topic
What are the three main methods for assigning automotive leads within a CRM?
The three main approaches are round-robin distribution, individual claims by sales reps, and manual delegation by the sales manager. Each can work well depending on a dealership's workflow, and a good CRM should be flexible enough to support whichever method, or combination of methods, fits the team best.
Why should only active, on-shift salespeople be allowed to claim leads?
If a salesperson claims a lead while off duty, they typically won't follow up until their next shift, by which time the customer may have already moved on to another dealership. Restricting lead claims to salespeople who are currently working keeps response times fast and leads from going cold.
What time limit is recommended for following up with an inbound lead?
Salespeople should be given about 30 minutes to follow up with an inbound lead. If they don't respond within that window, the lead should automatically be reassigned to another available salesperson, since faster responses consistently lead to higher close rates.
Why is it useful to automate round-robin lead assignment when a sales manager is away?
Automating assignment ensures leads keep moving to available salespeople even when a manager isn't actively distributing them, preventing leads from sitting untouched. This lets assistant managers or top performers monitor the flow without needing to manually hand out every incoming lead.
