Until today, if anyone approached a major Internet department and said that they should be closing 61% of their leads, many may have balked. They’d cite example after example of how this simply isn’t possible. And the truth is, the more they’re like the lowest closing-ratio dealer, the more examples in their arsenal. And with more examples comes a stronger belief. But, just like the General Manager in Part 1 wiped last month’s sales board clean, we have to put that behind us.

Summary: The dark before the dawn – the Internet Manager has a mental breakdown.

It was May 1^st, and the General Manager was wiping clean last month’s stats off our sales board in his office. All my late-night, hard-won battles vanished in his big swipes. Sales always look so clean and easy when they’re just numbers. And the eraser glides so easily over them. But, we all know there’s a story behind every number on the board.

Almost every dealer has one. Every salesman on the floor has been wronged by him at some point. If they haven’t recently, it’s only a matter of time before he strikes again.

He’s Half-Deal Man.

In Part 1, we got a better sense of the internet car shopper’s mental model. Now, let’s talk about how to apply that understanding.

This very millisecond, somewhere on the interwebs, a customer is about to press “Click Here for a Quote.” This customer is moments away from reaching dealers’ CRMs. They bite their nails, pondering the ramifications of giving out their personal information for the promise of super-awesome dealer quotes. The risk seems worth it, so they proceed… but then change their phone number slightly because that way maybe they’ll only receive quotes via email. Hopes are high. They refresh their inbox. Dealers are responding. Let’s follow along the most likely path taken by this internet shopper.

Maybe you’re a GM, and you suspect your Internet department is underperforming. Or you might be an Internet Manager who’s tired of losing deals to competitors that tell your prospects to bring in their lowest quote. Either way, you’re in the right place; this is no average article – It’s a step-by-step plan on how to improve sales.

The other day, I decided to size up my dealer competition. I chose a car that could be priced two different ways depending on the manufacturer’s incentive: either 0% financing or $1500 dealer cash. The downside to these programs is that the general public only seems to know about the 0%.

I pursued my pricing request the way most customers would – by asking for their best price. Logical, right?

A crowd of salesmen assembles on the showroom floor. None of them quite understand why they’re whispering. Some have heard rumors of a salesman who existed many years ago. Others swear this isn’t true. A few say he could never survive again because we live in different times.

At some point in our lives, most of us will find ourselves in a situation where our old, paid-off car breaks down. Not a big deal. We expected this to happen, right? But, what if it keeps happening? Suddenly your old car doesn’t seem to be rewarding you for taking good care of it. It doesn’t care about the new tires and brakes you put on last month. It doesn’t seem satisfied with the new oxygen sensor you gave it. You thought the sadness would end with a new timing belt, but the old beast gave way again.

A friend recently told me she’d waited five hours to buy a car – and naturally, she asked me why. In my answer, I found myself listing off several possible reasons she’d have to wait so long. The more I explained, the clearer it became: I should start the discussion here and give a few tips on how to avoid long wait times.

So, who are the people involved in your deal, and how do they impact your time at the dealer?

What would the very best guide to understanding leases look like? No one can say for sure. What I’ll try for here, at least, is a lease guide that I wished had been around for me (someone who runs far, far away from anything math-related). I promise that not a single mathematical formula will sink its evil teeth into this article.