The Basics of Lead Scoring

One of the most valuable aspects of Marketing Automation is the ability to identify and score leads. This ability is ideal for dealership sales teams to know which leads are most valuable and follow up accordingly - ultimately leading to more units sold.

While this sounds like a useful and impressive tool, what exactly does Lead Scoring mean and how does it work?

Without the use of Marketing Automation software, the vast majority of traffic to your dealership website is anonymous. Identifying website visitors is the first step. The VisitorID tool within Marketing Automation allows you to collect basic information about each website visitor such as email address and phone number, but it also integrates with your website platform to track metrics like pages visited, frequency of visits, forms filled out, interactions via email or social media, and more. Seeing the complete history of every lead gives your team the opportunity to create a personalized sales pitch to the lead that serves their specific interests.

Now comes the Lead Scoring aspect. Every dealership has different needs and goals. While your dealership may be focused on earning leads for your new inventory units, the dealer across town may care more about selling his used inventory. Similarly, you may have a specific unit type or brand that is most valuable to you in terms of leads. Or, maybe it’s a lead type that you find most important – “Request a Quote” vs. “Schedule a Demo.” It all depends on what will most affect your dealership’s bottom line. Once you’ve assigned a ranking or amount of points to the actions that are most important to you, Marketing Automation does all the work in tracking your leads and scoring them according to the actions they take on your website.

Lead Scoring paves the way for your sales team to work more efficiently than ever before. Knowing which leads are “hot” and most likely to convert saves time for your sales team and helps them close more deals. Before, your sales team may have wasted time chasing leads that weren’t serious about buying or lost interest in the unit – but the sales team didn’t know due to lack of lead scoring. Now, every potential customer has a lead score that is unique to them, and your sales team can craft a personalized message to fit their unique needs.

Focusing on high-value leads and delivering customized messages that reach the right customers at the right time – this is the most efficient way to earn more business and close more sales, and it is now possible with Marketing Automation.