Internet Shopper's Buying Cycle

Internet Shoppers typically have a buying cycle of 30 - 90 days. This means that from the time they submit a request for information, the majority are at least 30 days away from actually driving off in their new vehicle!

The interesting thing is that most dealerships (not Schumacher) stop attempting to contact the customer after 7 days. By the time the customer is ready to buy, the typical dealer has forgotten all about them. This causes customers to be frustrated by a lack of responsiveness of the dealership. It also creates internet salespeople who are frustrated over the lack of responsiveness on the part of the customers, who were, afterall, the ones that initiated the process in the first place.

Solution: When submitting an internet request for information, the best idea is to contact the Internet Representative via phone or email within the first week. If you are not ready to purchase yet, that's ok. You can simply let the representative know what information you are looking for, and roughly what you think your time frame will be. From this, you will get the information that you were after in the first place. You may also be surprised by the amount of tools that the dealership has at its disposal to put the deal together in the short term. The car business is one that deals with this month and lets next month take care of itself. There are programs designed to waive payments and get customers into new vehicles quicker. The more flexible you can be on vehicle and timeframe, the better chance you have to get a great deal! The one thing to remember is that an Internet Sales Representative is dealing with hundreds of prospective customers at any given time. If you ask to be taken off of a contact list, you will be taken off. There is no significant risk of being pestered if you are not yet in the market. Simply state your timeframe.