Internet Sales Team Eases Car Buying Experience

Eight out of ten American car buyers use the Internet to do research before making a car purchase and 78% report that it affects their choice of vehicle and dealership. Doing your homework can really pay off when you are ready to purchase a car. There are general automotive information sites such as Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds.com, Cars.com, and AutoTrader.com where you can gather specs and information, read independent reviews, compare models, find used car values and vehicle history and look at the true cost of ownership. These are excellent places to start your research especially if you are uncertain about what you want to buy. There are also sites such as DealerRater.com where you can obtain consumer reviews about a dealership, individual sales staff and service departments.

Once you have completed this preliminary research, you will want to familiarize yourself with a specific dealership’s website to learn more about that particular business, search inventory and see what specials are available. If you complete any form on a dealer’s website you will likely be contacted by someone from the dealership. You may also reach them by accessing a dealership’s website through one of the third-party vendors mentioned above. You may even see a pop-up chat button indicating that someone is available chat with you online immediately. All of these, are part of a dealership’s Internet sales team.

The Internet sales team provides a valuable service and important interim step between your preliminary online research and actually visiting a dealership. First and foremost, they provide an introductory handshake to the business and talking with them will give you a good sense of how you will be treated as a customer. They can help you confirm availability, secure financing, understand leasing vs. purchase, and obtain pricing. Having this information up front can instill a level of confidence before visiting the showroom. The Internet Sales staff will schedule an appointment or test drive for you, meet you when you arrive at the dealership, and may introduce you to a product specialist or manager to enhance your experience.

The Internet Sales Team serves as advance team for the dealership and may even help with travel arrangements and more. In fact, you may find staff in these positions willing to go the extra mile to earn your business. They are extremely knowledgeable about inventory and the car buying experience and can really help to reduce the stress of buying a car and minimize the time spent at the dealership. In short, it is well worth spending time talking to the Internet sales team.