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Yesterday was the moment: the announcement of the Used Car of the Year. The winner is the Lynk & Co 01. I’ve known this for a while, as I’ve been on the jury for several years and had a vote in the selection. I was in the room during the Remarketing Event when the winner was announced. A silence fell the moment the name was spoken.

Maybe that wasn’t so surprising. Among the finalists were former winners like the Volvo XC40, the Toyota Yaris and Aygo, and the VW Polo. All models that any dealer would love to sell as a used car—unlike a semi-Swedish, partly Chinese copy of the Volvo XC40 with a slightly larger battery.

The answer is simple: no! Nothing beats a face-to-face conversation, and if that’s not possible, a phone call comes next. Data from Walcu at Ligier Store Doesburg – Experience Center shows that spontaneous showroom visitors convert the best. Next is a phone appointment, then WhatsApp. Then comes a long gap, followed by email and SMS.

Still, you can’t do without WhatsApp in the mix for online lead follow-up and store accessibility. It offers a lot of value, as I recently discovered.

I couldn’t believe my eyes this week… Trump and Musk, side by side in a Tesla at the White House. Trump, a first-class EV-hater, buying a Tesla for show from his new best friend Musk. And of course, Trump couldn’t resist voicing his complaints: falling Tesla sales, protests at the showrooms, and the plummeting stock price – all “unfair” to his buddy Elon.

This week, it became crystal clear to me once again: when do you give a salesperson too many tasks that have nothing to do with direct selling? And why does that approach ultimately cost you sales?

At many car dealerships I visit, salespeople are busy with customers: following up leads, handling showroom visits, following up on those, and delivering vehicles. That’s a full-time job. Ideally, a salesperson should be hitting at least 25 sales per month to be truly effective. But the market average is much lower — around 12 sales a month. Why is that?

Many car companies (both dealers and independent businesses) place the salesperson at the center of their online lead follow-up, often without even realizing it. That’s strange, isn’t it?

That’s the statement I want to highlight. After all, not every owner or director will agree with this claim! They will emphasize that, of course, the customer is at the center—not the salesperson. Unfortunately, the facts often tell a different story.

Even if you master both the theory and practice of lead follow-up, the daily hustle can cause you to miss opportunities. But with Calldrip’s latest features – the summary and coaching notes – it’s easier than ever to follow up on every lead effectively. These tools not only help you avoid mistakes but also enable continuous improvement, ensuring you get the most out of your conversations. A true game-changer!

June 19 last year was a dark day for one of the largest software providers in the automotive retail industry in the U.S. On that day, everything at CDK came to a standstill. Criminals managed to breach the systems, lock everything down, and effectively hold the company hostage. Due to the system blockade, more than […]

Today, David Kain is giving a presentation at the Automotive Dealer Seminar about Amazon Auto’s plans. The e-commerce giant, one of the largest companies in the world, is now seriously entering the online automotive retail space after years of running small pilot projects. Amazon is currently making these efforts in collaboration with Hyundai. What does […]

Now that I work daily in Doesburg, I see more and more the importance of online leads. As a young company – 30 months old – I need new opportunities every day to close deals. My existing customer base is still too small and too young to generate repeat purchases, which could contribute to, for […]

NADA 2025 in New Orleans is about to begin, and as I have done for years, I am writing my first blog about NADA on the plane en route to the U.S. Although we have only just departed, I am already tired! The night before departure, at 11:30 PM, I received a message from our […]