You’re probably spending a large amount on marketing for your dealership, so what happens once a lead comes in? Are those opportunities being maximized or missed? Joining us on today’s episode of Inside Automotive is April Simmons, Corporate Internet and Marketing Director at Horne Auto Group, to outline how dealers can ensure every lead counts.
During today’s conversation, Simmons explains a universal problem in modern retail: treating all leads the same and relying too heavily on automation. She explains that a lead’s origin—whether it’s from OEM versus mid- or high-funnel—affects both the close rate and sales cycles. For example, dealerships with 90% OEM leads may experience faster conversions, while those with more mid-funnel leads need to prepare for longer engagement periods. This situation calls for different strategies and tailored communication.
To help her team better understand how to engage leads, Simmons revisits an old-school tool: the four-square. In training sessions, she has salespeople draw the classic pricing worksheet—price, trade, down payment, and monthly payment—to illustrate how customers telegraph their interests through digital behavior. By identifying which call-to-action a shopper clicks on (e.g., “value my trade” or “get a price”), Simmons says salespeople can pinpoint the customer’s “hot button” and engage more meaningfully.
“The definition of sales is to listen, align, and persuade—that’s all it is. I cannot persuade if I don’t know your perception first.”
Simmons stresses the importance of truly listening—even to leads who don’t speak. “If the email address is JimLovesCats@gmail.com, we know something about Jim,” she says, emphasizing that personalization builds rapport and trust, which in turn builds gross. She encourages dealers to train their staff to recognize these clues and move beyond scripted conversations to have genuine interactions.
Moreover, Simmons cautions against over-relying on AI. While she supports using AI to drive efficiency—citing tools like Read.ai and AI-built training decks—she draws the line at allowing automation to replace the human touch. “AI is like the cell phone of 2025,” she says. “It’s a tool to help us do more with less, not to replace empathy or emotional intelligence.”
Her recent decision to eliminate templated internet responses and retrain her staff is already yielding positive results. With the right tools and a strong reason behind this change, her team has seen an increase in close rates and internet performance month over month and year over year. She urges decision-makers to thoroughly understand their current digital tools before investing more in marketing or new technology, as many fail to fully utilize what they already possess.
