<David Parrott>

Hello, How may I help you?

<Ryan Lucia>

Hi David, this is Ryan Lucia with ContactAtOnce!.  May I ask you a few questions about chat?

<David Parrott>

Sure.

<Ryan Lucia>

Does chat work for your BMW/MINI store?

<David Parrott>

Yes.  It is a very important element of our success.  We sell somewhere between 10-20 vehicles each month to customers that first contact us via chat.

<Ryan Lucia>

Why do highline customers like to use chat?

<David Parrott>

It is convenient when they are at work, and the initial anonymity makes them comfortable enough to contact us when they otherwise might not.

<Ryan Lucia>

And how do your sales people like chat?  How does it fit in their process?

<David Parrott>

The sales people all like it if for no other reason than the fact that it helps them sell more cars.  As for process, it was easy to incorporate into our process.

<Ryan Lucia>

How do you train your sales people for chat?

<David Parrott>

We use the transcripts that ContactAtOnce! keeps in the database to contrast good ones and bad ones, then managers regularly review each sales person’s own transcripts to help them improve.

<Ryan Lucia>

Are there a lot of unqualified chat leads?

<David Parrott>

Less than via lead forms, and one nice thing about chat is that we can very quickly figure out whether a lead is qualified or not so it is a very efficient tool for us

<Ryan Lucia>

Would you ever consider outsourcing the answering of your chat leads to a third party?

<David Parrott>

No chance.  Chat leads from our website are some of the most valuable we get so I want my team to handle them all.

<Ryan Lucia>

OK David.  Thanks for your time.  May I share this transcript with others?

<David Parrott>

Yes, and thanks for providing us with great software and customer support!

<Shawn Wells>

Thank you for contacting Lexus of Glendale.  How may I help you?

<Ed Parkinson>

Hi Shawn this is Ed Parkinson with ContactAtOnce!
You’ve been using live chat on your website since early 2008 when Lexus corporate selected ContactAtOnce! and recommended it to dealers.  How has it worked for you?

<Shawn Wells>

Great!  We have been very happy with the response from our guests.

<Ed Parkinson>

Why do your guests like it?

<Shawn Wells>

Convenience and ease of use.  Many of our guests now use it to schedule their services, sales test drives, even request parts.

<Ed Parkinson>

Why do the dealership personnel like it?

<Shawn Wells>

They know that our guests like it, that it brings in business we might not otherwise have received, and that the staff assigned to the chat feature WILL get the guest in to our dealership.

<Ed Parkinson>

What’s been the biggest surprise with live chat?

<Shawn Wells>

The reports in your system that show how we compare to other stores - that info is really valuable.

<Ed Parkinson>

OK.  We appreciate your business Shawn.  Thanks for your time today!

<Shawn Wells>

You are welcome.

<Scott Pettitt>

Hello, how may I help you?

<Ed Parkinson>

Hi Scott, it’s Ed Parkinson from CAO

<Scott Pettitt>

Nice to talk to you again

<Ed Parkinson>

You too.  Your store does a really good job and I wanted to hear from you about how CAO works in your store?

<Scott Pettitt>

Well we see the tool as just another way for us to reach our customers

<Ed Parkinson>

Do customers like it?

<Scott Pettitt>

Think of it like this everyone that comes to our website has an opportunity to get instant feedback from one of our trained professionals

<Scott Pettitt>

Customers love it and continue to come back to it again and again

<Ed Parkinson>

Has it helped you sell cars or service?

<Scott Pettitt>

We are able to capture customers that we would never be able to in the past by just showing them that we are available for any questions

<Scott Pettitt>

We started to receive more and more service requests on parts and appointments

<Scott Pettitt>

That we started up with chat for service customers

<Scott Pettitt>

Now they can write in and get their advisor and ask the questions right away not wait for them to get through our phone lines

<Ed Parkinson>

Have you been able to use the forwarding feature to send chats to the appropriate personnel?

<Scott Pettitt>

We love the fact that you can forward a conversation to the appropriate person without asking them to call back

<Scott Pettitt>

You have a live person online and the last thing you want to do is disconnect and have them call

<Ed Parkinson>

That’s interesting

<Ed Parkinson>

So you can take people from chat to show to buy?

<Scott Pettitt>

Of course!

<Ed Parkinson>

We are very happy to see you having success.  Please IM us with any questions.  Would it be ok to share this chat on our website?

<Scott Pettitt>

I don’t mind telling people that your product has made us more productive and in my eye more professional than our competition

<Ed Parkinson>

Well, thanks for your time today.

<Scott Pettitt>

No problem chat with me anytime

<Ed Parkinson>

Thanks, Bye

<Scott Pettitt>

Have a great day!

<RJ Lindsay>

Thanks for visiting our website.  How may I help you?

<Ryan Lucia>

Hi RJ - Ryan with ContactAtOnce! here.  May I ask you a few questions about use of chat on your website?

<RJ Lindsay>

Sure!

<Ryan Lucia>

How does it work for a Honda store?

<RJ Lindsay>

It works great! The first day I had it up and running I took a deposit on a new civic and made two appointments, which is huge considering we are a small store!

<Ryan Lucia>

How are the chat leads quality-wise?

<RJ Lindsay>

The leads that I get from the instant chat are better than most of the pay per click lead providers that we use.

<Ryan Lucia>

What types of customers come to you via chat?

<RJ Lindsay>

No one type.  Old, young, wealthy and credit challenged.  Lots of people just find it convenient I think.

<Ryan Lucia>

How hard was it to get chat set up?

<RJ Lindsay>

Surprisingly easy. I use Dealerskins for my website provider and they took care of mostly all of it for me.

<Ryan Lucia>

How many people in the dealership are using chat?

<RJ Lindsay>

I have 4 people currently signed up to use the chat feature.

<Ryan Lucia>

Looking at the data in the customer portal I can see that your team is doing a nice job.  Keep it up!

<RJ Lindsay>

Thanks.

<Ryan Lucia>

Is it OK to share this transcript with others?

<RJ Lindsay>

Sure.

<Ryan Lucia>

Thanks again, RJ.

<RJ Lindsay>

No problem Ryan, thanks again for all the help you have provided me.

<Julie Gross>

Hello Ed

<Ed Parkinson>

How has the IM system been working for you.  Any Success?

<Julie Gross>

Yes, our clients like the instant service.  We’ve found that we are able to set up appointments quickly, especially for MINI.

<Julie Gross>

BMW clients inquire for more information while they are searching a vehicle’s details.

<Ed Parkinson>

How would you compare IM to email?

<Julie Gross>

With “all things internet” people appreciate the instant gratification that IM provides.  In addition, the IM client adds a bit of anonymity.

<Julie Gross>

People enjoy that because we can gain rapport with them quickly.

<Julie Gross>

I personally like it as a BDC Manager because it helps with training our concierges on how to secure the appointment

<Ed Parkinson>

If IM were considered a “lead provider” how does it compare?

<Julie Gross>

It is the least expensive with the highest contact rate!

<Julie Gross>

As far as resulting in a sale, we have heard from clients that have ultimately purchased a vehicle that it was due in part to the fast response and interest from the dealer.  It made them more comfortable about a visit as opposed to walking in blindly.

<Ed Parkinson>

Thanks for your insight, Julie.  May I share this conversation with others?

<Julie Gross>

Yes you may.

<Diane Witcraft>

Hello, How may I help you?

<Ed Parkinson>

Hi Diane it’s Ed P.  May I ask you a few questions about Instant Messaging?

<Diane Witcraft>

Sure…go ahead.

<Ed Parkinson>

Has it helped your department?

<Diane Witcraft>

Yes…absolutely…$ the results came about very, very quickly…within days!!!

<Ed Parkinson>

By results, do you mean setting appointments?

<Diane Witcraft>

setting appts…& actually sold the 1st one thru ContactAtOnce! within the 1st 2 or 3 days

<Ed Parkinson>

Great News.  How do your site visitors perceive instant messaging?  Do you think that IM can be the margin of difference to open the door of online communication?

<Diane Witcraft>

Huge, huge response from visitors on the website…they think it is awesome!  I have to tell you that I was surprised at how well it worked out for us!

<Ed Parkinson>

Your staff is well trained and the quality of the conversations are very good.  Knowing what you have learned and experienced with IM how would sales life be in the absence of ContactAtOnce?

<Diane Witcraft>

We would lose a minimum of 10 cars per month probably would be more in the future…

<Ed Parkinson>

Diane, thanks for taking a few minutes to talk to me.  Would it be ok for me to share this conversation with other people?

<Diane Witcraft>

Sure not a problem…see you Ed!

<Chris Harmon>

Hello, how may I help you?

<Ryan Lucia>

Hi Chris, this is Ryan Lucia with ContactAtOnce!  May I ask you a few questions about your experience with ContactAtOnce!?

<Chris Harmon>

Sure.

<Ryan Lucia>

Let’s start with the most important question - is ContactAtOnce! chat helping you sell more cars?

<Chris Harmon>

Yes it is.

<Ryan Lucia>

What’s been the key to your success?

<Chris Harmon>

We get chat leads from our own website and also from Cars.com.  Chat leads have a great closing ratio and are basically additive, meaning we still get our phone leads and email leads too. 

<Ryan Lucia>

So chat isn’t just for highline?

<Chris Harmon>

No - BPG customers love it and use it a lot.

<Ryan Lucia>

Thanks for the feedback Chris.  May I share this transcript with others?

<Chris Harmon>

Yes.  Have a great day Ryan.

<Ryan Lucia>

You too!