AutoUSA Internet Sales Solutions today announced that Nielsen Auto Group is achieving better closing rates and lower cost-per-sale on leads generated by Payment Pro℠ than on leads generated by any other source. The five-store group based in northern New Jersey delivers closing rates from twelve to twenty-five percent on Payment Pro’s credit-analyzed leads, with an average Cost-Per-Sale (CPS) of $200 per vehicle, compared with an average $400 CPS for leads generated by traditional advertising methods.

“Payment Pro is the best new product I’ve seen in fifteen years,” said Robert Boff, IT Director for the Nielsen Auto Group. Boff oversees Internet spending for the group, including selecting and analyzing lead sources for three Chrysler franchises, one Hyundai franchise and a used-car-only center.

Payment Pro is a payment-based conversion tool for auto dealer websites. When Boff heard about it in the fall of 2012, he liked the simplicity of each vehicle on a website having a payment button next to it. He tried it out initially in three Chrysler stores. “Seventy to eighty percent of customers are payment driven, and they like seeing the different payments next to each vehicle. It allows them to comparison shop in a payment range they’re comfortable with.”

Payment Pro analyzes customers’ credit without requiring them to enter personal information such as a social security number (SSN) or date of birth (DOB). Payment Pro pre-qualifies customers for payments on VIN-specific vehicles using the dealers’ finance programs, then instantly generates a lead that includes the name, contact information, vehicle of interest, pre-qualified monthly payment amounts and credit eligibility information.

Currently the five stores receive an average of fourteen to twenty Payment Pro leads per month. “Closing rates vary based on the skill of the salespeople, but none of the stores close less than twelve percent of the leads and the best store consistently closes around 25 percent of the leads,” said Boff. To help increase the volume of leads generated, he is in the process of adding Payment Pro’s mobile solution to the auto group’s mobile websites. “I’ve already noticed that the mobile implementation is resulting in greater lead generation and I’m excited about the potential.”

To analyze the performance and value of lead sources, Boff relies on CPS as his primary measurement. “With traditional advertising, it costs us $400 to sell a car. With Payment Pro the monthly fee divided by the number of cars we sell every month results in an average CPS of about $200 per vehicle.”

Payment Pro’s low CPS is currently delivering a greater value than other conversion tools and lead sources that Nielsen Auto Group is using, including chat, Search-Engine-Marketing (SEM) and display advertising. “My chat leads are down twenty to twenty-five percent this year,” said Boff. “Customers are in control these days and they want the information quickly. It depends on the salesperson of course, but if customers can’t get their questions answered instantly on chat, they won’t give your their name or phone number or e-mail, so you can’t even put them into the system as a lead.”

Boff has also been experimenting with pay-per-click and display advertising on the Internet. “We’re spending thousands per month and we’re getting fewer e-mails and phone calls than we did last year,” said Boff. “It’s kind of confusing. On one hand our traffic is up 38 percent, but the bounce rate is astronomical and has increased 80 percent. Customers click over to our page but they immediately leave, and we have to pay for that.”

The other lead sources that Boff relies on are independent Internet leads from AutoUSA as well as other providers. “I like buying leads; you’re getting people who are shopping on automotive sites who are in the market,” he said.

Boff will continue to use Payment Pro on the Nielsen Auto Group websites. “If you’re looking to enhance your website for better conversion, it’s a product that will increase the number of leads and help you sell more cars at a fraction of the price of other lead sources.”

Payment Pro is powered by DriveItNow and sold by AutoUSA Internet Sales Solutions. To see a demonstration of Payment Pro visit www.paymentprodemo.com or visit Booth #326 at the Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition this week in Las Vegas, NV.

About AutoUSA Internet Sales Solutions
AutoUSA Internet Sales Solutions brings the best-in-class tools to increase Internet sales and lower costs for automotive dealerships. Leading products include Payment ProSM, a payment-based pre-qualification tool for dealer websites; ShowProSM incentive program, proven to turn more leads into shows; Leads&ListingsSM, providing the highest quality, new and used car email and phone leads from 100+ sites; PowerListingsSM 2.0, helping dealers increase traffic to—and leads from—their social media sites; and AVA Virtual Sales Assistant, helping dealerships manage more leads at a reduced cost. AutoUSA products are currently benefiting thousands of active dealers all across the U.S.