This document discusses customer sourcing for automotive dealerships. It explains that customer sourcing is determining how and where customers learn about a dealership in order to most effectively target advertising spending. Currently, most dealerships rely on salespeople to ask customers basic sourcing questions, but this often produces inaccurate data. The document promotes an online customer sourcing program called Dealer Sourcing Solutions that allows customers to provide sourcing details themselves in a quick survey. This provides dealerships with immediate and accurate sourcing data to optimize their advertising.

1. Automotive Dealership
Dealer Sourcing Solutions LLC

2. First, what is Customer Sourcing?
It is the act of determining what motivated a
customer to come to the dealership to research a
potential purchase, or to actually bring a purchase
to fruition.
It is purely a financial planning tool that will yield
information that is critical in determining where
and how the dealership should allocate its
advertising dollars.

3. Target Your Audience
Advertising is serious business!
In most dealerships, it is one of the largest line items
in the budget.
Sourcing determines where, when, and how your
customers shop so you can target your audience.
Knowing this reduces advertising expense, increases
results, and sells more cars.
Not properly targeting turns your advertising
campaigns into a crap shoot!
Targeting through Sourcing is critical in determining
where and how your dealership should allocate its
precious advertising dollars.

4. Don’t guess! Don’t spend money in the
wrong places.
Find out where your customers are, and
target them.
Sales Personnel get it wrong!
Most dealerships source their sales during the sales process, done either by the Sales
Personnel, F&I, or by Sales Managers.
So as to not interrupt the sales process, which is a valid concern, the customer is asked a
quick question or two such as, “What brought you into the dealership today,” or “Did you see
any of our advertising?”
Most personnel will write down the first thing the customer says. In many cases this is not
accurate, nor is it a complete picture of how your customer shopped.
How many vendors want your money to get you more of something,
but have no idea if that “something” is where your customers are shopping?

5. Dealers Report High Error Rates!
CRM/DMS systems today require a “source” to be entered in the customer profile information.
If the sourcing question was not asked, which is many times forgotten, the sales personnel will
simply choose an option listed in the customer profile data.
Many of these customers are recorded as drive-by sales, or the first advertising source that
comes to mind by the sales person, producing high error rates. This is unacceptable.
With high consumer use of interactive Internet advertising, along with traditional media mix,
the need to properly source is magnified.
By targeting your audience you:
• Reduce Expense
• Increase Revenue
• Sell More Cars

6. What is your options?
• Keep doing what you have been doing which we know produces high error
rates and costs your dealership thousands per month.
• Contract for a single use, one-time, Customer Sourcing Study
These Sourcing Studies generally are as follows:
• Covers a 3-5 month previous sales period
• Takes approximately 2 months to complete
• Information is 3 to 5 months old upon receipt
• Does not reflect current or changing market conditions
• Usually costs $10,000 to $15,000 depending on rooftops,
scope, length of report, and sales volume
• If provided by a third party advertiser, report may be
subject to manipulation, bias and lack of transparency.

7. There is a Better Way!
At DEALER SOURCING SOLUTIONS we have a better answer. An inexpensive, game changing, on-line,
web based program that your customers fill out at your store; buyers at the time of sale, and non-
buyers during their visit.
Access to the information is immediate whether you want it daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. You
will know immediately if an advertising source or program worked, and if you should change it,
increase it, or cut it, saving you thousands in unnecessary monthly advertising expenses.
Cars.com: This program is
an Industry Game Changer
AutoTrader.com: The
Sourcing Program give every
dealer that uses it a distinct
advantage over their
competition

8. Sourcing Script Example

9. Dealer Name

10. Car Gurus has been added
This page appears busy.
However, several questions do
not initially show, and will only
show up depending on a
previous question selection.

15. Reporting Examples

16. Dealer Name
This area will display any negative customer comments
Map Balloons represent Dealer Sales locations by Zip Code

17. 43
Dealer Reports will show
Sample Size for each graph.

19. 35
35

26. There is always a time in the sales process when the customer has to be left alone. This
is when your deal can go south. You just gave your customer the opportunity to think
about; changing the deal, asking more for a trade, lowering the price, requesting
something additional, going home to think about it, or simply leaving.
When do you ask the buyer to fill out the survey? After your customer signs the
purchase order and when:
• you have to leave your desk for a few minutes for any reason
• papers are being prepared by F & I
• checking to see when promised work can be done
• the customer is waiting for delivery
When to have your customer fill out the survey.

27. What does the customer use to fill out the survey
iPad
Tablet
Desktop
Smart Phone
PC
Any computer
What if your customer wants to fill it out at home:
No problem. Simply give them a piece of paper with the address;
www.DealerSourcingSolutions.com along with your Username.
You can also email the information to them.
However, participation drops 80%+ on home surveys

29. Dealer Sourcing Solutions LLC
Dave Christiansen
P. O. Box 1996
Wapakoneta, OH 45895
Phone: 419-236-9754
Fax: 419-738-1776
dpc@bright.net