Click to do what?

by dpollak on 11/03/2009 · View Comments

negotiate button keyboard Click to do what?OK – I just got back from Digital Dealer, and the conference was great. I did however see something that was really ridiculous. There’s actually two new companies out there that are introducing tools that allow dealers to negotiate with customers on-line.

Now maybe I’m crazy, but I’m sort of thinking that the fact that the customer is on-line might suggest that he or she isn’t interested in negotiating. Is this possibly the case? Well if it is, no one bothered to tell these guys. But it gets funnier.

One of these vendors proudly demonstrated to us their system that had a screen that listed the dealer’s vehicles and prices, along with buttons that read “click to buy now” or “click to negotiate”. Gee, I think that I might try the negotiate button. You’ve got to be kidding, how ridiculous could it be to ask a customer to choose between the options of buy now or negotiate? Why don’t we just put a bell in the showroom with a sign that says, “Ring to negotiate”. What in the world were these guys thinking when they designed this system?

Once the negotiating process begins, the customer is continuously given the option to “buy now” or “counter offer”. OK, I think I’ll counter offer!

When these guys come calling on your store and ask you to purchase this system for the low, low price of $2,500 per month, I would strongly advise you to “click” them out of your store.

 

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  • You are exactly right. I beta-tested that concept years ago on one of my sites (dfwdealerdirect). I paid $5,000 to have a developer create it. I even had an animated figure do the negotiating. It was fun, but it didn't work. All the visitors would do is bid a dollar until they reached the minimum acceptable price (like a lot of folks do on ebay). Then they would log off (they had the price, what else did they need?).

    My advice...stay away.

    Ray
  • I agree with you Dale and I have yet seen and dealer website negotiating tool make any real impact. Most dealers get on board for a few months only to see it fail.

    Consumers do not flock to a dealers website to negotiate on the price of a car. I believe that has been proven over again.

    So many resources placed into ineffective products across this industry.
  • My $0.02.

    Reminds me of ebay. Customers see it as a price discovery tool... it taps into the "I hate to haggle" vibe.

    Ebay is proof that it won't work. I know eBay better than most, I was a featured speaker for ebay at 04 NADA Vegas. For most of the USA, eBay has since devolved into a lead generating tool, generating phone calls filled with useless vultures and bottom feeders.
  • This guy Ray is one of the smartest e-commerce guys that I know.

    Thanks for your contribution Ray.
  • As an eCommerce Director that has always been skeptical of online auto buying services I wasted some resources and tried an earlier version. It required constant monitoring and frequent price changes. Inventory had issues most of the time and the bottom line is it did not work. As many know I was the beta tester of the eBay edealership and if worked correctly will produce leads that if handled correctly will turn into saies.
  • Paul - honest to God, can you believe it?

    Dale
  • Paul Hopper
    Dale, this is for the guys that still know how to use those time-tested negotiating skills, like "If I could, would you?" and "Go ahead and give me the deposit so I can talk to my boss."
    Bet they sell a bunch of these.
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