We’re Good

Ok, Webster says Good is “satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree.” General Managers or even Special Finance Managers seem to always be looking for something that will make them more money. In this case, I am talking about Subprime leads. They respond to advertisements for the next best thing. They sign on the dotted line and then at the end of the month call and cancel whatever they just bought. Those leads sucked! We can’t do anything with these people!

So I get a call from a GM the other day, “Hey, I want to know what you guys do.” After asking a few questions, I get the response “Oh, we’re good there!” So she tells me to not worry about that and just tell her what how I can help her. So I ask a few more questions that are met with the same response. Then the most amazing statement came out of her mouth… “all the leads are the same.”

Now we are getting somewhere. If all the leads are the same then what could possibly be different? Why would she be calling me? To get more of the same leads? What I didn’t tell her was that if all the leads are the same then that means that you don’t know how to work them. Someone is selling cars to these leads. If she doesn’t sell them a car, the need for a car is still there so the customer is going to get it somewhere else.

The real question is how did she define Good? Good at burning through leads, good at prequalifying leads, good at telling people what to do? What is Good? If you’re so good, why is there a need to continue looking for something else, another way? I wanted to tell her that if she would be willing to try something that is currently working in dealerships without applying her own “Good” ideas, I can help her sell more cars. But all I could get out was “Wow, that’s good!”