Automotive News - October 13, 2008 - (Page 24) INSIGHT continued from previous page OCTOBER 13, 2008 • 31 “We want to give exclusive leads to exclusive dealers and not sell them to third parties,” Page says. He wants to “clean up” the lead generation business. Many customer leads get sold and resold, so it’s difficult to determine good from bad, Page says. Ford dealer Emerson says traffic at his store has increased dramatically since he turned his Web site and Internet leads over to Dealer E Process. And those Internet customers are more prepared to buy than a walk-in customer who’s just shopping around. Says Emerson: “If it’s a walk-in guy versus an Internet customer, I’ll take that Internet customer any day. That customer has picked the car, the color, the options, the price.” c want to make sure your store comes up before Ripoff Report,” a consumer complaint Web site. Creating ups Jack Emerson, general manager of Haggerty Ford in West Chicago, Ill., is a convert. After running his own Internet department for several years with little success, Emerson and Jerry Haggerty, the owner of the store, tried Gillespie. “You can buy a zillion leads, but if you can’t get them in the door, you’re dead,” Emerson says. Dealer E Process does “a terrific job of getting the customers into the door,” he says. “Once we get them into the store, we can sell them. “Our salesmen are crazy about it because they know there’s a high percentage chance they can sell a customer who walks in the door.” When the guy in his Internet department took the day off, nobody was following up on leads, Emerson says. With Dealer E Process, it’s different. Somebody is managing those leads, even on weekends, he says. Dealer E Process is actually several businesses in one. It builds and manages Web sites for about 16 Chicago area dealerships. It also manages the local marketing association Web site for Buick-Pontiac-GMC in Chicago, encompassing 31 dealers. Page launched a used-car site, www.usedcarsofchicago.com, used by 60 Chicago area dealers. Dealer E Process will expand the used-car business. It has bought URLs using the “usedcarsof(blank).com” format for most major American cities and towns. The next step for Dealer E Process is expanding its lead generation business nationally. Until now, the company mostly has managed third-party leads and generated leads in the Chicago area. MICHAEL A. MARCOTTE Dave Page, left, and Michael Gillespie developed Dealer E Process. Says Page: “We like to think of ourselves as being professional appointment setters and professional traffic builders.” Dealer guys Gillespie conceived Dealer E Process along with Dave Page, 35, who had built Gillespie’s service department into a thriving business. That’s part of their pitch — they’re dealer guys who understand selling cars. Page, who has a finance degree from DePaul University, started in the business as a porter at another Chicago dealership. When Page started managing Gillespie’s service business, it had 10 mechanics at Gillespie’s two stores. By the time Page left, that number had grown to 32. Now Page is full-time director and part owner of Dealer E Process. “We like to think of ourselves as being professional appointment setters and professional traffic builders,” Page says. “For an industry struggling to get traffic in the door, (we ask dealers to) let us create traffic, because that’s what we do.” One person paying attention was Deborah Meyer, Chrysler LLC’s chief marketing officer, who thinks the Internet is transforming car marketing. She asked Gillespie to sit on her Internet advisory panel, which is bringing new ideas into Chrysler. When it comes to backing up, why look anyplace else? Michael Gillespie Age: 38 Dealerships: Gillespie ChevroletPontiac, Freedom Auto Depot (used cars), Chicago; Gillespie Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Midlothian, Ill. 2007 unit sales: 1,550 new, 848 used at Gillespie ChevroletPontiac; 1,952 used at Freedom Auto Depot; Gillespie ChryslerDodge-Jeep opened this year and is on track to sell 810 new, 481 used in 2008 Idea: He co-founded Dealer E Process, which builds and manages Web sites for 16 Chicago area dealerships, manages the local marketing association Web site for Buick-Pontiac-GMC in Chicago and has a used-car site, usedcarsofchicago.com, used by 60 Chicago area dealers. Sure, you could put the rear camera display someplace else, but why? The mirror is an intuitive, ergonomic location that lets you view the reflected scene and the display simultaneously. It’s also a cost-effective solution that simplifies cross-platform integration. And, the on-demand display comes packaged in an auto-dimming mirror with a host of other optional value-added features. The Gentex rear camera display one look shows it all. Gentex Corporation • 600 North Centennial, Zeeland, Michigan 49464 • 616-772-1800 • www.gentex.com http://www.insigniagroup.com http://www.insigniagroup.com
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