Lead Attribution Models for Car Dealerships: First-Touch vs Last-Touch Explained
TL;DR — Quick Summary Lead attribution models for car dealerships determine which marketing channel gets credit for a closed deal — and picking the wrong model can push budget toward the wrong sources. First-touch attribution credits the channel that introduced the buyer, which favors top-of-funnel channels like SEO and social ads. Last-touch attribution credits the […]
How to Audit Your Auto Lead Provider in 30 Days
TL;DR — Quick Summary A 30-day audit your auto lead provider process breaks into four weekly checkpoints: real conversion data, exclusivity and speed-to-lead, pre-screening quality, and true cost per funded deal. Dealerships that only track cost-per-lead miss the bigger number — cost per funded deal, which exposes shared and low-intent leads fast. Speed-to-lead under 5 […]
Dealership KPIs That Predict Lead-to-Sale Performance
TL;DR — Quick Summary Speed-to-lead is the single strongest predictor of lead-to-sale performance — dealerships that call within 5 minutes connect at dramatically higher rates than those who wait. Contact rate and appointment-set rate expose whether a BDC team is actually reaching buyers, not just dialing numbers. Show rate separates dealerships with a real appointment […]
CPL vs CPS vs CPA: Which Metric Should Auto Dealers Track?
TL;DR — Quick Summary CPL (cost per lead) measures spend per raw contact but says nothing about whether that contact ever buys a vehicle. CPS (cost per sale) ties spend directly to a funded deal and is the only metric that reflects real dealership profit. CPA (cost per acquisition) is often used interchangeably with CPS […]
How to Calculate Auto Finance Lead ROI: The Real Math for Dealers
TL;DR — Quick Summary Auto finance lead ROI is calculated as (gross profit from closed deals minus total lead spend) divided by total lead spend, expressed as a percentage. Shared leads distort the math because your dealership is competing with 3–5 other stores for the same buyer, which quietly drags conversion down without lowering cost […]