Internet Sales Manager

Description

The Internet Sales Manager is responsible for managing the dealership’s internet-generated sales opportunities and digital customer inquiries from initial contact through appointment, vehicle selection, and transition to the sales and F&I process.

The Internet Sales Manager oversees online leads, website inquiries, third-party lead sources, telephone and electronic communications, appointment scheduling, customer follow-up, CRM activity, and Internet Sales/BDC personnel, as applicable. The position is responsible for maximizing lead conversion and vehicle sales while ensuring that all communications, pricing representations, advertising, and customer interactions comply with dealership policies and applicable law.

The Internet Sales Manager works closely with Sales Management, F&I, Marketing, Inventory, and dealership leadership to provide a consistent customer experience across digital and in-person channels.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The Internet Sales Manager's responsibilities include:

- Manage and respond to sales leads received through the dealership website, manufacturer websites, third-party lead providers, online marketplaces, social media, email, telephone, text messages, and other approved sources.
- Ensure internet leads are promptly assigned, contacted, documented, and followed through the dealership's CRM system.
- Establish and monitor response-time and follow-up standards for internet leads.
- Communicate professionally with prospective customers by telephone, email, text message, and other dealership-approved communication methods.
- Identify customer needs and assist customers with vehicle selection, availability, features, pricing, appointments, and other preliminary sales inquiries.
- Schedule dealership appointments, test drives, vehicle demonstrations, and other customer visits.
- Confirm appointments and conduct appropriate follow-up with customers who do not appear for scheduled appointments.
- Maintain ongoing communication with prospective customers consistent with dealership communication policies and customer preferences.
- Coordinate with sales personnel and managers to ensure a smooth transition from online inquiry to dealership visit and vehicle purchase or lease.
- Maintain accurate customer and lead records within the dealership's CRM.
- Track lead sources, appointments, show rates, sales, closing ratios, response times, and other performance metrics.
- Monitor internet inventory listings for accuracy and promptly report discrepancies concerning vehicle availability, pricing, mileage, equipment, photographs, or descriptions.
- Coordinate with management and marketing personnel concerning website content, online promotions, lead-generation campaigns, and digital advertising.
- Ensure customers receive only current, management-approved pricing and promotional information.
- Participate in sales meetings, training, and performance reviews.
- Assist in developing scripts, templates, workflows, and follow-up campaigns for internet leads.
- Supervise Internet Sales Representatives or BDC personnel, if assigned.
- Train employees regarding CRM procedures, customer communications, lead management, advertising requirements, and dealership policies.
- Review lead activity to identify missed opportunities, abandoned leads, duplicate leads, and deficiencies in customer follow-up.

In order to help drive leads, you will also be responsible for maintaining the organization, cleanliness, and appearance of dealership vehicles and assisting with the safe and efficient movement of vehicles throughout the dealership.

Primary Responsibilities:

- Move and park vehicles throughout the dealership lot and service areas.
- Maintain an organized, clean, and presentable vehicle lot.
- Photograph inventory vehicles to post on various websites.
- Assist with receiving new and used vehicle inventory.
- Check vehicles for obvious damage and promptly report concerns to management.
- Retrieve vehicles for customers, sales personnel, and service personnel.
- Assist with dealer trades, vehicle fueling, and transportation as assigned.
- Maintain cleanliness of dealership lots and vehicle staging areas.
- Follow dealership procedures for keys, dealer plates, and vehicle security.
- Operate all vehicles safely and comply with dealership safety policies.
- Perform other dealership support duties as assigned.

Internet Lead Management

The Internet Sales Manager is responsible for maintaining an organized lead-management process from receipt through final disposition.

Each lead should be appropriately categorized and documented, including:

- date and time received;
- lead source;
- assigned employee;
- customer contact information;
- vehicle of interest;
- contact attempts;
- customer responses;
- appointment information;
- vehicle availability;
- sales outcome; and
- reason for lost or closed lead, when known.

Internet leads may not be intentionally deleted, reassigned, manipulated, or inaccurately closed for the purpose of altering performance metrics, commissions, or lead ownership.

Pricing and Advertising Responsibilities

The Internet Sales Manager shall ensure that pricing and other representations made to online customers are consistent with dealership-approved advertising and pricing policies.

The Internet Sales Manager may not advertise or communicate a vehicle price, discount, rebate, incentive, payment, down payment, financing term, lease term, or other material offer unless authorized by management and supported by the applicable program.

The Internet Sales Manager shall:

- verify advertised vehicle availability and pricing when responding to customer inquiries;
- accurately identify material conditions applicable to advertised discounts or incentives;
- avoid representing conditional rebates as universally available;
- avoid misleading statements regarding vehicle availability;
- refrain from advertising vehicles that are unavailable merely to generate customer traffic;
- ensure required qualifications for incentives are accurately communicated;
- avoid advertising or quoting monthly payments without required disclosures;
- ensure lease and financing representations are referred to appropriate approved materials and personnel;
- avoid adding undisclosed mandatory products or fees to an advertised price; and
- promptly escalate suspected advertising errors to management.

Customer Communications and Consent

Employees must use only dealership-approved systems and communication channels when communicating with prospective or existing customers.

Telephone calls, text messages, emails, automated communications, prerecorded messages, and marketing communications must be made in accordance with dealership policies and applicable consent, opt-out, do-not-call, and communication requirements.

Employees must promptly honor and document customer requests to stop receiving marketing communications through a particular channel as required by dealership policy and applicable law.

Personal cell phones, personal email accounts, or unauthorized messaging applications should not be used for dealership customer communications unless expressly permitted by dealership policy.

Credit Applications and Financing

The Internet Sales Manager may assist customers with access to the dealership's approved credit application process but shall not make unauthorized representations concerning credit approval.

Employees may not:

- promise or guarantee financing approval;
- represent that a customer has been approved before an actual approval has been received;
- alter information provided by a customer on a credit application;
- submit a credit application without appropriate authorization;
- fabricate or modify income, employment, residence, down payment, or other application information;
- improperly obtain or access a consumer report; or
- quote financing or lease terms that have not been authorized.

Credit applications and financing inquiries must be handled through dealership-approved systems and forwarded to authorized Sales Management and/or F&I personnel.

Management Responsibilities

If the Internet Sales Manager supervises other personnel, the Manager will:

- establish daily lead-management priorities;
- monitor employee response times and follow-up;
- review CRM activity;
- coach employees regarding telephone, email, and text communications;
- monitor appointments and appointment show rates;
- review lead-to-sale conversion rates;
- ensure employees follow approved scripts and templates;
- audit closed and lost leads;
- identify training needs;
- review customer complaints;
- ensure employee compliance with dealership policies; and
- report material compliance concerns to dealership management.

Performance Expectations

Performance may be measured using factors such as lead response time, contact rate, appointment-setting rate, appointment show rate, lead-to-sale conversion, units sold, gross profit, customer satisfaction, CRM accuracy, lead follow-up completion, and compliance performance.

Sales volume or lead-conversion goals do not authorize employees to make misleading representations, circumvent dealership procedures, improperly contact consumers, manipulate CRM records, or violate applicable law or dealership policy.

Qualifications

Preferred qualifications include prior automotive sales, internet sales, BDC, customer-service, or dealership-management experience; experience using dealership CRM and DMS platforms; knowledge of automotive digital retailing and online lead sources; strong written and verbal communication skills; organizational and supervisory abilities; ability to manage high volumes of leads and customer communications; familiarity with vehicle financing and leasing concepts; and ability to work evenings, weekends, and other hours appropriate to dealership operations.

A valid driver's license and satisfactory driving record may be required where the position involves operation of dealership or customer vehicles.

Compliance with Applicable Policies and Procedures

The Internet Sales Manager will be required to comply with all dealership policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, Privacy Policy, Info Sec Policy, Identity Verification and Fraud Prevention, and Consumer Complaints.

Acknowledgment

This job description describes the principal functions and responsibilities of the Internet Sales Manager position and is not intended to identify every duty that may be assigned. The dealership may modify responsibilities based on operational needs, changes in technology, dealership policies, or applicable law.

Nothing in this job description creates a contract of employment or alters the at-will employment relationship where applicable.