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One of the most common questions I currently hear from dealers is, “Why should I switch to a Firestorm Website?”.  This article will have no fluff or hyperbole… just good ole meat and potatoes answers.

Let’s start with a foundational question: What is the main purpose of your website? 

I’ve mentioned this question before in past articles, but I’d be remiss not to state it again because your answer is like a compass that lets you know if you’re heading in the right direction. For instance, if your website’s main purpose is to get your name out there, you’re done!  It’s doing that. 

The correct answer is: To generate leads. All other functions are secondary.

The average website in the powersports industry gets around 4,000 website visitors and generates about 60 leads per month (or a 1% to 2% conversion rate). Our chief goal with Firestorm Websites is to generate more leads. 

This is meat and potatoes reason #1: Firestorm Websites have a 100% success rate at generating more leads each month, and we'll generate more leads for your dealership as well. For details on what type of increase you could expect for your dealership, call me at 877-242-4472.

But what about quality of the leads? First, let’s address the big fat ELEPHANT in the room:

1. Your website blatantly leads customers and prospects down the path of requesting a quote. Ever wondered why all your website leads are focused on price?

2. The MSRP is listed on your inventory pages, which means you’re pushing website visitors to expect a discount. Ever wondered why all your website leads want a discount?

3. Any good salesperson who follows up with website leads has been taught to avoid price. They’re trained to do their best to get the prospect into the dealership, and whatever they do, avoid talking price!

To recap, your website is actually leading visitors to focus on price and request a quote, but your salesperson is taught to avoid giving them a price? Wow! How is this the norm? Why haven't we caught this... it's terrible?! This process, which leads to a headbutt between your dealership and the prospect, causes less website leads (or a bad conversion rate) and less prospects in the store. 

When “quote request” is your call to action, it’s the equivalent of greeting a showroom guest with “Can I get you a discounted price on any of our inventory?”  That would kill your margin and your closing ratio. Oh yeah, this all leads to salespeople not being excited to get a website lead. Your salespeople ever said, “They’re all junk! It’s a waste of time! They just want our best price out the door! They never come in!”?

Recap: This is meat and potatoes reason #2: Firestorm Websites generate a higher quality lead that’s not just focused on price. Want details? Call me.

What about having real, authentic pictures of your inventory on your website. 

The auto industry is often said to be 10-years ahead of the powersports industry. In the auto industry, if you’re not adding 20 to 30 actual pictures of each unit, you’re doing it wrong. 

The problem is that it’s so darn time-consuming to take all those pictures, save them to your computer, organize them, then add them unit by unit to your website. This is where our back office mobile app comes in handy. 

Recap: Meat and potatoes reason #3: Now you can walk around your showroom and add inventory pictures to your website instantly using a tablet or mobile phone. The time savings and increase in leads this produces is amazing. 

Let’s move to your identity. 

Most dealer’s websites completely lack their culture, local geography and really any identity at all. You could literally slap any dealership logo on the site and it would work. This is not the case with a Firestorm Website.

Recap: Meat and potatoes reason #4: We work tirelessly to provide a completely custom, one-off site that tells your story. 

There are plenty of other features like DMS Integration, VIN Decoding, SSL Security Certificates, Responsive Designs, Great SEO and more, but I’m out of space.

I’m available for a ‘Meat and Potatoes’ phone calls and can show you dozens of live examples and results – call 877-242-4472 and ask for me.

- Tory