Some of the most common findings included: Salespeople rarely introduced themselves in the first text or voicemail Almost no one sent a video introduction Follow-up often stopped after the first day Most responses lacked urgency or a clear next step
Despite strong websites, detailed listings, and polished ad campaigns, many dealerships faltered at the most critical moment: when a customer actually reached out.
Data showed that the average response time was over an hour, and nearly 80 % of dealerships never asked for an appointment via text or voicemail. In today’ s fast-paced market, that delay can be costly. Buyers often contact multiple dealers at once, and the one who responds first— and follows up best— usually wins the sale.
72 % of dealers took over 1 hour to respond to email leads 97 % of dealers took more than 5 minutes to respond to text leads Only 14 % of dealers followed up on Day 2 0 % followed up on Day 3 And 19 % of dealers never replied at all
What’ s more, many dealers are investing thousands in advertising, only to lose leads due to poor follow-up habits. It’ s a
frustrating cycle, and one that NATDA is here to help with. Recognizing that awareness alone wasn’ t enough, NATDA teamed up with Dealer Academy— the industry’ s leading online training and coaching platform— to create a solution. Using insights from the mystery shops, Dealer Academy developed a new training program: Lead Handling Mastery, designed specifically for trailer dealerships.
The Lead Handling Mastery course was built with real dealership challenges in mind. Drawing directly from LeadVantage’ s mystery shop data, it focuses on the key areas where dealers tend to fall short— response time, introduction quality, tone, follow-up consistency, and appointment-setting. Each module offers practical, step-by-step strategies to help teams improve their lead handling and turn more inquiries into sales.
Dealers looking to improve their lead conversion will find actionable strategies they can implement right away.
To learn more about the results of the lead handling mystery shops, this exciting new training course, and the limited-time discounts offered to NATDA members, head over to the NATDA Connect group hosted on Dealer Academy.
Ready to transform your lead handling and boost sales? Scan the QR code to learn more. NATDA Connect can help- visit the Dealer Academy to get started!
32 NATDA Magazine www. natda. org