How to Get More Trade-In Leads From Your Website: Get Shoppers to Actually Use the Tool
Putting a trade-in tool on your dealer website isn't the win. Mike Crothers explains what actually turns the traffic you already have into trade-in leads.
A trade-in tool sitting on your website is not the win. The win is getting shoppers to actually use it.
Shoppers should get a valuation range in just a few taps and be able to request a firm offer in the same flow.
Customers who are not ready to buy today should keep hearing from you through a value tracking email every month until they do.
Your dealership's name should stay on the experience the whole time, shoppers should never leave your website, and every lead should land in your CRM.
Most dealers already have a trade-in tool on their website. The problem is that having one and getting shoppers to use it are two different things. If you are trying to figure out how to get more trade-in leads from your website, Mike Crothers, CEO of MOTO(acquire), puts it simply: putting a trading tool on your website isn't the win. Getting people to actually use it is.
That is a useful way to look at your site. You are already paying to drive traffic there. The question is whether the shoppers who show up with a vehicle to trade are turning into leads your team can work, or quietly leaving.
Why isn't my website trade-in tool producing more leads?
In most stores, the tool is there but the experience gets in the way. If it takes too long to get a number, shoppers drop off. If the number is only an estimate with no next step, there is nothing for them to act on. If they get bounced to another site, your dealership is no longer the one in front of them.
And the biggest leak is the shopper who is not ready yet. Plenty of people check their trade value months before they buy. If your tool treats them as a one-time visit, you lose them the moment they close the tab.
How to increase website trade-in conversions: what the tool needs to do
Based on what Mike lays out in the video, a trade-in tool for your dealer website should handle a few things in one flow.
Get to a valuation range in just a few taps
Shoppers want a number fast. A tool that gets them to a valuation range in just a few taps gives them a reason to start and a reason to finish.
Let them request a firm offer right there
A range is interesting. A firm offer is something a customer can act on. When shoppers can request a firm offer in the same place they got their range, the serious ones raise their hand without hunting for a form or a phone number.
Keep following up when they are not ready
As Mike says, if they don't want to buy today, that's perfectly fine. The answer is vehicle value tracking emails: the customer gets a value update every single month after that, until they do buy. You stay in front of them during the whole stretch between checking their value and walking into a store.
Keep it on your site, under your name, in your CRM
Mike calls out three things that matter here. Your dealership's name is on it the whole time. Your customers never leave the website. And every single lead that gets submitted lands in your CRM, so your team works it like any other lead instead of chasing data in a separate system.
How MOTO(convert) fits
MOTO(convert) is the MOTO(acquire) website trade tool built around that flow. It provides instant valuations, firm offer requests, and monthly value tracking, and it includes the free buying power tool.
Mike's point in the video is that this setup helps dealers acquire more inventory and sell more cars from the traffic already on their website. He notes it is helping some of the largest CDJR dealers in the country do exactly that. MOTO(acquire) works with hundreds of dealers on used vehicle acquisition, and the website is one of the most direct places to start.
If you want to see more on this topic, browse our Website Trade-In Leads videos.
The bottom line
You do not need more traffic to get more trades. You need the traffic you already have to use the tool. Make it fast, give shoppers a firm offer to request, keep the not-ready customers in a monthly value tracking loop, and make sure every lead lands in your CRM with your name on it the whole way.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get more trade-in leads from my website without buying more traffic?
Focus on getting the shoppers already on your site to use the trade-in tool. That means a valuation range in just a few taps, a way to request a firm offer in the same flow, and follow-up for shoppers who are not ready. The goal is to convert the traffic you already have.
What happens when a shopper checks their trade value but isn't ready to buy?
With MOTO(convert), that is perfectly fine. The customer gets a value tracking email every month after that until they do buy. Your dealership stays in front of them the whole time instead of losing them after one visit.
Do customers leave my website to use the trade-in tool?
No. With MOTO(convert), customers never leave your website, and your dealership's name is on the experience the whole time. That keeps the shopper engaged with your store rather than a third-party site.
Will website trade-in leads go into my CRM?
Yes. Every single lead submitted through MOTO(convert) lands in your CRM so your team can work it like any other lead. On the DMS side, MOTO(acquire) integrates with all major DMS platforms and many others, including Tekion, Dealertrack, CDK, Reynolds, and Auto/Mate. If your DMS is not one we integrate with yet, we will build the integration.
See how many trades your website is missing
Get a walkthrough of MOTO(convert) on your own site, with instant valuations and firm offer requests in one flow. Ask for a Dealer Website Trade-In Audit.
More on Website Trade-In Leads
Full transcript
CDJR dealers, putting a trade-in tool on your website isn't the win. Getting people to actually use it is. And that's exactly what we solved with MOTO(convert). MOTO(convert) allows your customers, in just a few taps, to get a valuation range. And they can actually request a firm offer right there. And if they don't want to buy today, perfectly fine, because they're going to get a value tracking email every single month after that until they do buy.
Your dealership's name is on it the whole time. Your customers never leave the website. And every single lead that gets submitted lands in your CRM. CDJR dealers, if you want to install the system that's helping some of the largest CDJR dealers in the country acquire more inventory and sell more cars from the traffic already on their website, check out the link in our bio or just click the link down below.