Your Competitors Are Responding to Leads in 60 Seconds. Are You?

Imagine you are running your dealership’s website chat or Facebook inbox.

• A shopper messages asking “Is this 2018 Nissan Altima still available”

• It is Saturday afternoon and your only salesperson is out on a test drive

• Instead of waiting 20 minutes for a reply, your AI chatbot instantly answers

The AI agent says:
“Hi! Yes the 2018 Altima is available. Would you like to schedule a quick test drive this afternoon or tomorrow?”

The shopper clicks “Tomorrow” and picks 1:00 PM.
Your salesperson gets a push notification and can take over the conversation to confirm and send directions.

How Easy the Setup Can Be

Most AI chat platforms connect in minutes. Tools like Podium, Matador.AI, or FullPath can:

• Plug directly into your website chat widget, Facebook Page, Whatsapp, & Text Messages through your CRM.

• Start answering messages with basic info (availability, hours, price range)

• Push the conversation to your CRM so your team can pick it up

You do not need a big website or full BDC team. A single salesperson can run the system on their phone with push notifications.

Average pricing

• Entry plans start around $200 to $400 per month for basic lead chat

• Some offer pay-per-lead models around $3 to $5 per qualified conversation

• Most include both text and chat options in one platform

How to Let Your Salesperson Take Over

This part is key. AI should start the conversation, not finish it.

When a shopper shows interest (like booking a time or asking finance questions), the chatbot should:

1. Send an instant push notification to your salesperson

2. Transfer the conversation right inside the same chat window

3. Stop replying once the salesperson begins typing

This keeps the buyer engaged while ensuring a real person closes the deal.

How to Keep the AI From Making Expensive Mistakes

You do not want the bot promising to sell a car for $1.

Here is how to keep it safe:

• Limit what the AI can say
  Only let it answer availability, hours, location, and schedule test drives

• Use locked response templates
  Have preset answers for common questions (price, down payment, warranty)

• Never give it access to pricing or negotiation
  Always have a human confirm any numbers

• Review conversations weekly
  Make sure it is not giving out wrong or outdated info

With these guardrails, your AI assistant will only warm up leads. Not sell cars without your approval.

Bottom Line

AI chatbots can be like an extra salesperson who never gets tired, never misses a message, and always replies within 60 seconds.

Used the right way, they give small dealers the same response power as big rooftops without needing a giant team or budget.

How fast do you reply to new leads? Under a minute… or closer to a few hours? Hit reply and tell me. I might feature your answer in the next issue.

– Bryan