From a Judge Turned Dealer: Avoid Customer Hand-Offs

If auto dealer Thomas E. Kennedy is a good judge of how best to sell cars, it might be because he served 20 years as a district court judge.

Kennedy, president of Nissan of Sterling Heights (MI), advocates creating a dealership Internet sales department. He tells how to avoid trouble both there and on the regular sales floor.

“Either way, the key is to have the customer deal with the same salesperson,” he tells Ward's. “Setting up a relationship with one person, then handing them over to someone else at the dealership hurts sales and satisfaction scores.”

Kennedy employs three persons who deal exclusively with Internet customers — from beginning to end.