Innovative Program Boosts Auto Dealers’ Sales and Profitability by Increasing Number of Opportunities Available Each Month

Dealix, the leading provider of automotive customer leads for new and used cars, today became the first automotive marketing company to back every one of its new and used car sales leads with a quality pledge. The company, a division of Cobalt, announced today that it will only charge its customers for leads that meet a specific set of criteria for leads that can turn into sales. The company also announced Hassle Free Lead Return, a new feature that allows dealers to effortlessly return a lead that does not meet Dealix’s Quality Pledge criteria, and to have that lead taken off their bill and replaced with a new one.

 The Dealix Quality Pledge defines the characteristics of a valid lead as one that:

    * Have a working phone number for the person who submitted the lead
    * Represent an active, in-market consumer
    * Originate from an adult who is 18 years of age or older
    * Not be a duplicate of a lead provided by Dealix in the last 30 days
    * Not be a duplicate of a lead previously delivered by a source other than Dealix in the last 30 days

 “The Dealix program is unique in the market,” said Kim Clouse, CEO of I Auto Consultants, an automotive training and consulting firm. “The program is dealer-focused and quality-driven, which should enable Dealix customers to have greater confidence in their lead supply. That, coupled with the time factor saved, will allow dealership staff to focus more on their sales process, which will create more sales and increase return on investment.”

 With Hassle Free Lead Return, dealers are encouraged to identify and return any lead that fails one of the Quality Pledge criteria within seven days of receiving the lead. Dealix provides all customers with access to its Dealix Dealer Extranet through which they can identify a lead for return and specify the reason for the return. Dealix’s Lead Quality Team then follows up with every lead returned, personally contacting the consumer to validate information and confirm whether they are actively in the market for a vehicle.

 The return confirmation process takes three business days. If the Dealix Quality Team is able to confirm that the returned lead represents an active, in-market buyer, the dealer is notified immediately with detailed information so they do not miss an opportunity to sell a vehicle to that consumer. If the Dealix Quality Team confirms that the lead does not conform to its Quality Pledge standards, the return is accepted and the charge is immediately removed from the dealer’s invoice. In addition to the Dealix Dealer Extranet, dealers may use most customer relationship management (CRM) tools to return a lead with Hassle Free Lead Return.

 “The goal of the Quality Pledge is to align Dealix directly with our dealer customers and their goals,” said Anna Zornosa, general manager of Dealix and executive vice president of Cobalt. “Dealix leads the industry in technology and supply investment, but it’s still hard to guarantee that every lead will be good 100% of the time. With this new program, we are the only marketing company in the auto industry who is saying to dealers, ‘In the event you get a lead that does not represent a real opportunity, return it to us hassle free, and we will not charge for the lead.”

 Other benefits of Dealix’s Quality Pledge include:

    * Enabling dealers to optimize sales every month. By encouraging them to quickly identify and return leads that can’t be sold, Dealix creates an opportunity for the dealer to receive more good leads immediately so they can hit monthly sales goals.
    * Encouraging dealers to contact their leads quickly. The seven-day lead return window motivates dealers to contact each lead promptly, preferably upon receipt. Research repeatedly shows that dealers who launch a fast response upon receiving a lead have a much higher rate of selling a car to that consumer.
    * Allowing dealers to understand whether less than expected sales results are attributable to poor lead quality or a flawed sales process, as 100% of leads returned undergo follow-up verification by the Dealix Quality Team.
    * Giving Dealix valuable information on lead supply quality in order to provide dealers with superior products.

 The Dealix program has been available to 30 franchise dealers in a beta test for four weeks. “We became a pilot dealer for the Quality Pledge because we like the goals of the program: to help us get more good leads each month,” said Merick Sherline, fleet and Internet director for Stokes Brown Toyota in Beaufort, South Carolina “So far we have found the program to be straightforward and useable. We’ve gotten a speedy response about the status of the leads we’ve submitted, with about half of them being accepted as valid returns. I’m optimistic this program will help us turn more leads into sales.”

 The Quality Pledge is only the latest in a series of enhancements that Dealix has made to its new car and used car lead programs. In the last 12 months, the company has improved new car lead supply through exclusive agreements to power the dealer selector and price quote platforms of Yahoo! Autos, MSN Autos, and AOL Autos, as well as improving its used car lead supply with the re-launch of its flagship portal UsedCars.com. In April 2009, the company announced a major overhaul of the Dealix Leads Platform, including technology upgrades to deliver leads faster and the addition of lead verification through an agreement with Targusinfo.

 “Dealix can offer this Quality Pledge because we have the strongest lead supply network in the market, comprised of the top auto sites, and the most powerful lead sourcing, verification, and delivery technology. This, combined with our decade of experience delivering over 300,000 new and used car sales leads monthly to dealers and OEMs, gives us total confidence in the value our products bring to dealers,” continued Zornosa.

 The Dealix Quality Pledge with Hassle Free Lead Return is available now. For more information, visit www.Dealix.com or call (800) 903-1965.

 About Dealix

Dealix, a division of Cobalt, is the world’s leading provider of quality leads for new and used cars for dealerships, dealer groups, and automotive manufacturers. Dealix is the only Internet marketing company that backs its new and used car leads with the Dealix Quality PledgeTM: a distinct set of criteria that defines a quality lead and an invitation to use Hassle Free Lead ReturnTM if a lead lacks any one of those criteria. The company can offer this Pledge because it has the broadest reach and the highest quality lead supply network in the industry, including Yahoo! Autos, Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds.com, AOL Autos, MSN Autos, and others. Dealix powers the dealer selector and price quote platforms on Yahoo! Autos, AOL Autos, MSN Autos, and NADA Guides; represents Edmunds’ Premier Dealer Program; and places dealers’ used inventory in the Kelley Blue Book Trusted MarketplaceSM. Dealix connects dealers with the millions of car shoppers who prefer independent Internet sites when shopping for new cars and used cars online. Dealix’s all new Leads Platform quickly matches thousands of serious new and used vehicle buyers to the most appropriate dealers daily, delivering a quality car buying experience for consumers and providing dealers with one of the most efficient methods available today for marketing and selling cars.

09/02/09