This article originally appeared in Digital Dealer magazine

The Three Laws of Internet Sales

by: Mark R. Dubis

A few years back the movie, I, Robot, based on stories by Isaac Asimov, showed us what the future might look like with a robot in every home. To ensure safety the developers of the robots incorporated the Three Laws of Robotics that ensured they would not harm any humans.

Asimov's three laws of robotics were:

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law.

These “laws” gave the public a feeling of safety, but as in any good story or movie you create some mystery by having things go awry.

While human beings are certainly not robots, I like the idea of some simple tenets to guide us as we focus on vehicle sales by using the Internet. I’ve adapted Isaac Asimov’s robotic laws for dealership Internet professionals to provide a foundation that I believe helps keep us focused on our goals.

The three laws of Internet sales professionals

1. An Internet sales professional will use technology to enhance not replace the sales process.

2. An Internet sales professional will ensure that all electronic communications are user-friendly, legally compliant and provide accurate information and value for the prospect and/or customer.

3. An Internet sales professional will use technology and systems to better serve customers both before and after the sale.

You’ll notice these “laws” focus on the sales aspect of the transaction. While technology plays a big part in developing a “tech savvy” Internet sales team, it still comes down to “selling” the customer. The only difference – Internet- initiated sales have additional channels for customer communication and development of the “sales-customer relationship.” It starts with an e-mail inquiry and you begin selling with that first response to the customer. We have seen that you can’t respond to e-mail inquiries the same way you would with a customer on the lot, but need to exercise a measured response and begin the sales follow-up process. Remember, an Internet-initiated sale is still a sale.
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This article originally appeared in Digital Dealer magazine