Dealers give up on leads far too often when those prospects are still interested in the dealership, according to the latest research by Foureyes.

The sales software provider said its data on sales process data among U.S. automotive dealerships sheds light on the opportunity for “hidden leads” in dealership CRMs. Foureyes defined hidden opportunities as sales leads marked in the CRM as “closed-lost” or something similar such as “lost” or “bad” that are still actively engaging with the dealership’s digital properties.

Those leads are called hidden by Foureyes because dealerships stop prospecting them.

Data from the first half of 2024 showed the median time for leads to be marked as lost by dealerships is 21 days from contacting the dealership.

Internet leads were marked lost faster (20 days) compared to 22 days for phone ups and showroom ups. Leads that inquired about used vehicles were marked lost within 21 days, while new-car leads were abandoned in 22 days.

But the research found on average closed-lost sales leads accounted for 13.3% of all leads who returned and shopped the dealer website and 15.7% of all leads that clicked on emails sent by the dealer, based on email activity tracked by Foureyes through its Prospect Engagement email product.

“We hope this data helps dealerships see the sales opportunities that already exist in their CRMs and sales process today,” Foureyes CEO David Steinberg said in a news release. “It’s just hard to spot without being able to see if someone is still actively shopping or not.”