New Foureyes data shows why “closed-lost” doesn’t mean game over – and how dealers can win more with what they already have.
Every dealership has them: leads that went cold, got closed out, and were never looked at again.
But what if those leads weren’t actually dead?
At Foureyes, we analyzed thousands of CRM records. From March through May of this year, on average, leads marked “closed lost” (or similar values) accounted for:
- 13.9% of all sales leads coming back to dealership websites
- 14.1% of all sales leads that clicked into emails* sent by the dealer
Let that sink in. These are people you’ve given up on, but who clearly haven’t given up on buying.
*14.1% metric is based on engagement with emails that Foureyes automates and sends on behalf of dealers.
How fast are leads marked as lost?
The timeline for when dealers mark leads as “closed-lost” has changed a bit since our analysis last year, but the trends are holding steady in a way that underscores the risk of closing leads too soon.
Median Days to Mark as Closed-Lost (Jan - May 2025)
New Vehicle | Used Vehicle | All | |
Internet Leads | 16 | 18 | 17 |
Phone Ups | 21 | 18 | 21 |
Showroom Ups | 23 | 21 | 23 |
All Lead Types | 18 | 19 | 18 |
Compared to the 2024 data, dealers are marking leads “closed-lost” 3 days faster (from 21 to 18 days), with internet leads also closing out 3 days earlier on average (20 to 17 days). That might seem small – but when 13.9% of leads come back to your site are “closed lost,” the cost of closing too soon adds up fast.
It’s clear: dealers are closing leads out faster than ever – despite the fact that a sizeable number of them end up coming back. That disconnect is exactly where Foureyes helps.
Why this happens
Most dealers close a lead when the trail goes cold. It’s what CRMs are built for. But as we know, car buying isn’t that simple.
People stall. They go dark. Then weeks later, they come back to browse inventory or open a trade-in offer email.
But unless your team has visibility into this activity, you never know it’s happening. You’re missing chance after chance to close leads you’ve already paid to acquire.
What Foureyes does differently
Foureyes tracks shopping activity by connecting your website, CRM, and inventory data. Meaning, dealers can now see leads that have been marked closed, but reappear on your VDPs.
So when someone re-engages, Foureyes lets your team know immediately, via email and text. You even get a morning digest of all the leads from yesterday to follow up with. Automatically. No digging. No guesswork. Just a hot lead that’s ready to talk again.
Why it matters
More sales. No extra ad spend. No chasing cold leads.
Just visibility into who is back shopping your inventory – and a second shot at the deals you thought were gone.
What to do next
Foureyes is built to catch what your CRM and people can’t see – automatically identifying leads who come back and re-engage, even after being marked as closed.
Want to see it in action? Get your first 30 days totally free!
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