BOCA RATON, Fla. — Black Book's Online Division last week introduced an enhancement to its Activator Sales Conversion Tool that executives contend can boost leads by up to 30 percent.

The company explained that the increased results stem from new technology that generates high-impact pop-ups. These additions can give Web site shoppers incentives to obtain a value for their trades and make dealership appointments.

Black Book noted that conversion results to date show that because these shoppers are seeking trade-in values, they are close to making a buying decision. The idea is that Activator can uncover and identify these shoppers and allow dealers to make contact and close sales.

Bear Goodman, eBusiness administrator for Holmes Honda of Shreveport, La., shared how participating in a pilot program for this tool enhancement helped his dealership performance.

"Not being a fan of any pop-up advertising, I was skeptical when testing the Black Book coupon, but because it is not pop-up technology I decided to give it a shot," Goodman admitted.

"Almost immediately, our leads from Black Book doubled, and the results were obvious," he shared.

Black Book pointed out that its online products currently appear on more than 7,000 dealership and manufacturer Web sites throughout the country. Executives believe Activator can increase leads coming from dealership Web sites by up to 50 percent with average closing rates of 15 percent.

Furthermore, Black Book thinks the 30-percent increase delivered with this Advanced Conversion Toolkit enhancement is in addition to Activator's traditional results.

"We are very pleased with the increased success our customers are having with this new enhancement to date," noted Mike McFall, Black Book division president.

"Over a period of several months, our customers taking part in our initial pilot program experienced a significant lift in the number of Website leads generated from their Web sites," McFall continued. "When our customers are successful, we're successful."