CHICAGO – Cars.com will re-present a Webinar on how dealers can reach more ready-to-buy shoppers and increase sales with online chat. The free, hour-long event, "Chat Up Your Inventory: Leverage Chat to Reach In-Market Shoppers and Win the Sale," will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Feb. 26.

“Just as chat provides dealers with a new channel to reach in-market shoppers, it also requires them to adapt their sales processes to work with these prospects,” said Kathy Kimmel, Cars.com's manager of automotive consulting and dealer training. “Not only must they be available to quickly answer car buyers’ questions, but they also must be able to build rapport in the span of a few messages. Dealers who can earn the prospect’s trust set themselves apart from competitors who try to rush the sale and increase their odds of winning the deal.”

Kimmel, who has more than 15 years of automotive industry experience, will lead the session. She will be joined by panelists Steven Golding, of Bay Family of Fine Cars in Panama City, Fla.; and Ed Parkinson, of ContactAtOnce. Attendees will get tips on how to:

· Add chat to their Internet sales process

· Answer shoppers’ questions

· Build relationships to obtain car buyers’ names and contact information

· Encourage shoppers to set and keep an appointment

· Follow up with prospects until they buy a car

Cars.com launched DealerChat in January at the annual NADA Convention & Expo. The functionality is available at no additional cost for franchise and independent dealers using a Cars.com advertising package. Dealerships interested in adding DealerChat should contact their Cars.com sales representative.

“Since we began our pilot program in December, more than 2,500 Cars.com dealer customers have implemented DealerChat with their online listings,” Kimmel said. “Not only have we heard great stories about how many vehicles they’ve sold, but dealers also tell us that email and phone inquiries remain steady.”

Dealers interested in attending or learning more about this month's DealerADvantage Live Webinar may visit Cars.com’s DealerCenter, where they can register to attend the event and view archived recordings of past events. Dealers do not have to be Cars.com customers to attend the Webinar, but they must download free WebEx software to participate.