In the past, a vehicle sale started and ended on the showroom floor. Today, many of the discovery and purchase steps take place online.

Online retail giants like Amazon have conditioned customers to expect timely and relevant communications across channels, plus a personalized buying experience informed by past behavior.

For automotive retailers, meeting these expectations requires different capabilities within your CRM.

Before, a CRM was primarily a system of record, a place to organize and store customer information. But today, your CRM is a system of engagement.

What does that mean? Your CRM can help facilitate and orchestrate the customer journey through more personalized and seamless interactions across all customer touchpoints.

Yes, your CRM is an essential business tool. But it’s also a way to interact with your customers personally to build trust, and so you can optimize your profitability. 

How do you know if your CRM is a system of engagement? Look for the following four capabilities.

Data aggregation and analysis

Your employees need to be able to deliver relevant information and messages that help build a deeper connection with your customers. A CRM built to engage makes this task easier by aggregating and analyzing customer data. It should also optimize across channels to capture every customer interaction on every device. This way, employees can see the customer’s history and create personalized messages that speak to their needs.

Integration with key systems

The more integrations you can access, the more powerful your CRM becomes.

Think beyond the DMS. An engagement system should communicate with your website, digital shopping tools and third-party integrations. By using this data with your CRM, you can improve the customer experience and enable your staff to have more productive customer conversations.

Intelligence tools and process automation

Predictive and behavioral analytics allow your CRM to analyze and contextualize customer data, inferring customer intent and behavior. With that information, you can segment customers and send out highly targeted communications.

And it pays to leverage pertinent customer data. Open rates for untargeted emails are in the teens. Open rates for targeted emails range from 25% to 30%.

Process automation automates tasks and content based on customer details and segmentation data. You can set up trigger events so customers receive a relevant message through their preferred channels immediately after they perform an action (email, phone call, website form, etc).

Unified customer data management

CRMs designed for engagement give managers a global view of customer activity across all stores in the same dealer group. This ensures that a customer will still be treated as a valuable repeat customer if they call or show up at a different store in the dealer group.

Unfortunately, 99% of dealers don’t enable this feature because stores in the same group may be in competition for the same customer, so they don’t want to share information. That’s crazy! A customer belongs to your brand, not a specific store.

Sharing information enables customer personalization that breeds loyalty and repeat business. It’s better for everyone in the long run.

When you examine your CRM as a system of engagement, remember to prioritize its ability to personalize communications, integrate with key systems, create process automation, deliver intelligent insights and unify data management.

These capabilities will help you deliver a personal, seamless buying journey across channels to win the business of today’s vehicle shoppers.

Eighty-six percent of car shoppers conduct online research before deciding to visit a local dealership, according to research from digital marketing agency Adtaxi.

With all this research being conducted online, most consumers’ first vehicle inquiry is either by phone or email, wanting to know about a specific vehicle. That’s why for salespeople, first impressions are everything. After all, it’s easy for a customer to hang up the phone or ignore an email.

Too often salespeople blame the process when they reach out multiple times and their attempts don’t result in an appointment. But you have to trust the process.

If the process isn’t giving you the results you want, chances are it’s your approach. More specifically, it could be your choice of words.

I recently spoke with a salesperson who said that frequently when he calls a customer and identifies himself and the dealership, the customer hangs up. Most likely because he or she is expecting a hard sales approach and wants none of it.

Does this mean that calling the customer doesn’t work? Of course not. With literally five seconds to engage the customer, this salesperson should try changing his approach to keep the customer on the line.

When you make a call and the customer picks up, immediately make that call all about the customer. Tell them you’re calling about their recent inquiry into [insert vehicle of interest] and let them know you’d like to provide them with information. These words shift the focus to the customer and their needs, making it more likely they’ll stay on the line.

How do you know which words to choose? Training.

Phone training should be ongoing, managed, and monitored. Salespeople need to work on voicemail messages and appointment closing techniques every day to achieve incremental sales success.

I recommend listening to a couple calls every day with your team. Examine what went right, what went wrong, and what words could result in a better outcome next time.

If consistent training is difficult to schedule or if you have high sales turnover rates, another option is to outsource to a BDC with agents who are specially trained in effective phone follow-up techniques.

Words also matter in email communications. Craft emails that are all about the customer. Answer their questions in the first line or two. Include vehicle videos, testimonial videos and other value propositions videos, if you have them. Be relevant and helpful, not pushy.

If at first you don’t get desired results, don’t blame the process. Keep changing your words and approach until you get the results you want.

Your first communication with a customer could make the difference between a dial tone and a sale. If you change your words, you’ll change your results.

New leads are important, and you always want to keep the pipeline full.

Yet, it can cost as much as five times more to attract a new customer than to retain an existing one.

Doesn’t it make more sense to spend time nurturing the leads you already have?

According to research firm Bain & Company, a five percent increase in customer retention can increase profits by as much as 25 percent.

Therefore, nurturing a customer you already have is more profitable in the long run.

Loyal customers refer friends and family, and are less expensive to service. Many will stay loyal even if you don’t always have the best deals. Why?

Because they buy into your value proposition and prefer to do business with a dealership, sales staff and service team they already know and trust. 

Of course, you still need to market to new customers. But the biggest opportunity to keep costs down and increase profitability lies in nurturing the relationships you already have in your CRM.

These three tips will help you create a strategy to nurture your existing leads.

Personalize your marketing

Today’s customers expect a personalized experience that speaks to their needs and wants.

Technology has advanced to track a customer’s online behavior and make relevant purchase suggestions. Therefore, customers have become conditioned to that level of personal engagement from companies they do business with.

So, how can you meet these expectations?

Use historical data in your CRM to predict when a customer will be in the market for a new vehicle or service.

Create service offers that target a particular customer segment or promote a seasonal service.  For example, offer oil, brake, and tire specials for customers hitting 50,000 miles or run an air conditioning deal in the summer.

Send personalized messages through the customer’s preferred communication channels – and increase reach and frequency with multi-channel marketing.

Identify and reward VIP customers

Eighty-percent of your future profits will come from just 20 percent of your existing customers, according to Small Business Trends.

There are various ways to identify your VIPs.

Track dollars spent over a defined period in both service and sales.

Analyze the best reviews on your website and social media.

Count the number of friends and family referrals.

Once you’ve identified your most supportive customers, implement a reward or recognition program to maintain these relationships. Consider rewards points, loaner cars, service discounts, gas cards, and other perks.

Include the human touch  

Digital retailing is gaining in popularity, and it’s safe to say all customers research online before stepping onto your floor.

But this is still a people business. Don’t forget the power of human connection.

Encourage your sales and service teams to pick up the phone and send check-in emails to your customer base.

The better relationship your employees have with your customers, the more likely those customers will return to your dealership.

To prioritize the customers already in your CRM, remember to engage with personalized communications, identify and reward your VIPs, and never forget the power of human touch. These three strategies will help you increase customer retention for greater profitability today and in the future.

Good selling!

Have you ever seen the show "Naked & Afraid?" Two contestants strip down, head into the wild and basically starve for three weeks until someone comes to pick them up. Every time I see the show, I wonder how the contestants can call themselves survivalists when they can't hunt or find a consistent food source.

Then recently, it struck me that the contestants are doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing: surviving.

To survive for a short time in the wilderness, you really only need fire and water. The contestants always have water; I'm pretty sure the show producers see to that.

They also need fire to boil water, keep them warm at night and help keep the bugs and wild animals away. Even if it takes days to make a fire, they won't stop trying and once they get it going, they make sure to protect it, foraging for firewood and putting in the effort to keep the fire going.

To be fair, the contestants do look for food but most of the time they have to decide whether the necessary energy expenditure is worth the effort. Let's face it; most people have some extra fat on them, so they're not going to starve in three weeks. They make the choice to simply survive. That's the goal of the show.

The goal is not to thrive out there. Trust me, if the contestants were dropped in the middle of the wilderness with no expectation of a helicopter or boat coming to pick them up, they would put a lot more effort into finding food, or they would die trying.

You might be wondering by now, what does this have to do with car sales?

The difference between surviving and thriving is really a mindset. If you're a car salesperson and your goal is to pay the bills every month and be comfortable, then you're surviving. You do what you have to do to reach your goals, but you're never going to be super successful because the necessary expenditure of energy to improve your situation isn't worth it to you.

If you want to thrive, you are willing to expend extra energy to exceed your goals or die trying. You log every customer inside your CRM, you do your follow up - make the extra phone calls and send out the extra emails. You keep in touch with your customers consistently with informative, relevant information, send out thank you notes and ask for referrals. You're nice to everyone because you never know who will be your next customer.

With a survivalist mindset you may want your situation to improve, but you're really hoping that someone or something else will magically appear and improve the situation for you. You're waiting for the helicopter.

With a thriving mindset, you know the helicopter isn't coming. You accept 100% responsibility for propelling yourself from your current situation to a better one.

The mindset you choose is up to you. Are you naked and afraid, or do you prefer to thrive?

Do you ever wonder why dealerships and consumers alike are all programmed to buy cars at the end of the month? Asking how this happened is like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg.

For sales teams and managers, the end-of-the-month crunch is a grind. When it's over, it's natural to relax a little before diving into the new month. For consumers, all the commercials and pressure to buy are pushed out towards the end of the month, so many of them are programmed to know they can get a better deal if they wait.

Then there are the manufacturers, who throw out additional incentives towards the end of the month to keep managers and salespeople motivated.

It's a vicious cycle, and I've often wondered what would happen if we could break it. Think of what your numbers would look like if you could create that same sense of urgency all month long!

Keeping a steady pace of sales throughout the month might help to avoid the crunch and the burnout that sometimes goes with it. Here are a few tips to try:

1) If you give your sales team spiffs, try adding weekly spiffs for specific goals. For weeks one and two, make the spiffs more substantial than weeks three and four.  Salespeople are motivated at the end of the month by income and sales goals more than they are spiffs.

2) Create an equity mining campaign at the beginning of the month to load up your lead pipeline. Target your best 300 to 400 prospects and organize an outgoing call campaign. If your sales team can't handle the volume, consider outsourcing the heavy lifting to a BDC. This is a great strategy if you need to boost sales volume by 10-12 vehicles a month.

An equity mining campaign in itself won't help you avoid the end-of-the-month crunch, but if you can create a process where you're actively nurturing leads at the beginning of the month, those consumers should be ready to close by mid-to-late month. Besides, more leads are never a bad thing.

3) Ramp up your marketing efforts to drive traffic at the beginning of the month, then let the natural flow happen towards the end of the month. Since you rarely have problems getting traffic towards the end of the month, focus on marketing offers to bring customers in sooner rather than later.

4) Focus your sales team on daily activities. Does your CRM have a dashboard that displays metrics for individuals and compares those metrics to the team as a whole? If a salesperson logs in and sees they're dead last in entering prospects, and second to last in logging ups, they should be motivated to take corrective action. Managers, be sure you review these metrics in daily one-on-ones.

5) Review CRM metrics on a regular basis. How are you pacing with new and used sales? If your goal is to sell 200 units per month, that's an average of six or seven vehicles per day. If you fall more than 15 units behind that pace you're playing catch up the rest of the month.

Also, look at no sales. If a salesperson hasn't sold a car in three to four days, something's wrong. Look at their activities to see if you can find out why. Are they making enough phone calls and appointments? If so, they might need some coaching in other areas.

When you sit down with the salesperson to discuss, don't be negative, judgmental or criticize. Provide them with positive, constructive coaching to help get them motivated.

Creating a sense of urgency at the beginning of the month is difficult, but the rewards are worth it. Try adding equity mining, outbound calls and marketing campaigns. Track activity metrics and coach your team, so they feel that motivational push sooner rather than later. You should see overall sales volume rise, which will help to ease the end-of-the-month crunch while still having a net positive effect on your bottom line.

In the car business money has always been used to motivate salespeople. The idea is that commissions are a big enough motivator to drive salespeople to do what they need to do in order to sell a car.

Today we have to question whether this method works on a new breed of salespeople. I'm not referring to Millennials. I've never really liked the word "Millennial" because I don't believe you can slap labels on an entire generation. Besides, I have noticed that many 40- to 50- year old salespeople fit into this new breed; which is simply a large percentage of people who aren't super motivated by money.

This attitude reflects a shift in culture and priorities. In general, people are placing more value on their personal time. At work, they want to feel valued and part of something important. They want to be empowered to make their own decisions and feel like they're working towards something meaningful.

Creating a workplace environment that provides all these things is a significant first step to employee retention. But it won't always guarantee your employees will stay motivated. The question still remains, how do you change a person's behavior in order to get different results?

Traditional management techniques tend to rely on negative feedback, such as: You're not making enough calls; you need to stick to your word tracks; you shouldn't have said that; you should have done it this way. If you do this, then you will get that. If you don't reach your goals, you'll be fired.

The problem with this method is that the salesperson is only hearing what they do wrong, and not what they do right.

Recent studies by behavioral neuroscientists reveal that negative feedback doesn't work to change behavior. Have you ever tried to "help" a smoker quit smoking by telling them all the horrible health problems that smoking causes? A smoker knows the health risks, but it's hard to change behavior.

Negative feedback creates negative emotions. As humans, it's natural for us to try and eliminate negative feelings. When we hear something negative about ourselves, we tend to rationalize, justify, blame the messenger or bury our head in the sand—anything that makes us feel more positive about ourselves.

Instead of working with the positive self-image that we as humans fight hard to maintain, some managers try to put a clear mirror in front of employees so they can see what needs improving. But our brains are very adept at distorting images until we see only what we want to believe.

Instead of trying to fight our brain's natural tendency to eliminate the negative and feel positive, why not try to work with it?

Neuroscientists have discovered three primary principles that can positively impact specific regions in the brain and successfully change behavior.

1) Social Incentives

We are social animals and to some extent, we all care about what other people are doing and how we compare to them. Here's an example. The British government used to send out letters to citizens who were late paying taxes. The letter basically explained how important it is to pay taxes on time, but the response rates were always low. Then someone added a single sentence to the message: "Nine out of ten people in the U.K. pay their taxes on time." Response rates rose 1.5 percent. When another sentence was added, "You are one of the few people who have not paid us yet," response rates rose 3.9 percent.

In sales, a similar tactic can be used to help motivate. Let's say you're tracking KPIs such as phone calls made or emails sent. Publicly display how individuals are doing, as well as how the whole team is progressing. For some people, seeing how their activities contribute to a team goal highlights the importance of their role in a social group, which can be more motivating than comparing themselves as individuals to other individuals.

2) Immediate Rewards

To our brains, the future is uncertain. That's why the promise of a financial reward isn't always motivating enough to divert us from doing what feels good today.

But people do respond to immediate rewards. How can you provide immediate rewards for activities that your salespeople do every day, or even every hour?

Rewards don't have to be monetary, but they should be tangible, such as seeing numbers or rankings go up on a board showing them winning a competition and hearing a congratulations from the manager. Underperformers, in particular, need to know that the tasks they don't like doing are so important that a reward is attached to them. As they perform more tasks in order to get a reward, the tasks become ingrained as a habit.

3) Progress Monitoring

The average brain does a good job at processing information that will positively impact our future. The brain doesn't do as well processing information that will negatively impact our future.

If you're trying to get someone's attention, highlight their progress and don't focus on the decline. Work with peoples' strengths and get them to develop those strengths, rather than trying to force someone to develop a skill they don't have. There are dozens of ways to arrive at the same result, so it's important to allow employees to find their best way, which might not be your best way.

Focusing on strengths also empowers employees and makes them feel like they're in control.  Being praised for something we've done right makes us want to do that task again.

If you're managing a sales team, it's time to review your methodology. If you're not getting the results you want using money as a motivator, come up with a coaching plan that incorporates these three principles, which are scientifically proven to change behavior.

Recently I was waiting in line at an airport, along with hundreds of other travelers. A couple appeared out of nowhere, shoving their way to the front of the line and complaining loudly, as if they were the only people affected by the long wait. When another traveler told them to get in line, the pair acted shocked, as if they had never seen all of us standing there.

I call this syndrome “Only Person in the World” disease, and unfortunately it seems to be spreading in our society.

Apparently, this disease gives people the ability to block out the existence of everyone around them as they travel around in little bubbles of self-absorption. The scary part is, most people with the disease don’t even realize they have it!

I don’t know what causes this disease, but I see the impact of it everywhere. It might even be hurting your dealership. If one or more of your employees have “Only Person in the World” disease, it could have a serious and negative impact on your customer relationships and reputation. If you’re a salesperson with this disease, your career is probably suffering.

Here’s how to diagnose “Only Person in the World” disease:

If you greet every customer and answer every phone call while saying to yourself, “I hope this person buys a car today, I really need the commission.”  What you should be asking is “What does this person need today and how can I help to fulfill that need?” Trust me; if you help enough people, sales will naturally follow.

When you encounter stressful situations or a wrench is thrown into your plans, you ask yourself “Why does stuff like this always happen to me?” News flash: Stuff like this happens to everyone. It’s called life. If you paid more attention to others, you’d realize the same stuff is happening to them too.

The good news is, there is a treatment for “Only Person in the World” disease. It’s called mindfulness. I realize that’s a new-agey sounding term, but all it really means is being aware and living in the present moment. I think this is rare these days.

So many people walk around with their noses in their phones, completely unaware of their surroundings. They’re so afraid to miss a single text or Facebook update, yet they’re missing opportunities to connect with real people around them.

It’s also common to spend too much time ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. The fact is, you can’t change the past and the future will take care of itself as long as you execute on your plan today! However, this takes awareness.

Many experts say that the best way to develop mindfulness is to meditate, but not everyone has the time or patience for that. Here are a few tips on how to develop more awareness while at work, that require little time and effort.

Observe

Once or twice a day, take a five-minute timeout and simply observe your surroundings. Observe the environment, your customers and co-workers. Do this without an agenda; you’re not looking for something. Look and listen without thinking or judging, but if you notice something that strikes a chord, jot it down. Observation is a developed skill that allows you to spot opportunities.

Empathize

To build trust with customers, you need to connect with them. The best way to do that is by tapping into and validating their feelings. Practice this skill with your co-workers. Start a conversation by asking someone what’s happening in their life. If they seem stressed, ask them why. Most people welcome the chance to talk about themselves to someone who cares.

You don’t have to try and solve anyone’s problem. Listening and validating is enough. You might even be surprised at how this helps to strengthen bonds with your co-workers. Now imagine how effective this will be with your customers.

Focus

We all have a million thoughts, memories, ideas and dreams running around in our heads. Buddhists call this “Monkey Mind.” Most of these thoughts don’t serve any purpose other than to distract us from the present and from what we should be doing.

Do you know how many hours of the day you are actually productive at work? If not, try tracking your time. How many of your CRM tasks do you complete on a daily basis, versus re-scheduling or finding an excuse to delete? What would happen if you actually completed all of your tasks on a daily basis?

If you want to be successful, it’s important to find a way to focus your mind, become productive and do the things you know you should be doing, no matter how much you really don’t feel like doing them. Whether it’s music, meditation or another productivity technique, only you can find the best method for you.

If you suspect you have “Only Person in the World” disease, try following these tips. Developing mindfulness will make you more aware of—and more responsive to—opportunities, customers and prospects. Not to mention, you won’t be annoying to others.

Manufacturers, dealerships and vendors are all rolling out digital retailing initiatives to sell vehicles online. But some dealers remain skeptical and believe that their customers don’t really want to buy cars online, or aren’t ready for that step yet.

Car shoppers already use the Internet to research brands and models, buy insurance and look for dealers. How many consumers would start the purchase process online, if the option were available?

Let’s look at some research. According to Cox Automotive’s “Future of Digital Retail Study” released earlier this year, 83 percent of consumers want to do one or more steps of the purchase process online, and 85 percent said they would be more likely to buy from a dealership that offers at least one component of digital retailing.

In a separate 2017 survey conducted by Capgemini Consulting, just 42 percent of consumers said they were “likely” or “very likely” to buy a car online in the future. Another 2017 study by Root & Associates/CDK found that 53 percent of consumers said they were “very” or “extremely” likely to conduct the entire car purchase online.

I think one reason why there is so much disparity is because as an industry, there is very little consensus yet on what the online car-buying experience looks like. Everyone talks about the Amazon shopping experience, but we all know that buying a car is not as simple as placing it in a shopping cart and paying with a credit card.

Significant obstacles still exist for car shoppers who do want to buy online, including:

• Accurate, final price quotes that include all variables such as credit scores, local taxes and fees
• Precise trade-in valuations
• Consumer expectations of credit and financing abilities
• Compliance
• State laws that require documents to have a wet signature

However, new technology and tools have already eliminated, or are in the process of eliminating, these obstacles. So…assuming that in the next couple years none of these obstacles are an issue, does that mean 50 percent to 80 percent of customers will rush to purchase online?

Not likely. According to the Cox Automotive report, 89 percent of consumers said they would still want to sign final documents at the dealership, and 80 percent said they would never purchase without a test drive.

According to the Capgemini report, 71 percent of car buyers still want to take a test drive and see the car in real life.

At ELEAD1ONE, we project consumer adoption rates will be slow. Within two years, five to ten percent of consumers will complete some of the purchase process online. In three to five years, that will grow to 20 or 30 percent.

So, if you are skeptical about digital retailing, does this mean you are vindicated and that you don’t have to worry about offering an online car-buying solution?

I would argue, no. The vast majority of car shoppers are still unhappy with the car-purchasing process. The three major reasons they cite are time, convenience and pressure from car salespeople.

More than half of car buyers are willing to try a new solution if it will save them time, be more convenient and free them from the high-pressure environment of a dealership. Why not find a solution that works with, and can be integrated into, your current sales process to provide them with this experience?

Six out of ten consumers would still want help from the dealership staff, even if they could purchase online. Specifically, they want help from product and technology experts who can help them through online inventory selection, trade-in valuation and financing processes.

This still takes time, but remember that time is relative. People value their time at home differently than they value their time spent at a dealership. When they are ready, all they have to do is come in for a test drive, make the final decision, sign the papers and pick up the keys. This should reduce their total time in the dealership from two to three hours to half an hour or less.

Giving your customers more control over the purchasing process now will give your dealership the edge as purchasing online becomes more mainstream.

If you’re concerned that digital retailing will take away your control of the sales process or reduce profit margins, don’t be. Choose your solution wisely. Most digital retailing products in development are designed to keep dealerships involved in the purchase process. You can retain complete control over pricing. The only requirement will be designing a new approach to selling that’s more consultative in nature than closing.

Ultimately, this is what customers want and where the industry is going. The change is happening now and will continue over the next decade. The sooner you meet your customers’ expectations, the more benefits you will reap.

Game-changing application is designed to keep dealerships central to the online car-buying process

Atlanta, GA – Feb 19, 2018 – ELEAD1ONE today introduced DealBuilder for auto dealerships, an online car-buying application that guides customers through the entire vehicle purchase process with the involvement of dealership personnel. DealBuilder can be used either in-store with DealerBuilder Showroom, or on a dealer’s website with DealBuilder Online.

“Our vision for the future of digital retailing keeps dealerships central to the online car-buying process, unlike third-party solutions that plan to sell partially completed deals as leads to auto dealers,” said Bill Wittenmyer, Partner of ELEAD1ONE. “Although DealBuilder can be used to complete the entire purchase process online, in the near term we think most customers will start their deals online and come into the dealership for test drives and to sign papers.”

DealBuilder is fully integrated into ELEAD1ONE CRM and can be used on a desktop, mobile tablet or smartphone. The Showroom and Online versions are synchronized so that a customer can start a deal online, save it and come into the store to complete it; or the customer can start a deal in the store, then finalize it from home or work.

DealBuilder Showroom enables salespeople to be fully mobile while guiding customers through the car-buying process. Salespeople can interact with customers and progress through each step whether they are out on the lot, at home or running errands.

CRM integration allows salespeople to use DealBuilder on their mobile device to access metrics, view appointments, complete tasks, add notes, manage customer contacts and see who’s “On Point” to take the next up.

Lexus of Wesley Chapel in Wesley Chapel, FL has been testing DealBuilder Showroom for two months. Twenty-one salespeople are using the app on iPads to walk customers through the entire journey from start to finish. They use DealBuilder to show inventory, confirm quotes, communicate with their managers, fill out credit apps and to scan drivers licenses before test drives.

“No matter where the salespeople are on the property they never have to leave the customers’ side. The app shows our customers that we respect their time and the salespeople love it,” said Jordan Johnson, Director of Strategy for Lexus of Wesley Chapel. “DealBuilder empowers our salespeople to do more and is simply the intelligent way to do business in 2018.”

DealBuilder Online is designed for use on a dealership’s website. While viewing inventory, the customer sees the option to “Build Your Own Deal” or “Buy Now.” The customer can save vehicles into a “Virtual Lot” as they continue to browse, and use the application to view side-by-side comparisons.

Custom notifications alert salespeople and managers when a deal is created online and when a customer has questions or progresses to the next step. A built-in chat application instantly connects the customer with a salesperson and can be used for price negotiation or to get help through the process.

To obtain a remote trade-in evaluation, customers upload vehicle photos and fill out a detailed damage report. A dealership manager evaluates the information and extends an offer that the customer can accept, decline or contact the dealer for more information.

When using DealBuilder Showroom, salespeople can use a built-in VIN scan to scan the customer’s VIN and fill out a damage report while they’re with the customer at their vehicle. Once the information is posted to the CRM, an instant trade offer pops up on the screen.

DealBuilder’s built-in desking tool allows customers to compare payments, change terms and add aftermarket products. Online F&I presentations recommend products and present all necessary disclosures.

DealBuilder is the only digital retailing solution on the market that calculates accurate payments to the penny, incorporating state and local taxes and fees, as well as the consumer’s credit score into the final price. The ability to offer accurate pricing is pivotal to guide the customer to the final step, which is the retail installment agreement.

Once a customer accepts an offer, DealBuilder encourages them to schedule a test drive at the dealership. Once there, salespeople can use DealBuilder Showroom to map the test route and manage the test drive process. DealBuilder gives turn-by-turn directions so drivers stay on route and the application also tracks distances, route information, braking information and average speed.

Once the test drive is complete, the customer can apply for credit while at the dealership or home. If the credit application is declined, DealBuilder encourages the customer to contact the dealership. If approved, DealBuilder generates a set of documents that the customer can e-sign, or the customer can come into the dealership to sign the final documents.

“More than 80 percent of car buyers want to complete one or more steps of the vehicle purchase process online,” said Wittenmyer. “DealBuilder allows dealerships to meet customer expectations while retaining control of the entire process.”

To see a demo of DealBuilder in action, visit Booth # 3760C at the NADA Convention & Expo, March 23-25 in Las Vegas, NV. Make an appointment online or call 855-983-9470.

For more information visit http://www.elead-crm.com.

About ELEAD1ONE

ELEAD1ONE, the benchmark in automotive software, helps dealers bridge the gap between sales, service, and marketing operations. The company’s automotive-only contact center, CRM, and service drive technologies are the foundations of their unique suite of products that drive its clients forward through strategic business advantage. Headquartered in Georgia, ELEAD1ONE has over 1,500 employees nationwide and serves more than 8,000 dealerships across the United States and Canada, including six of the top ten dealer groups.

ELEAD1ONE continues to lead the industry standard by providing insight to the community, identifying trends, and through the continuous development of personalized retail solutions that help dealers operate more profitably. For more information, visit our Website, like us on Facebook, YouTube, or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Sales isn’t a spectator sport! In this Freebie Friday quick tip, ELEAD1ONE Partner Bill Wittenmyer shares the importance of getting in the game and taking control of your destiny – and your paycheck!