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Being in the automotive industry for some time now, nearly 8 years, I remembered back to the days when I first started. I was 20 years old, fresh out of college, trying to take over the world - one phone call at a time. The company I was with at the time, didn't have the luxury of having the finer things that other automotive companies had. We had a pad, paper, and IF our website company offered a FREE CRM, we had that too.   A few years went by, I saw myself begin to progressive and outgrow the store I was at, I was ready for a great challenge. I joined Pine Belt Automotive for a great opportunity and a chance to see my talents flourish with a company that was the top of their game. 

I can tell you from firsthand experience, a huge part in our success here is Dealer CRM | iMagicLab. And I can tell you why in one word.... Simplicity. Like many other dealerships in America, we still have managers, employees, and officers that have worked more time in the "old days" then they have in the "new days" and that's okay! The car business will always remain the same in which you still must execute the basics better than your competition in order the succeed month in and month out. What our CRM company does that brings us to another level, is adapt to OUR life, instead of us adapting to theirs. They are habit forming, they are easy, they do not complicate the situation, they do not try to do too much, they simply compliment our dealerships lifestyle and now has become a system in which we depend on. 

Now look, it did not start out like that all. There was a time where we as a dealer we just logging in deals. And then we eventually moved to deals and "should be a deal." Now, I can honestly say, we are at 95-98% every month. And listen, anyone who sits where and tells you they are at 100% and they never miss anything and any other talk like that is flat out lying. We are humans in a fast paced world, we are not perfect and will never be. DealerCRM did an unbelievable job with their updates and improvements to take an already great product and make it excellent. 

iMagicLab is a tool in which we lean on. It is a tool in which we need for our everyday business. It blends simplicity with necessity. It pays attention to detail, but not too much detail.  It will not consume you or overwhelm you. As an Internet Director, I can use and be successful with any CRM that you put in front of me, any Internet Director/Manager will be. Our learning curve is a lot sharper then everyone else in the dealership. It's the SALESMAN, the blood line of our dealership, that took the ball that is iMagicLab and ran with it. Why? Because it is not a second job for them. It complements the job that they already have. 

This blog entry is not intended to sell or promote in any manner. I just simply want to applaud Dealer CRM | iMagicLab, Ownership, Management, Support, and everyone else involved with the creation and every day activity of our system. 

I believe in holding my sales team accountable, and when I meet with my salespeople and go over what they are doing every day, I naturally tend to focus on their "planners". My dealership uses Car Research, while many of you use Compass, Higher Gear, Vin Solutions, or one of the other outstanding CRM's on the market today. I'm sure many of you are tired of your managers hounding you to "finish your tasks". The funny thing that I have noticed is that the tasks that tend to get the least amount of attention are the "orphan owners" that get randomly assigned to your account (based on your CRM of course) . It is these customers that I would like to address for a few moments.

One of the biggest problems in most dealerships today is that the average salesperson simply doesn't know all the tools that are available to them in the CRM. Yes, they might know how to enter and update a customers status, but that is about it. You wouldn't believe all the tools available to help you sell more cars and make a LOT more money. It would be the equivalent of buying a new Iphone and simply using it to make calls. How much would you be missing?

Most of your CRM's are tied into your Service Department, so if you do a little digging, you will find that somewhere in your customers information screen, usually under "Vehicle Information", you can find out everything you need to make a car deal. My salespeople could not believe that if the customer bought from our dealership, the CRM will show the remaining payments, interest rate, approximate payoff and approximate ACV or their trade! Do you think you could sell more cars if you had that information BEFORE you made that Orphan Owner call? You can actually search your dealerships files based on approximate equity, and then call these beautiful customers and let them know that they can upgrade their current vehicle for about what they are currently paying. Do you now see why the Orphan Owners in your planners are actually some of the hottest prospects you have been ignoring?

As Dr. Covey would say, you need a Paradigm Shift in your thinking. You need to see the CRM as the BEST TOOL YOU HAVE TO HELP YOU SELL CARS!. And if you don't understand how to use it, don't just rely on your friends limited knowledge (the proverbial blind leading the blind). There is usually a help line to call, a rep who can stop by, or how to videos on the site. In any case, there are tons of customers right at your fingertips that you have been ignoring for far too long.

Remember It's not about where you've been but where you are going. It only takes the courage to recognize it and TAKE ACTION NOW! OF course, when you realize how much business you have missed, it will make you sick.

Are you up for the challenge? I promise you it will be well worth it.

http://www.neilhuffman.com
http://www.internetsales20group.com

Automotive Digital Marketing Manager of Dealer Group in Kentucky - 17 Years in Automotive Sales

Quick interview with Joe Turner, Digital Marketing Manager with the Neil Huffman Auto Group. Joe has been in the industry for over 17 years and is a veteran in Automotive Internet Sales. Joe gives some advice based on his experience(s)