CRM, ILM, Chat, Desking, Emails, Phone, SMS

Dealers with a "we don't need help" attitude are coasting on the temporary hot market of the past two years, but this complacency masks serious weaknesses—poor customer service response times, untrained sales staff, and arrogant vendor relations—that will become critical liabilities once the market corrects. Multiple contributors argue that regional service culture and customer experience matter significantly, and dealerships dismissing CRM and sales tools today will struggle most when inventory normalizes and customers have choices again.

Chris Vitale argues that dealers who have engaged in pricing games and markups above MSRP over the past two years risk damaging customer loyalty and turning buyers against the industry, as customers care more about fair pricing than dealer reputation. He warns that such practices may have serious consequences, citing low dealer engagement on social media as evidence that brand loyalty is weak. The thread touches on whether aggressive dealer tactics are creating a cycle of customer distrust that could hurt the industry long-term.

# Summary A GM and vendor shares insights on what distinguishes effective dealership general managers from poor ones, arguing that a GM's performance directly impacts dealership success. The post critiques bad habits that emerged during the pandemic boom—like neglecting customer follow-up and lead response—and warns against unsustainable practices such as slow-paying invoices or poor time management. The key insight is that GMs who are too busy to even take calls are either mismanaging their time or avoiding deeper operational problems that will eventually catch up with them.

# Summary Chris Vitale calls out vendors in the automotive industry who repeatedly fail to deliver on commitments, make excuses instead of fixing problems, and seem indifferent to dealer satisfaction—yet still prominently display "dealer badges" at industry events. He raises the question of why dealerships continue tolerating these problematic vendor relationships and whether the industry has a systemic problem with accountability. The post sets up a discussion about recurring vendor mistakes and the gap between vendors' public presence and their actual performance.

# Summary Automotive dealers question whether Cox Automotive's new Essential Commerce platform is genuinely innovative or simply rebranded existing technology, with skepticism growing after seeing the actual Penske implementation. A Cox representative claims the solution automates the entire used car buying process with industry firsts in financing and payments, but forum members counter that the user experience is underwhelming—requiring multiple clicks and early soft credit pulls that likely drive high abandonment rates. The underlying consensus is that despite millions in investment, digital retailing tools continue to suffer from poor UX and high abandonment, raising questions about why vendors keep funding these perpetually underperforming platforms.

Josh Bertoli, a new salesman, asks for guidance on structuring a cold outbound sales process during a slow period for lot traffic and internet leads. Alex Snyder shares his experience cold calling people selling cars in classifieds and emphasizes the underrated effectiveness of leaving short, compelling voicemails that reference the prospect's specific vehicle and offer a direct callback number. The thread highlights that a simple, focused approach to prospecting—particularly voicemails—can be more powerful than many salespeople realize.

# Summary A dealer discovered that VinSolutions' Lead Forwarding feature fails to forward all ADF leads to third-party integrations, causing dealers to miss intermittent leads across BDC, workflow, and marketing tools without realizing it. A second dealer added that VinSolutions experienced a 3-day global outage affecting GM OneSource leads, with the vendor and GM pointing fingers rather than taking accountability. The thread highlights critical operational gaps in VinSolutions' reliability and API performance, with dealers questioning whether to continue using the platform.

A former car dealer turned IT professional discovers that small dealerships (selling 20-50 units/month) still use an auto-filling PDF form system he created a decade ago, and they avoid expensive CRM software because full systems are overkill for their volume. Discussion reveals that while generic CRMs exist, automotive-specific solutions like Frazer DMS offer affordable alternatives ($85/mo with custom forms), with one participant noting that low-tech operations may actually contribute to staying small rather than growing.

A used-car dealership in Wisconsin seeks solutions for obtaining trade-in titles from customers who fail to provide them at time of sale, either claiming they left them at home or receiving them back from lienholders instead of the dealership. The most practical advice given is to treat a missing title like any other missing required document—don't release the vehicle until the title is in hand—and to use RouteOne or DealerTrack payoff requests for liened vehicles, which include customer-signed title handling instructions. The underlying issue is acknowledged as a widespread problem driven by fast turn times in the current market.

A new GM considering consolidating all dealership software into DealerSocket receives overwhelmingly negative feedback, with multiple users citing poor CRM usability, outdated interfaces, and significantly degraded support following Solera's acquisition and subsequent 35% workforce reduction. The consensus strongly advises against DealerSocket, with respondents recommending exploration of newer competitors like Roadster and AutoFi instead, and emphasizing that no single integrated platform is worth sacrificing user experience and customer support quality.

Burt Lewis, a part-time internet sales manager at a small used-car dealership, asks about industry benchmarks for his metric: the percentage of total dealership sales that come from leads he personally worked. Jon Berna clarifies that this "share of sales" metric is heavily dependent on other factors and suggests more useful conversion funnel metrics (lead-to-appointment, appointment-to-show, show-to-close) with a resource link for benchmarks, though the thread doesn't ultimately provide a specific industry average for Burt's particular calculation.

Chris Vitale argues that salespeople require active coaching to improve performance, citing over 50 potential issues including inefficient call handling, poor customer experience, and sales execution problems. The post outlines seven specific reasons why coaching is essential, beginning with calls that run too long without delivering results (such as getting bogged down in customer complaints about pricing or dealership fees). The core insight is that customers directly feel the impact of un-coached salespeople through unpleasant and inefficient interactions, making coaching a critical management responsibility.

Chris Vitale draws a parallel between sports coaching and phone/sales coaching in automotive, arguing that both disciplines share fundamental similarities in helping top performers continuously improve their skills. The thread establishes that coaching—distinct from training—is essential for salespeople to reach higher levels of performance, similar to how elite athletes universally work with coaches. The key insight is that coaching represents a necessary investment rather than an optional add-on for dealerships serious about sales excellence.

A dealer discusses how the automotive industry unexpectedly faced severe challenges despite initial assumptions that it would be recession-proof, with supply constraints preventing dealerships from meeting customer demand. The post traces these difficulties back to COVID-19 lockdowns with no clear resolution in sight. While the thread is just beginning, the original poster establishes that the industry faces historically difficult conditions compared to pre-pandemic performance.

The thread discusses how dealership phone skills have become increasingly critical as call volume has surged in the automotive industry, especially compared to other sectors where customers have experienced frustratingly long hold times. A dealer contributes that phone sales are particularly important seasonally, jumping from 15% to 23% of sales during colder months. The key insight is that with heightened phone traffic, dealerships that maintain strong call-handling capabilities gain a significant competitive advantage.

# Summary Stevie asks for opinions on implementing a centralized BDC (Business Development Center) across multiple dealership locations, rather than maintaining separate BDCs at each rooftop. The experienced respondents emphasize that centralization can work but requires strict processes to prevent accusations of preferential treatment, neutral location setup, competitive compensation, regular in-person store visits, proper tools, and strong leadership—otherwise a hybrid approach (centralizing only some locations) may be more practical than a full rollout.

# Summary Automotive professionals debate the limitations of outsourced/virtual BDCs (Business Development Centers) compared to in-house teams, identifying questions that remote staff cannot adequately answer due to lack of physical presence at the dealership. Key challenges include vehicle-specific inquiries (location on lot, condition details like smoke damage or rust, video requests), immediate access to dealership personnel, and service department information beyond basic operating hours. The thread illustrates that while outsourced BDCs offer efficiency benefits, their inability to physically inspect inventory and navigate dealership relationships creates meaningful competitive disadvantages.

The original poster asks whether tracking first service appointment performance post-sale would be valuable to dealers, particularly when segmented by zip code. Respondents indicate that while tracking first appointments could be useful if they're service appointments, the zip code breakdown adds limited value since performance naturally correlates with proximity to the dealership, and most modern CRM/DMS systems already provide basic appointment tracking capabilities. The consensus suggests this metric is measurable with existing tools but only worthwhile if focused specifically on service appointments rather than general appointment data.

The thread discusses the challenge service departments face in balancing profitability with quality customer service while managing advisor workload and burnout. The original post emphasizes that phone advisors are critical to the first impression customers receive, requiring both knowledgeable staff and efficient processes. The core tension explored is determining optimal staffing and workload levels to maintain service quality without overwhelming team members.

A dealer seeks alternatives to DealerScience's desking tool and website plugin functionality. Two solutions are recommended: PBS Systems (an established 35-year-old platform gaining traction with larger dealer groups) and FRIKINtech's SALESiQ and WEBSITEiQ products, which leverage similar Market Scan API technology that DealerScience previously used. The thread suggests that finding direct DealerScience replacements remains challenging, though these options appear to offer comparable capabilities.

A user asks about the fate of ROI BOT, a marketing tracker platform from several years ago. Ryan Everson clarifies that ROI BOT was originally a Brian Pasch company that was rebranded to Vistadash and subsequently sold to Car Wars. The thread provides a clear product lineage showing the platform's evolution and current ownership.

Baron Ringler requested sample pay plan structures for a Service Business Development Center (BDC) representative, noting this is an unfamiliar area for him. ChrisR responded by offering to send him information directly via private message. The thread appears to be in its early stages with no broader discussion or conclusions yet posted.