Bracing for life without a CRM, help?

[benmynattnissan]

Hummm my question is how are you going to prove you stopped the clock on your fix op leads or manufactuar thrid party leads. Because if you dont have a way to prove that guess what the lead cost go through the roof and you risk being kicked off those programs now they arent the best leads but you know they do bring you those few extra deals a month. How are you going to remember who to call and when and what you last talked about or what car they were on or if they have a trade the CRM is extreamly important to an internet department no CRM NO INTERNET DEPARTMENT GO BACK TO LOT LIZARD TIMES! TAKE DOWN YOUR AUTO TRADER YOUR CARS .COM AND YOUR WEBSITE NO POINT OF INVOLVING YOU SELF IN THE INTERNET WORLD IF YOU DONT HAVE ALL THE RIGHT TOOLS IN PLACE.

 

[benmynattnissan]

btw who is the dms provider??

 

[Kelly Wilson]

Jesse, I had my owner threatened the same thing between issues with the provider, other vendors and the lack of/miss use on the floor. Does your site provider offer an ILM? I lived in DDC's backend tool before we got CRM in Feb of this year. I would try to export as much information, as many fields as you can to excel so that if you do use outlook or some other tool you find as a stop gap measure, that you will have all the data possible without needing a third party to help you with it.
I agree with JQ & Doug, however I bet I know your owner's response about personnel by heart. We now have a paper desk log and appointment back on the front desk as the old dogs said they liked it better that way; however, there are still less than 30% of phone and floor ups reported between the logs and the CRM.
Loyalty and the old ways have to find their place in the evolving world of today. When the people who have the check signer's ear don't understand the tool and if all the tool does in their eyes is make more issues they have to deal with, then the path of least resistance is to get rid of the thing they see as creating the issue. What I am told when suggesting changes to make everything work better: Don't waste your time trying to teach a pig the fly, you'll wind up tired & dirty and just aggravate the pig.
I highly suggest reading Joe Webb's Post a few times. I might know most of it by heart but have yet to answer the call. I know it's hard, but chin up-we'll help all we can!

 

[ddavis]

We now have a paper desk log and appointment back on the front desk as the old dogs said they liked it better that way

I bet they do. This way they aren't accountable. They can remain marginal and nobody knows the difference.

 

[john.quinn]

Loyalty and the old ways have to find their place in the evolving world of today. When the people who have the check signer's ear don't understand the tool and if all the tool does in their eyes is make more issues they have to deal with, then the path of least resistance is to get rid of the thing they see as creating the issue. What I am told when suggesting changes to make everything work better: Don't waste your time trying to teach a pig the fly, you'll wind up tired & dirty and just aggravate the pig.

I have to say I don't really like this way of thinking. Compromise a bit, of course. But don't lose sight of the goal.

This sounds a little too like, "Well, if the king thinks the earth is flat, and his court thinks the earth is flat, then we need to let them think the earth is flat." Uh-uh.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the "Youth Movement" I see occurring in dealerships across the country: we have some very bright, young minds in positions of influence that are teaching pigs how to fly -- else they become bacon . I've been thinking about writing an article about it, but Jeff never puts up anything I send him anymore (tehe).

At the end of the day: failure to understand progressive thought and the marketplace of tomorrow is a failure of leadership. And I think this failure has been around for a long, long time -- not sending this on my Texas Instruments laptop now, am I?

 

[joe.webb]

Jesse, once again middle management and ownership has failed this dealership and your daily duties are going to be collateral damage. If salespeople weren't utilizing the system well, that is the management's fault, as it is the salespeople's, NOT the technology.

When I was first aware of ILM's, I paid out of my own pocket every month to have one. I required all salespeople to (at least) use an "up log" (yes, we're talking ancient times). However, this was a step up from them doing nothing but keeping a notepad with malnutrition in their back pocket. I urge you to continue using technology (pay for your own ILM and your ownership will eventually take over payments for it, if they're worth a damn.)

An ILM should be between $500 - $800/month and if there are any vendors out there listening, please cut this guy a deal so he can at least be successful in what he does. We know the dealer is going to take a crap without any technology-assisted salespeople on the showroom. Yay for 1997!

Keep your head up, pay to play, kiss it until you can kick it, and then get out of dodge if they don't realize they're going backwards.

 

[ddavis]

John, "Youth Movement"? I favor the old school approach when it comes to logging. You have to get the salespeople's attention, get them focused and motivated to do the right thing. The best tool, I have found is a car antenna. It isn't obvious, like a bat, but the effects are immediate but not life threatening.

 

[john.quinn]

John, "Youth Movement"? I favor the old school approach when it comes to logging.

Youth Movement: more natural to interact with the keyboard & screen than to hand-write anything. These people need training on how to use a Pen; sit them in front of any semi-intuitive computer program, and just get the hell out of their way.

It's-a-coming.

 

[ddavis]

Youth Movement: more natural to interact with the keyboard & screen than to hand-write anything. These people need training on how to use a Pen; sit them in front of any semi-intuitive computer program, and just get the hell out of their way.

It's-a-coming.

John, I'm talking about correcting the ones that are too lazy or couldn't be bothered to log.

 

[Alex Snyder]

I've been pleasantly surprised by the "Youth Movement" I see occurring in dealerships across the country: we have some very bright, young minds in positions of influence that are teaching pigs how to fly -- else they become bacon .

I have to agree with Quinn. The younger generation is naturally flocking to technology (duh - we all know that), but there are quite a few out there who are good at figuring out ways to pair the technologies with the abilities of their dealerships. It is absolutely encouraging as there are more than I ever guessed :thumbup: