Cell Phones. Who do you know that doesn’t have a cell phone?
Cell phone companies are everywhere to, radio, TV, billboards. You can’t drive past a strip mall without seeing a cell phone store in it. And, in that store, you will see a lot of customers. No matter where you are, you are guaranteed to see someone talking or texting on a cell phone.
As shown by their auto dealer CRM system from Autobase has understood this trend of the communication age and applied it to our dealer CRM. With Autobase CRM, you can reach out to your customers through email, phones, ‘snail mail’, and many other options. You can even send a SMS message inside the Autobase system to any of your customers with a cell phone.
With so many people using cell phones today, our auto dealership software provides yet another way to stay in contact with the most important people to your business, your customers.
by Jason Solida
Auto CRM habit #3 is Proactivity.
Proactivity is always being one step ahead. As yourself, "What would the competition do?" Whatever the situation or scenario is beat the competition to the punch, by getting their faster/smarter. Up to this point you have begun educating yourself and have taken ownership of your customer data. Now put that to work by using the CRM solution at your auto dealership to contact customers proactively so you can keep them for life! Autobase CRM will do a lot of the work for you, in terms of scheduling, but remember you have to actually make the contacts!
Think ahead to what your customer will need. Not today but tomorrow and put a plan together to get that accomplished. Each customer will be different. So get as much information from them as you can and document it in the customer’s notes within your CRM system. Without the proper information for your customers you may begin to confuse them and you won’t be able to stay proactive.
If you anticipate what your customer wants or needs before they have to ask for it they will think you are the best salesperson they have ever worked with. If you appear to be doing all of the work for them you are more likely building a relationship that allows you to keep a customer for life.
Proactivity takes time to figure out. It can be challenging figuring out how to use the ‘magic 8 ball’ when it comes to figuring out what your customers want, but once you do, life will be much easier. Congratulations, you have just moved on to habit #4.
by Sheena Lee
A "Dead deal" is one of the most misunderstood terms in the auto dealership world -- at least as Autobase is concerned. So many times while visiting clients I hear them refer to a dead deal as someone they could not get a deal done for. They used this knowledge and updated the client in the Autobase CRM system to a "dead deal."
With a true CRM, a dealership customer should never be given up on (exactly what happens when you mark a customer a "dead deal"). A "dead deal" in Autobase CRM will prevent any future follow up from taking place to a customer, including email and newsletter marketing. One of the many reasons this is so important is that by updating a customer to a "deal deal", the system will put a block on their email address.
Most auto dealerships are moving down the path of doing some sort of consistent email marketing. If a salesperson is in the habit of updating every customer he cant get a deal done for as a "dead deal", their email address will no longer show as a valid email address and prevent future email campaigns to go to that customer.
A "dead deal" in Autobase is someone who has actually died, moved out of the area, or lied about their contact information. “Died, Flyed, or Lied” Make sure you are putting the correct status on the customer so we can continue to market to them and follow up with them down the road.
by Justin Marquardt
I was at an auto dealership the other week working with various Sales Consultants on improving their knowledge of the dealership CRM system. At this particular auto dealership, the Sales Consultants had been using auto CRM from Autobase for about 5 years. Their knowledge of the system was good, but as the saying goes you can learn something new every day (especially with CRM software).
I decided to show these CRM veterans how they can effectively see all of the upcoming service appointments for their customers. I also showed them how they could print a list of all of the service appointments scheduled for the next day. Most Sales Consultants frequent the service area in the hopes that they could potentially run into someone who may be in the market for a new vehicle. With a true CRM tool you should be able to research all of the service histories for each of your customers and know exactly when they are coming in for their next visit.
Sales Consults, the next time one of your customers comes into the service lane greet them with a cup of coffee and talk to them about their service history (that you have already researched). Maybe they are ready for a new vehicle. Maybe they have some referrals. At the very least you will be reminding your customers that you are the best Sales Consultant in the world.
by Kevin Smith
I was reading Automotive News this week and on the front page was an article lamenting that auto dealers are having a hard time keeping their dealership used car inventory stocked to acceptable levels. Cars at the auctions are scarce and prices are up to $2000 more than they were just months ago. Want an alternative means of going after cars for your used car inventory? YOUR OWN SERVICE DRIVE!
With the auto dealer CRM system from Autobase, you can see which customers are hitting your service department at what mileage point they and you can isolate marketing to go after these viable and potential clients to trade their vehicles to restock your used car lot.
Examples I have seen are: going after 2 to 3 year old, in warranty vehicles and the 70 to 80k vehicles for the budget lots. What's the down-side? Worst case, You'll drive floor traffic in this post "cash for clunkers" vacuum.
by Shawn Belles
I was at Starbucks the other day and noticed that they didn’t write my name on my cup. I asked the employee if perhaps this was to protect my privacy? He then asked me my name and shouted out loud saying – “Venti White Chocolate Mocha for Bryan.” So much for the privacy and “so much” for the beverage… by now we should all know that Starbucks charges by the syllable.
Regarding customer privacy, I am proud to say that Autobase takes this very seriously. Not only does our auto dealer CRM software encrypt all personal customer information, we allow our dealers to auto-delete it after X number of days after use. Of course some users will say, “Hey, it is a pain to have to re-ask our customer for a social the next time they buy a car," but I am sure the customer would love to hear… “Mr. Customer, I know you have purchased from us in the past, but to protect your privacy, we don’t store your personal information permanently in our CRM system.”
Needless to say, the next time I go out and buy a new car from one of our Autobase dealers, I will not expect my sales rep to shout “one Venti White Mocha Mustang for Bryan!”
by Bryan Anderson, Autobase Founder
If you are like most auto dealerships, the answer to the above question is “not very well”.
Besides being expensive, it’s near impossible to measure results. With the recent consolidation of dealerships, many service departments are bursting at the seams. Now more than ever there are valuable prospects visiting your service department that did not buy their vehicle at your store. What a perfect opportunity to properly start a sales cycle with these orphaned customers.
Many of the auto dealers using our automotive CRM system have found the best way to find some of these hot leads is to do a search of their customer database. For example, try a quick search of your entire database using these parameters:
1) Service customers who did not buy their vehicle at your dealership
2) Visited your Service department within the last 30 days
3) Over 75,000 miles on the odometer
4) Repair Order bill over $250.00 out of pocket
You might be surprised to see this number is larger than first thought. Why not have a “new model” introduction e-mail automatically generated when these customers get back home (using a strong permission-based email marketing solution, of course). Better yet, what a great time to drop these folks a well timed call. They already know who you are. Know where you are. They are a customer already. They have a high mileage vehicle. And repairs are starting to cost them out of pocket.
As a New Car Salesperson, I would much rather make a well timed, well informed call to these prospects than to follow up on a mailer. And by the way, these leads don’t cost a penny.
by Mike Niebling
Autopsies are, no doubt, important when it comes to figuring out why someone or something died. Autopsies don’t, however, help one manage an illness or a disease in the here and now. The same is true at your auto dealership. For example:
- Tomorrow is too late for your dealership sales management to dissect that lost sale and figure out how and why you lost it, and ...
- Month-end is too late to review a report and realize that your salespeople aren’t calling their prospects back.
A True CRM for your auto dealership, such as Autobase CRM, helps you manage your customers’ experience NOW, real-time, while the customer is still on the showroom floor. What other CRM systems give you constant, live snapshots of the data that your salespeople are capturing, the actions that they have taken (or have not taken) with a customer, the decisions they are making when it comes to the viability of that customer? It’s much easier to introduce yourself to a customer for a soft touch or intervene in a situation going sideways when you know about the customer and the situation as it is there happening in your showroom.
Autobase CRM helps you manage your sales staff’s activities and plan of attack NOW, real-time, one hour or one day or one week into the month—not just at month-end. It takes very little coaching when your salespeople see that you monitor their daily activities and express expectations about their production. They can’t put you (or their responsibilities) off...they come to expect a regular meeting or coaching session and it becomes a positive interaction, not a negative one.
Any automotive CRM that is report-driven will deprive you of the real-time management and interaction that you need. Don’t manage by autopsy. Manage with Autobase.
by Jennifer Holliday-Buchanan
Well, it appears that the vast majority of existing dealers have survived their experience with “Cash for Clunkers” but at what cost? That still remains to be seen and it will be several weeks from the looks of things before true closure comes to this program.
In the meantime, after a brief period of Tarzan-like chest thumping, the reality of the fact that if the government somehow gets the dealers all the money they are owed under the program and August is in the books as the most successful month in a long time in our business ... then what. Will the dealers go back to waiting for the next government stimulus? Will the buying public, stoked by the frenzy of a $4500 giveaway, now retreat to await the next Pavlovian bell rung by some unseen force? Has this last episode only reinforced the idea that cars aren’t worth anything unless somebody underwrites the sale?
This is not the time to return to the hackneyed and passive processes of the past. If you haven’t obtained a robust auto dealer CRM system for your store (such as Autobase CRM) with the capability to drive client contact, maximize profits, control your own marketing programs, develop your own client newsletters and aggressively pursue the buying public who we know have a long an passionate love affair with the automobile, now is the time to do so.
Certainly expenses must be closely looked at in this environment, but more importantly, you have to maximize the value of every dollar spent and make it generate a significant return. Be committed to your task, courageous in its pursuit and you need to look no further than Autobase CRM for a company that shares your attitude and beliefs and is ready to partner with you. We are ready when you are!!!
by John Champeau
I posted a blog yesterday that presented a few tips to consider if the idea of working with auto CRM creates some anxiety for you. We talked about how Autobase offers F1 Help, how to leverage the assistance of your Autobase Champion, and that it's perfectly fine to work at your own pace.
A few more ideas to consider...
Load and Relax – Load your customers in Autobase as you are working with them…i.e. DL Scanner or manually enter basic information. Once they leave the dealership, THEN finish entering the information through your Incomplete Entries and Client View. Once you have completed that customer, relax until the next customer comes in -- that is unless you have several customers in the showroom, which would be a good thing. You could wait until you get home to relax :)
Practice, Practice, Practice – the saying “Practice makes perfect” is even true in working with your auto dealer CRM software. The more you practice, the more you will perfect your usage of Autobase.
IDEA: Try adding a few fake customers (maybe use names of cartoon characters) in your auto CRM system. Practice completing their entries, updating their status, add appointments and anything else you can do with their record. Once you are finish, have a manager delete it. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will feel.
Make it Fun!- Enter your customer data while you are working with your customers. Turn monitor slightly in their direction and let them share in the info with you. Most customers like to offer their assistance when they can. This takes the pressure off of you and ensures that you are getting the most accurate up to date information.
As you are reading some of these ideas, you may have already identified one that is going to work best for you. If you haven’t, it’s OK to try all of them. Autobase was designed with you in mind. Don’t be stressed; make Autobase work for you and your customers; and say goodbye once and for all to the "CRM Jitters."
by Tami Davis
So your auto dealership just purchased an automotive CRM and everyone is excited; everyone except for you. Maybe you aren't as familiar with a computer. You believe your phone is your primary tool in the showroom. When you do come near a computer, you use two fingers to key everything.
If the CRM system your dealer has installed is Autobase, we have good news for you. though you may feel like you may get left behind, there is hope. Here are a few tips that will help ease your apprehension and chase away those CRM jitters:
- F1 Help – In order to feel comfortable with Autobase, you have to get to know Autobase. What better way to get to know it than through the Online Tutorial. F1 is the universal help button for any program. In Autobase F1 is an online tutorial that provides information from Adding A Client, Internet Leads Management. Using this option will prove to be beneficial.
- Ask for help – At your dealership, someone may have been designated as the Autobase Champion. Start looking to them for assistance.
- Work at your own pace – You know that you are not the computer star at your dealership and there is no reason you have to be. Autobase doesn’t require you to be a computer whiz or to type 55 words per minute. Just work at your own pace.
Tomorrow we'll look at a few more tips that will help you succeed with Autobase CRM.
by Tami Davis
There are many aspects of the auto dealer CRM from Autobase that sets it apart from other automotive CRM systems. However, there is one that I can personally attest to that sets us far above the rest -- our Account Management team.
I serve a number of car dealers as their Autobase Account Manager. When I became a part of the Autobase family I had no idea how all encompassing this position would become. I went through the very extensive training for the position and learned the fundamentals of this job. Little did I know that the fundamentals are only a portion of the big picture.
I was given many accounts, and at first I thought, "How can I ever remember all of these names, faces, directions on how to get to the stores, who is who, etc.?!" But, low and behold, I know who is who, the faces, their job functions, and even how to get to many places without my GPS :)
The relationships I have cultivated with the dealerships I am responsible for amazes me! As an Account Manager, I have the ability on a daily basis to make a difference for my dealers (notice how territorial I am ... notice "MY dealers"). People on the east coast are skeptical and many are a tough nut to crack, but in many stores we have become a part of the intricate working of each business. My dealers call me anytime, day, night, weekends, whenever, and feel confident that if I can’t solve something for them, the team behind me at Autobase can. The bottom line is they know I am always here for them.
So, “Autobase much more than a CRM”, is a very true statement for me! I am the Account Manager, consultant, trainer, objective outside opinion, and anything else I need to be at any given time when I am in the stores, and this at least, for me, is what makes it all work.
by Donna McCarthy
When adding a client into your auto dealer CRM software, your CRM system may offer the option to enter a customer as an "Old Sold." You may rarely (if ever) need to use the Old Sold option, but there are a few instances where it comes in handy.
If you have a group of customers that you sold BEFORE the auto dealership installed Autobase CRM, and those customers did not get automatically transferred from your DMS -- choose "Old Sold." Or if your computer was not functioning, for example, and you had to write a deal by hand, you can go back to Autobase later and add the customer as Old Sold.
You do NOT want to log sold customers from a previous dealership in as Old Sold. Autobase will think that you have sold this customer a vehicle at your current dealership, and it will send them letters thanking them for their purchase, when they did not purchase from this dealership.
The easiest way to remember when you should use this option is when you want to add a customer into Autobase CRM that you have sold at your current store, but they are not in Autobase yet.
by Colleen Persic
This past weekend was one of those weekends. One appointment backed up against another, and one to-do item overlapped with something else. My wife and I were at times moving on parallel tracks trying to successfully manage the weekend's events. If it wouldn't be for my DayTimer, I'd be loss -- plain and simple.
This kind of pace is experienced in auto dealerships across the country every day (can I get an "Amen" from someone out there in dealership sales management?) If you're using some form of automotive CRM in your auto dealership (of course, www.autobase.net we hope you've invested in Autobase CRM), you have the equivalent of my DayTimer at work ... hopefully, it's successfully managing the dealership's success in everything from traffic generation, lead management, variable and fixed ops business processes, as well as marketing for more of the same.
Auto Dealer CRM helps drive the processes that make your dealership profitable. It aligns everything you do against the specific business goals at your store. If you need something along the lines of this dealership software or if you need more from your current CRM system, check us out.
Hopefully, next weekend is a bit easier! :)
I had an auto dealer lamenting to me that he was having a hard time finding viable used vehicle inventory. Units at the auctions were rising in price and what was available was slim. His pre-owned sales were suffering.
We started discussing alternatives to auctions. Using his automotive CRM system (in this case, it was Autobase CRM), we were able to run a search of his Service RO’s and find loyal service customers who were driving vehicles with mileage between 30K and 36K. We put together a dealership marketing strategy to send out a permission-based digital marketing campaign letting these customers know he needed their vehicles in trade. 1/3rd of these customers were loyal to service but had never purchased a vehicle from the dealership. This was a great CONQUEST opportunity.
Thinking outside the box, he then searched Autobase CRM for closed RO’s in which customers had been into service in the last 90 days with over 90K on their vehicles. He then had his sales staff reaching out to these customers. Timing was perfect as CASH for CLUNKERS was just ramping up...
by Shawn Belles
Auto Dealer CRM software is no small piece of technology. Are you aware of all the various components included in your CRM solution? Take a few minutes to review some of the unused features of your CRM system. Investigate to see if there are “tools” available to help streamline internal processes and increase efficiency. Here's a few examples of some of the lesser utilized tools that may be in your CRM toolbox:
Of the many auto dealers I work with, I consulted with one dealership last week who had a low CSI survey ratings but had not developed processes to document and resolve their client issues. The great news for this dealer wat that Autobase CRM had him covered.
You are ready to take a client on a demo ride. What about the license plate that tends to disappear when you need it? Who was the last person to use that plate? Don’t have time to ask around for the plate? Again, Autobase CRM has you covered.
What about your sales people? Do they need help setting monthly sales goals? Put a goal in “writing." Set the forecast and let them aim for the goal. As a Manager wouldn’t it be nice to know how many cars each salesperson believes they will sell for the month? How close are they to your sales expectations? Don’t know? Autobase CMR has you covered.
Customer problem resolution? License plate tracking? Sales forecasting? What esle could be waiting for you in your CRM toolkit?
by Carol Urichich
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