
“Ya’ gots a real nice database here. Be a shame if anything happened ta it.”
For this installment of the CRM project report, I want to sidetrack a bit. One of the things that most confuses me about the Auto Industry, is that we seem obliged to put up with a lot of really, really crappy software. Now, I’ve found that this is often true of the enterprise as well. Big companies put up with poorly designed software with poor usability. Software that their employees and executives wouldn’t put up with as consumers. This has led to a rush of issues lately. Enterprise software is being supplanted by consumer software that simply works better. Read more


There are two ways to sell more cars. Frankly it isn’t that difficult an equation to master. Generate more leads, or sell a higher percentage of the leads you already have. It’s just that simple. Selling a higher percentage is the harder way to go. After all, getting more leads just requires spending more money. Throwing cash at the problem is always the easiest answer. Being more efficient, now that requires unflinching honesty on your part when you look at your sales process. Be brutal in determining where you’re going off track. One place where many, if not most dealers, stumble is on what I call, “long-tail leads.”
Sorry for my long absence, but I’ve up to my ass in alligators these last few months. You see, back near the beginning of the year I suggested that we ditch our current CRM and create our own.