Anyone using or know about Elead CRM?

[lfinney]

I hope I don't cause a big upset like the CRM thread that got everyone upset but I am trying to use all my resources to myself and my dealership get the best information... So here goes..

I have been on a journey of CRM demos, and all the fun of trying to figure out how to cancel contracts.... It is so fun. Anyway, I hate to ask questions about specfic companies but I just have to. Are any of you using Eleads CRM? During the demo I see a huge list of dealer names I am familiar with from DD conferences but I haven't ever seen anyone talking about them much.

I know about the company but I was hoping for some "dealership" experience and information without just using the dealers they provide to me. If you can help that would be great. If you would prefer to email me your comments rather than post them I would respect your the privacy of you opinions.

Thanks in advance for all the great replies!

Lori Finney
Mathews Nissan Suzuki
Clarksville TN

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Lori, I used eLEAD evolution for about 2 years. Before having eLEAD I was being forced to use Higher Gear. So coming off of HG, eLEAD was refreshing.

eLEAD is not perfect but what CRM's are? There are many things I think eLEAD does right.

Keep in mind it has been a little over 2 years so I can only comment on what I know for that time. I would hope that have made several enhancements.

I liked the fact that eLEAD does a decent job of integration with their desking tool. This feature makes it that much easier to get the desking/sales managers to use the CRM. It kept a record all previous "pencils" customer worksheets so you could reference the history of previous worked deals.

Customer service at the time was above average. It was easy to train the sales team on and I really liked using their Golddigger (database mining) product backed up with their call center. Was it perfect? No..but overall they did a good job.

Like I said, I'll keep my response very broad since it has been awhile since I used it BUT I know there are a few members in here that are using eLEAD. Hopefully they will speak up and provide some good information.

Oh too..they would always send the most delicious cookies during the holidays.

 

[shudson]

Man Jeff....this is the second time typing this the first time I hit submit it timed out....can you fix that? LOL

Lori we have been using Eleads for over 4 years now and previously were with AVV. The initial startup was a nightmare however since then they have fully integrated themselves into a full blown CRM/Desking tool. I have been very happy with Eleads and how far they have come over the years.

You are correct you do not hear much about them, and I like you was surprised they did not attend DD7 but I wouldnt count them out.

They integrate fully with your DMS, so the desk can push the deal to the DMS and it will save F&I from loading from scratch. The success of this push is your salespeople all and correct information into the system before touching the desk.

Eleads offers an automated follow up process if you need/want it. You can set things to run in the background and all you have to do is monitor, and hit print if its a letter.

We use their Golddigger program all the time, its a great tool to find business in your current customer base. On a monthly basis I say we sell close to 10 between my stores, now we do not have Eleads make the calls at $2.95 a call so the closing ratio is not as high as theirs however for us its more cost effective. We print the letters and do the follow up calls in house.

My Favorite tool is the Campaign Manager, you can track your ROI on every email blast you send. The best way for bragging rights for all the hard work we ISM's put into email blasts and the marketing of them.

There are two things I need to throw out there and that is the issue with Blacklists, while I know Eleads has made strides they still struggle to get through to Verizon Customers and of course the dreaded Earthlink but hell in my opinion it might be easier to crash a White House Party then to get on the white listed with them . And last I recommend getting your own pesonal support contact, I have Hoyt Hurt and I cannot say enough about the level of service he provides. Always quick and gets the job done. Calling into support is a joke, you never know who you are getting. Eleads also have travelling trainors and I recommend Tony Z, he came into my store several times, he works with sales guys, implements and will work and close deals he is all around fantastic and its great to get him in atleast once a year.

I hope this all helps, call me if you want to chat more 301.991.8652 or email [email protected]

Younger Toyota
Mercedes Benz Hagerstown

 

[lfinney]

Thanks for the replies. I feel much better about recommending this company for a demo.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Lori, any update on your CRM decision?

 

[Jeff Kershner]

I wanted to give this thread a bump. For some reason, it's been getting a lot of play on the SERPS lately and has become a top 20 traffic referring keyword phrase to the dealer forums here. I hope someone at elead is watching this thread!!

My dealers continue to move forward with elead and I now have successfully rolled elead into all my dealers. Nothing better than having 1 CRM provider for the whole group. It's been very obvious that elead has been in "forward motion". We have seen several enhancements over the last few months. We now have a local rep that has recently spent several days training with my new and seasoned crew.

We make good use of their call center and campaign manager/golddigger program across all the dealers. Though I would like to really get this dialed in on a monthly basis rather a every 3 month shot in the arm.

eLead no doubt has it's bugs and there are many features and enhancement I would like to see improved upon but looking at the direction they have been taking, as I type this, we will continue to be a loyal elead dealer group. Changing a CRM across just one dealer is a challenge, more than one is a complete headache.

Anyone else using elead CRM? What have been your experiences?

Also - if you have not already, be sure to read How to buy a CRM. An introduction to CRM for dealers over on the blog!

 

[JeremySmith]

I have had nothing but positive experiences with Elead CRM, ILM, and Edesk. As a matter of fact it just occured to me, that every dealership I have worked at,(4 in 15 years) has wound up changing from the system it previously used (AutoBase, R&R contact manager, ADP CRM...) to Elead. The design is clearly conceived from the customers' (dealer's) point of view. This makes its use much easier and allows it to be a more effective tool. I was always impressed with their initial and ongoing training and support. For me it is the best option if you are looking for a complete Customer Experience Management tool.

 

[ed.brooks]

...We now have a local rep that has recently spent several days training with my new and seasoned crew...

Also - if you have not already, be sure to read How to buy a CRM. An introduction to CRM for dealers over on the blog!

Jeff, That one sentence really caught my eye. It mirrors some discussions I've been having in the past week, both online and off. As you know we have a team of senior level Performance Managers in the field - folks with 10 to 30 years experience working at dealerships that consult with and handle on-going training with our dealers.

I don't want to make this an ad for our service, but I love the parallel between CRM tools and stocking and pricing tools. Both rely on software and data, but also on an underlying philosophy that has to be accepted into the dealership culture. If the philosophy isn't adopted, success will be almost impossible to achieve.

I find it hard to imagine how any software company can dump an application onto some desktop computers, say "Good luck Tiger", and expect success. I commend Elead for recognizing that integrating software into a dealership's culture takes "boots on the ground". Experienced, knowledgeable "Change Agents", not just a call center staffed by folks with little or no dealership experience.

 

[DanMorgan]

this was the first thread that showed up in search soo.......Just wanted to post that we now have elead here in our dealer group and I am really liking the system so far. Talk about a total 180 degree turn from Autobase. I have been very impressed with the system and how quickly they were able to make changes and tweeks to the system when we got it up and running throughout the store. All of our deal paperwork was scanned over to them and put into the system the same day.

I love their integration with the iPad as well and the email scheduling is such a huge help to keep me working the phone and not having to send a bunch of random follow up email to leads that I haven't or may never hear from :thumbup:

Only good things happen from here!

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Overall my dealers continue to be very satisfied with eLead. There are a few grumbling from time to time about this and that but that always to be expected. Most of the time it's user error anyways.

I'll give props to Cory. She handles most of our direct mail at eLead and is always on her game. She's helped me out with a few fast deadlines as well. Thanks Cory if you read this.