Latest activity

joe.pistell · Nov 26, 2024

BillKVMotorCo said:
Absolutely ZERO chance the response rate was that low

Bill, CarEdge claim is a 24hr window. Thoughts?

joe.pistell · Nov 24, 2024

AI+CRM = AI personal assistants.

1. Introduction:

Adding LLM's into CRM systems represents a paradigm shift in the automotive retail industry. This high-level document explores how LLM's are set to redefine sales tasks and CRM practices, making reps more efficient and customer-centric than ever before.

2. CRM Tasks Replaced by LLMs:

Automating Routine Administrative Tasks
Personalized Customer Assistance

3. LLMs as Sales Reps' Personal Assistants:

Enhancing Customer Interactions
Streamlining Workflows
Real-time Information Support

4. Impact on Current CRM KPIs:

Evolution of Traditional KPIs
Introduction of New KPIs

The Importance of AI Utilization Rate: AI Utilization Rate will become a critical KPI, reflecting how effectively AI personal assistants UX improves sales processes.

Misc Thoughts

AI is to work what the gasoline engine was to the horse. LLM's ability to make order from chaos means the AI rollout into our highly fragmented automobile dealership industry will blossom into new levels of dealer profitability. From a Dealer Principal's POV, AI's ability to empower your staff will reshape the entire dealer organizations' structure. From Wall Street's POV, AI is the gasoline Wall Street needs to roll up this industry. Its highly likely, Aimee Allen, MBA,Haig Partners, Steve Greenfield and other strategic thinkers will be shifting projections as the AI Gold Rush unfolds.

(Full article - linkedin 2023)

joe.pistell · Nov 24, 2024

Carsten said:
Why are dealers so interested in Ai doing "people" work?

FORD: 100 RFQ emails sent, 24 hrs later, 21 replied, 13 sent a quote.
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TOYOTA: 100 RFQ emails sent, 24 hrs later, 17 replied, 9 sent a quote.
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TAKEAWAYS:
When I show these vids to my car guy pals, they go into self defense mode explaining why these 2 vids are flawed. From my seat, this is what opportunity looks like.

Tallcool1 · Nov 23, 2024

zande299 said:
Organizing could really improve if someone put to work a merit based system. Truly, there is no absolute way to grade salespeople; all you have to do is monitor their effectiveness on their sales tasks by charting task accomplishment rates or percentages, follow up regularity, note clarity, and the extent of lead conversion. What you could do was assign a weighted score to each of these and apply it in making the necessary tweak on the lead distribution.

Oh My God, a weighted score on each metric. This is fucking brilliant. Why didn't I think of that? :egads:

joe.pistell · Nov 23, 2024

AI removes friction. 'AI' stores will see higher revs and be more profitable.

Stock investors will like this concept:
$CVNA: Carvana Co., 13,700 employees
$AN: AutoNation Inc., 21,000 employees
$LAD: Lithia Motors Inc., 21,150 employees
$GPI: Group 1 Automotive Inc., 13,000 employees
$ABG: Asbury Automotive Group, 14,200 employees
$SAH: Sonic Automotive Inc., 10,200 employees
$KMX: CarMax Inc., 27,000 employees
(AI gen list)

Dan Sayer · Nov 22, 2024

jscole86 said:
@Dan Sayer How does your group of stores ensure all sales calls are entered into the CRM? Do managers manually verify this by comparing TotalCX call logs with the CRM, or is it automated? I'm asking because you mentioned prioritizing hunt/queue routing based on close rates and appointments. Obviously, if reps selectively enter calls, that will inflate their metrics. We do it manually, but it's such a time suck.

This past winter, we significantly improved our ability to track all calls with confidence by implementing TotalCX’s PBX system along with its tracking tools (InteractivTel/TotalCX/CallRevu/whatever they are now lol). Each salesperson has their own extension and direct inward dialing (DID) number. This setup allows us to track and record all inbound and outbound calls, including those made from extensions and DIDs.

TotalCX’s system includes AI-based call reviews, which tag “Opportunity” calls in its tracking dashboard. However, daily call reviews are more efficient using DriveCentric’s call log (TotalCX integration). DriveCentric automatically tags each call with the customer’s name (if they exist in the CRM) and the Deal Status, if applicable. Managers can quickly skim AI-generated call summaries in DriveCentric’s log view to bypass irrelevant calls like “where's my title” or “service didn’t answer, so I pressed 2.”

I encourage managers to build a habit of spot-checking calls rather than attempting to review every single one. Consistent spot checks often reveal recurring themes with individual salespeople, enabling targeted coaching.

Our team has a high success rate in capturing accurate contact details because we train them to say, “The number showing on my caller ID is XYZ ABC. Is this the best number to reach you?” This direct approach avoids overused scripts like, “In case we get disconnected, what’s the best number to reach you?” where a shopper can just say "don't call me". Are their opportunities to improve? Always.

jscole86 · Nov 22, 2024

@Dan Sayer How does your group of stores ensure all sales calls are entered into the CRM? Do managers manually verify this by comparing TotalCX call logs with the CRM, or is it automated? I'm asking because you mentioned prioritizing hunt/queue routing based on close rates and appointments. Obviously, if reps selectively enter calls, that will inflate their metrics. We do it manually, but it's such a time suck.

Tallcool1 · Nov 22, 2024

Dan Sayer said:
@Tallcool1
Last year, I think I shared on this forum how we implemented a “Moneyball” approach with our sales teams. We broke down lead performance (Internet, Phone, Walk-In) into stages from Lead to Sold. At a quarterly planning event, I had managers map their salespeople on an X-Y matrix showing lead volume vs. conversion rates for phone and internet. The result? The following month was our best ever for phone and internet, as managers started directing leads to top converters and away from underperformers. However, this success was short-lived—lasting about 45 days.

The Challenge:
Redirecting leads to top performers eventually overloaded them, causing their pipelines to degrade. In cradle-to-grave sales setups without a BDC, the more deals reps close, the less time they have to nurture new leads. I’ve seen this firsthand—after a 30-car month, my pipeline would stagnate, leading to an 18-22 car month afterward. The key is understanding each rep’s capacity to prevent overload. An “on one week, off the next” strategy might help balance the workload.

Our Current Strategy:
I now run weekly calls with individual store managers focusing on salespeople’s performance at every stage:

• Lead to Engaged
• Engaged to Appt Set
• Appt Set to Show
• Show to Sold

Each stage presents a unique coaching opportunity. Instead of just looking at Lead to Sold, we pinpoint weak spots in the sales funnel and coach accordingly, ensuring reps can re-enter the rotation (hopefully the next week) without overloading others.

Key Metrics & Tools:

• Lead Caps: We’ve identified that some reps perform best with 20 leads/month, while others excel with 70. For cradle-to-grave reps, 45 leads/month is a typical cap.
• Distribution Rules: Using DriveCentric, we manage lead distribution rules based on schedules and even differentiate between new and used leads. For phone calls, we prioritize appointment setters in the hunt/queue ring order.
• Ongoing Review: Weekly and 30-day trend reviews are essential. This helps spot patterns and address downturns before they affect performance.

Results:
Last month, our group averaged:

• 13.8% Internet close rate (5 stores exceeded 15%; two struggled due to new management).
• 30%+ Phone close rate with reliable phone tracking.
• 5% Bad Lead Rate.

This approach requires intense management—reviewing 60+ salespeople weekly and addressing performance issues. While not all store-level managers lean into this level of detail, those who do see a significant impact on their store’s success.

I'd love to offer you any help you need @Tallcool1. You can always hit me up. Thanks.

Thank you! I appreciate your input.

Dan Sayer · Nov 22, 2024

@Tallcool1
Last year, I think I shared on this forum how we implemented a “Moneyball” approach with our sales teams. We broke down lead performance (Internet, Phone, Walk-In) into stages from Lead to Sold. At a quarterly planning event, I had managers map their salespeople on an X-Y matrix showing lead volume vs. conversion rates for phone and internet. The result? The following month was our best ever for phone and internet, as managers started directing leads to top converters and away from underperformers. However, this success was short-lived—lasting about 45 days.

The Challenge:
Redirecting leads to top performers eventually overloaded them, causing their pipelines to degrade. In cradle-to-grave sales setups without a BDC, the more deals reps close, the less time they have to nurture new leads. I’ve seen this firsthand—after a 30-car month, my pipeline would stagnate, leading to an 18-22 car month afterward. The key is understanding each rep’s capacity to prevent overload. An “on one week, off the next” strategy might help balance the workload.

Our Current Strategy:
I now run weekly calls with individual store managers focusing on salespeople’s performance at every stage:

• Lead to Engaged
• Engaged to Appt Set
• Appt Set to Show
• Show to Sold

Each stage presents a unique coaching opportunity. Instead of just looking at Lead to Sold, we pinpoint weak spots in the sales funnel and coach accordingly, ensuring reps can re-enter the rotation (hopefully the next week) without overloading others.

Key Metrics & Tools:

• Lead Caps: We’ve identified that some reps perform best with 20 leads/month, while others excel with 70. For cradle-to-grave reps, 45 leads/month is a typical cap.
• Distribution Rules: Using DriveCentric, we manage lead distribution rules based on schedules and even differentiate between new and used leads. For phone calls, we prioritize appointment setters in the hunt/queue ring order.
• Ongoing Review: Weekly and 30-day trend reviews are essential. This helps spot patterns and address downturns before they affect performance.

Results:
Last month, our group averaged:

• 13.8% Internet close rate (5 stores exceeded 15%; two struggled due to new management).
• 30%+ Phone close rate with reliable phone tracking.
• 5% Bad Lead Rate.

This approach requires intense management—reviewing 60+ salespeople weekly and addressing performance issues. While not all store-level managers lean into this level of detail, those who do see a significant impact on their store’s success.

I'd love to offer you any help you need @Tallcool1. You can always hit me up. Thanks.

Shawn Ryder · Nov 22, 2024

Carsten said:
It doesn't show: Chicon, The Domain, Dirty 6th or East 6th.
but it has the New airport.
Just joking!

I did "Keep Austin Weird" for a few years. Very few people these days even know what it really means or why Whole Foods is the devil incarnate. I'm talking about the post flood era.

Back on Point:

It's better but "Austin, Texas" doesn't work.
I broke it on the first try. Took me 5 tries to figure out the obvious reason why.

"ausitn,t" works though.

It doesn't recognize the " " _space

Thanks for the feedback! On it to see if can adjust - know in the API for location (which is pulled from Google I believe) there is no space - odd I know.. but will see if we can adjust so there is a space.

Alex Snyder · Nov 21, 2024

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The key is to tune for the lead source and to give the AI a single goal: get a FRIKIN appointment!

Shawn Ryder · Nov 21, 2024

Carsten said:
I thought you were a bot. sorry.

The drop down for the location doesn't recognize the state / country. So, when you put in a famous city it sees the city name but then the state/country is [City, US] ... hard to figure out what state it is.

Just wanted to let you know - made a couple of adjustments and showing a bit more detail now:

Shawn

Eric Miltsch · Nov 20, 2024

CarlAutofusion said:
We've been tinkering with optimizing for AI such as ChatGPT. We've only glanced at Perplexity but we've been working with others for about the past year. I agree with many of you, that AI Engines will become a growing segment in traffic.

For dealers, there's a few places they can look at to ensure they show up for AI searches. I'd start with making more Q&A or FAQ style content and not just on your website but also on platforms like Facebook. Reviews also seem to be important as well. On the more technical side, look at your schema and make sure everything is filled in at a minimum. Schema is read by many of the engines.

Some Engines have specific mechanism so make sure you use those to your advantage. For example, Perplexity has their Pages feature. If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say their engine probably reads through the content on Pages and adds it to their knowledge base.

Yes, each engine relies on accurate, current, and valuable content to show the best results possible.

AIOs show less than 5% of the time on mobile and 3.75% on desktop—& lower for the Autos & Vehicles categories.

Here are the stats for the past 30 days for mobile.

CarlAutofusion · Nov 20, 2024

We've been tinkering with optimizing for AI such as ChatGPT. We've only glanced at Perplexity but we've been working with others for about the past year. I agree with many of you, that AI Engines will become a growing segment in traffic.

For dealers, there's a few places they can look at to ensure they show up for AI searches. I'd start with making more Q&A or FAQ style content and not just on your website but also on platforms like Facebook. Reviews also seem to be important as well. On the more technical side, look at your schema and make sure everything is filled in at a minimum. Schema is read by many of the engines.

Some Engines have specific mechanism so make sure you use those to your advantage. For example, Perplexity has their Pages feature. If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say their engine probably reads through the content on Pages and adds it to their knowledge base.

Eric Miltsch · Nov 20, 2024

Baldwinablin said:
Speaking of which, some people even use their extra funds for things like trading in the markets. If you’re into that, you might like My Funded Fx Discount code for a bit of a boost.

Well, that's a stealthy affiliate spam segue if I've seen one...

Eric Miltsch · Nov 20, 2024

Carsten said:
This is going to be interesting.
Are consumers willing to trade a wide range of choices for per-selcted choices that are similar to google ads?

Great question. It'll be a huge fight to see who can deliver the best answers and solve consumers' problems in new forms and styles.

Eric Miltsch · Nov 19, 2024

This reminds me of when I noticed mobile traffic was nearly 3% of our website traffic. Yes, a long time ago.

Every mention was immediately brushed off with, "So what?"

And, here we are again with AI's share of search creating a similar disruption.

Optimization for AI Overviews will be a significant priority for all types of search campaigns.

Tallcool1 · Nov 19, 2024

Alex Snyder said:
You could get quite robust with a simple model. Here are some ideas:

What is the response rate on leads this user has answered? I would rate this highest.

What is the closing rate?

If you can break the closing rate out by source, you can assign by certain sources.

Is this user better over the phone or email, and assign based on customer communication preferences

Past sales history with certain vehicles can dictate which user gets what leads with vehicles on them

Appointments on trade leads - who does the best with those?

Thank you Alex. I like the Response Conversion metric. I agree...without that there is no sale.

joe.pistell · Nov 19, 2024

Shawn Ryder said:
To be honest at this point a plan to monetize it.... Just want folks using it and sharing it with others right now!

#Respect

Alex Snyder · Nov 19, 2024

Ryan Everson said:
Expect more Yelp sales calls in the near future after announcing the acquisition of RepairPal

Yelp just spent $80M on a site for car repair estimates | TechCrunch

Yelp, which made a name for itself giving restaurant recs, just bought an auto services website for $80 million in cash.

techcrunch.com

to that!

Alex Snyder · Nov 19, 2024

You could get quite robust with a simple model. Here are some ideas:

What is the response rate on leads this user has answered? I would rate this highest.
What is the closing rate?
If you can break the closing rate out by source, you can assign by certain sources.
Is this user better over the phone or email, and assign based on customer communication preferences
Past sales history with certain vehicles can dictate which user gets what leads with vehicles on them
Appointments on trade leads - who does the best with those?

Alex Snyder · Nov 19, 2024

Been using it this morning. It isn't so great for the kind of searches I'm doing "best price for JBA upper control arms on a GX460," but I may be asking too much too soon

However, it would behoove dealers to make sure their pricing discounts are easily crawlable by bots. If you have things hidden behind lead walls (understand some OEMs require that) or hoverovers (FTC doesn't like that) your site may be missed by people utilizing these tools. It only takes a handful of good deals found for people to begin using AI first and telling all their friends about the deal they got using it.

It starts with "find me the best snow shovel" or "I need a fun gift for my mother in law" and by the Spring, it turns into "which dealer has the best price on a Tacoma?"

Shawn Ryder · Nov 19, 2024

joe.pistell said:
Shawn,
Very kool tool. How you going to monetize it?

Export dead end FYI:
View attachment 9240

Thanks Joe! Appreciate the feedback! I will look at the email - may remove it for now.

To be honest at this point a plan to monetize it.... Just want folks using it and sharing it with others right now!

joe.pistell · Nov 19, 2024

Shawn,
Very kool tool. How you going to monetize it?

Export dead end FYI:

Shawn Ryder · Nov 19, 2024

While tools like Ahrefs and Google Trends are great, GeoSERP focuses specifically on local SEO, especially for businesses like dealerships. Here's how it’s different:

Hyperlocal Focus: GeoSERP shows how you rank in specific neighborhoods or areas, giving precise insights on your local visibility.
Competitor Analysis: It highlights how nearby competitors rank, helping you pinpoint areas to improve and outperform them.
Industry-Specific: Unlike general tools, GeoSERP is tailored for local businesses, making it more actionable for dealerships.

Think of it as a perfect complement to the broader data from Ahrefs and Google Trends—together, they give you the full picture. Let me know if you'd like to dive deeper!

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AI+CRM = AI personal assistants.​

FRIKINtech How good is AI at getting appointments? No BS example.

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AI+CRM = AI personal assistants.