BillVaughnAlWestNissan said:

42% increase in volume over our 90-day average

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AND you dropped 2 of the big three aggregators.

willandre said:

Yeah, it feels like we're finally heading in that direction. There's so much digital retailing firepower prequalifying/research happening now it seems like inspection >> test drive >> F&I >> delivery could be a really pleasant dealership experience if executed right.

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I think it's important this can either happen in-app or on the dealer's website. Right now dealer sites are just marketing tools but I think they'll become better integrated with the sales process, ex: trade offers, as well as uploading any documents required for pre-sales.

Related: My pilot store just got a bad review. Shopper makes appt with rep, the next day they drive 2 hrs, land in the store, the store is packed, they wait 45 mins to find someone else bought the car.

Store is super busy (going to break a 10yr sales record).

Takeaway: Appointment system needs to be 'VIN aware' and communicate to all parties.

THIS IS EASY FOR AI TO DO.

DjSec said:

it would be fun to try and build out a website, built correctly, to see how it would do against all the others.

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This is similar to what Ben Hadley and Kyle Mountsier did for www.koons.com?

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kLhOq4WllA


They did the whole "start from scratch" idea and built Koons a headless site that loads with lightning speed.

It might be good to get an update on this project from Jeff or Alex.

Hadley & Mountsier said they had made advancements the last time they were interviewed on Refresh Friday and mentioned they were possibly going to bring their load time developments more into the mainstream ... and potentially make it available to already established platforms. I'm curious if that's still in the works.

Also, it would be cool to hear from someone at Koons discussing how they've gone about maintaining the site -- a headless site can't be maintained and modified by just any old hack. Is Koons handling this themselves with an on-staff developer or is the Hadley/Mountsier staff maintaining the site for them?

jscole86 said:

Thank you, I'll see if this works.

Last time we tried adding a dynamic link like this, we ran into an issue where VinSolutions was encoding each URL with their own link structure, which ended up breaking the URL.
@Alex Snyder — didn't you run into the same issue with FrikinTech early on? How did you work around it?

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We had to build an entire Chrome browser plugin to remove Vinsolution's bug. We haven't needed our plugin in a while, so they may have fixed it.

Ryan Everson said:

Tesla lets customers schedule a test drive based on live appointment availability, and then they schedule another appointment for vehicle pickup or delivery based on available timeslots.

Even though most dealers don’t have a coverage or sales appointment capacity issue, what would a more formalized calendly-like appointment booking process do to appointment set and show rates?

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Yea, that was mainly our experience. My wife bought a Model 3 in December last year, but we know the GM at the Tesla location by us, so things were tweaked a bit.

But I was impressed with the delivery experience, app integration, and overall process. They've polished it to remove whatever friction they can. I think that last part is long overdue for dealers. I think the delivery took us all of 20 minutes. We got there, all docs prepared, we inspected the car and signed. They had the car ready with a bow on it. We had a trade, they didn't even look at it. Tesla quotes wholesale for trades, so I think they just ship them right to auction.

I don't think my wife will buy a car any other way again. It's not a deal breaker for me, but I definitely walked away thinking about what can be tightened up and how.

You make a great point, and I think this will become a lot more important in the coming years as more of a "sales operations" tool. Right now the flow might be lead comes in, BDC schedules appointment, sales floor takes it. In the future, it might be more direct; lead comes in pre-qualified, with a timeframe, car(s) to view are selected, porters are dispatched to have vehicle ready and conditioned by appointment, customer info already in the system and numbers already prepared. Customers aren't coming in to look, they're coming in to close. The whole process can tighten, and allows more time for sales people to deliver a vehicle and improve customer sat scores.

Ryan Everson said:

AddEvent

Dynamic and automated add-to-calendar links to your newsletters and websites.

www.addevent.com

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Thank you, I'll see if this works.

Last time we tried adding a dynamic link like this, we ran into an issue where VinSolutions was encoding each URL with their own link structure, which ended up breaking the URL.
@Alex Snyder — didn't you run into the same issue with FrikinTech early on? How did you work around it?

BillVaughnAlWestNissan said:

Posted my first video. A message from our new GM, Bill Vaughn. | By Al West Nissan | Facebook

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<customer hat on> You did a great job of coming across as a human and not a dirty manager at a dealership. I especially like your comment about your wife saying it was good. And no mention of buying the $99 Sentra

BillVaughnAlWestNissan said:

Posted my first video. A message from our new GM, Bill Vaughn. | By Al West Nissan | Facebook

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I love it! You appear very comfortable in front of the camera. I am not but continue to work at it.

Alex Snyder said:

It could be a short-term blessing for dealers who get to charge MSRP

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With the amount of capital that's needed to invest and run these stores, dealerships should be entitled to make the margins at MSRP.

Rick Buffkin said:

Also in most CRM's you can Text / Email an sales appointment link and the customer can add the appointment to their calendar.

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Anyone know how to do this in Vinsolutions? I didn't think this was possible in Vin.

You beat me to this thread by minutes, Brian!

Here's the dilly on the March 12th tariffs:

• Steel and aluminum imports: 25% tariff.
• All Chinese imports: 20% tariff.

Hearing this will increase vehicle pricing $300 to $500 per car.

The next round hits April 2nd:

• Mexican and Candian imports: 25% tariff.
• Reciprocal tariffs back at us: 25% tariff.

Could be another increase of $3,000 per car.

-----------------------------

Aside from cost increases, this may lead to layoffs at manufacturing facilities. Don't be surprised by fewer new car incentives and less vehicle availability. It could be a short-term blessing for dealers who get to charge MSRP+.

Some companies may go out of business if adoptions are not made quickly. When new cars were hard to get, advertising companies struggled. It is possible that an OEM or two declares bankruptcy.

NobleKnight said:

We’re now in the era of ai, so we can talk to robots now, and some are frankly better than humans. Go figure.
I heard about BDC.AI through the grapevine, but talked to their AI, and it was very impressive.

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What set it apart for you?

playersclubcars said:

They want electric vehicles. However, a lot of customers don't know that they want an electric vehicle. For example, the Mercedes GLB-Class is a popular model because it's reasonably priced and looks the part. A lot of GLB shoppers don't even know an electric EQB exists! When they find out that they could get an electric version and possibly some free charging credits, then it's an easy switch to that model. It's the same vehicle so there's a good chance they'll go with the one that's slightly easier to maintain.

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Why are so many aging on Mercedes dealers' lots? @Jeff Kershner - how are the EVs moving at your store? How do the older buyers feel about them?

Dan Sayer said:

Better response by salesperson (responds in a tone with excitement and positivity), "Perfect, let's look at times that work for you and we'll make sure everyone is ready to appraise your trade, the car is pulled up and ready to drive, and we get you out of here in a reasonable time for you to enjoy that drive back.

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Great work Danno.
I'm working on 'Long Distance as a Merchandising theme'. Merchandising done right, sets up the rep's discussions.

My fav so far needs some wordsmithing: "Coming from Afar? Schedule Your VIP Appointment"

Here's the themes for the 1st pass:

Reassurance-Focused CTAs:​

• "Worth the Drive: We Make Long-Distance Shopping Easy"
• "2-Hour Drive? We'll Save You 2 Hours In-Store"
• "Distance Doesn't Matter, Your Experience Does"
• "We Respect Your Travel Time - Everything Ready When You Arrive"

Convenience-Focused CTAs:​

• "Long Drive? Short Visit: Ready-to-Go Process for Distant Shoppers"
• "Remote Shoppers Welcome: Pre-Arranged Test Drives"
• "One Trip, All Done: Streamlined Process for Distance Buyers"
• "Your Time is Valuable: We'll Handle the Paperwork Before You Arrive"

Excitement/Value-Focused CTAs:​

• "Make Your Journey Count: Exclusive Benefits for Distance Shoppers"
• "The Perfect Drive Home: In Your New Car"
• "Turn Your Trip into a Celebration: Drive Home in Style"
• "Travel Once, Enjoy for Years: Worth Every Mile"

Action-Oriented CTAs:​

• "Coming from Afar? Schedule Your VIP Appointment"
• "Reserve Your Ready-to-Test Vehicle Now"
• "Traveling to Us? Let's Prepare Everything in Advance"
• "Click to Schedule Your Distance-Buyer Priority Service"