Eric Miltsch said:

Yes, you know what's happening here. This is a gift right now

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LinkedIn Professional Image Assessment​

Professional Background​

Assessment Purpose​

Overall Score: 72/100​

• Attire: 12/20 (Polo lacks executive presence)
• Professional polish: 7/10
• Industry styling: 9/10

• Lighting: 10/15 (Overhead shadows)
• Camera/framing: 12/15
• Background: 7/10 (Car interior lacks distinction)

• Role alignment: 7/10
• Profile cohesion: 8/10

Critical Priority Changes​

1. Professional Wardrobe Update

• Brooks Brothers Sport Coat ($498)
• Custom dress shirts, 3-pack ($285)
• Timeline: 1 week

1. Professional Headshot Session

• Executive package with top photographer ($650)
• Indoor/outdoor options
• Timeline: 2 weeks

1. Lighting Equipment

• Ring light with stand ($89)
• Portable LED panel ($129)
• Timeline: Immediate

Implementation Timeline​

• Order lighting equipment
• Schedule photographer
• Book wardrobe consultation

• Complete wardrobe updates
• Professional photo session
• Update all social platforms

• Quarterly wardrobe refresh
• Bi-annual photo updates

Budget Overview​

• Professional photography
• Basic lighting
• Core wardrobe pieces

• Complete wardrobe refresh
• Premium lighting setup
• Quarterly touch-up sessions

Carsten said:

I am thinking we are still 1-2 years away from AI that is truly useful

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Rick Buffkin said:

anyone using ChatGPT to help with analyzing paid search efforts?

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DrewAment said:

We let the vendors put a carrot in front of us with the "ratings" .... and we played along. How stupid are we?

Side note -- for a couple of the major metro markets I work in, there are dealers that do the whole "price includes a $x,xxx finance discount". Basically the price is only valid if you finance with the dealer. Have seen up to $2,000 in "finance discount". Then you have some dealers that do the the whole hard adds == "Price does not include dealer added accessories" .. blah blah blah.

Both these types of non-transparent price in these markets, and where pricing is used for the "algorithm", makes those fair/good/great ratings not worth anything .... if they were even worth anything before.



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imreen said:

I am currently working for a smaller independent dealer and haven't been in the industry for too long, however I was just curious on some of the opinions and thoughts from veterans who have been in the space for awhile and have seen it evolve over the years. Is it even possible anymore to consistently sell cars at the NADA (or comparable) retail values anymore?
I just get the vibe from my short experience that these third party lead sites such as cargurus (especially), carfax, etc are in the business of increasingly overcharging dealers while creating a space where they push prices down in order to secure more visitors to their site. For example I am trying to sell one of my personal car through our dealership and while NADA values the clean retail at about $31,500, cargurus deems $28,500 a "fair" price and a "Good" price is closer to $25.5-27k. I find it crazy how something isn't even considered a "Great" deal until is is priced at $7k under an NADA value.
Is there a way anyone here has been able to break this cycle and are able to sell cars for what they are actually worth? As from my point of view it seems like these third party sites are creating, for a lack of better words, crabs in a barrel sentiment where dealers have to source increasingly cheaper inventory to compete and are conditioned to be content with ever decreasing margins on their units as the sites push for lower prices to benefit their own metrics rather than the benefit of dealers who keep their business operational in the first place. This probably came off more of a rant than I would like it to, however I am genuinely interested on others sentiment and perspective on this and all discussion to this thread is much appreciated. Thank you and I look forward to hearing others stances on this!

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joe.pistell said:

Eric, Rivian has my eye.
Recent news: Rivian Receives $6.6B Loan Approval to Build EV Production Facility

It's on sale. IPO'd $130, $170 high. Now at $12's
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Rivian Receives $6.6B Loan Approval to Build EV Production Facility
Nov 27, 202410:20 EST
Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN has got conditional approval for a loan of up to $6.6 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop its electric vehicle (EV) production plant in Georgia. The announcement followed the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who is anticipated to reverse many EV-friendly policies established by the Biden administration.

The Georgia facility, set to manufacture Rivian’s smaller and more affordable R2 SUVs and R3 crossovers, is expected to begin operations in 2028. However, Rivian has faced production challenges, including parts shortages and cost-cutting measures, which led to a temporary pause in the plant’s construction earlier this year. To conserve funds and expedite the R2’s production, Rivian plans to start building the R2 at its Normal, IL, plant in 2026, where it currently produces its R1S SUVs and R1T pickup trucks.

Per RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian, the loan would allow Rivian to expand its U.S. manufacturing capacity for its competitively priced R2 and R3 models, prioritizing capability and affordability. The company must meet technical, legal, environmental and financial requirements to secure the loan. Per sources, as part of the loan’s conditions, Rivian will not oppose unionization efforts at the Georgia facility, though unionization is not guaranteed. The company aims to finalize the loan agreement before the Trump administration assumes office.

This funding comes from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program, which has supported companies like Tesla, Ford and General Motors. RIVN had previously estimated the Georgia plant’s cost at $5 billion. The loan comprises $6 billion in principal and $600 million in capitalized interest.

The announcement follows Rivian’s recent $5.8 billion investment from Volkswagen as part of a joint technology venture. Despite the funding, Rivian faces significant challenges, including scaling production, heightened competition, high capital costs and the potential loss of EV tax credits under Trump’s administration. In 2022, RIVN secured $1.5 billion in state and local incentives for the Georgia facility and an additional $827 million for expanding its Illinois plant.

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Eric Miltsch said:

• LI
• NIO
• RIVN
• LCID
• TSLA

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AI Car Shopping Assistants​

Core Transformation​

1. Research Aggregation & Organization​

2. Smart Vehicle Discovery​

3. Trade-In Optimization​

4. Total Cost Analysis​

5. Streamlined Purchase Execution​

arnas said:

a personalized app for car shopping will likely pop up soon

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• Glide learns about you then goes out to the Internet and brings you back money saving ideas! The more you use Glide, the smarter Glide gets.

• Glide shops for you at Car Makers, Car Dealers, Banks, AutoTrader, Kelly Blue Book and more! Next, Glide organizes it all for you and keeps you aware of price changes.

• LI
• NIO
• RIVN
• LCID
• TSLA

BillKVMotorCo said:

Still not even close.

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Tallcool1 said:

I have a friend that does BDC Consulting. She told me that the first thing she does when she goes into a dealership is go through the workflows that are set up in their CRM System. Over half of these CRMs have never had any workflows set up. They are in their "out of the box" state and were never properly taken through an Onboarding Process.

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Jon Singo said:

I've seen it from both sides. Some partners aren't great for dealers at all and only are in it for themselves. Some partners are great for dealers but bad actor dealers try to use them looking for an 'easy button' to sell more cars etc. What I've personally seen is the bad actors lack the ability to put processes in place or lack the change management to use the tool given to them.

You can buy any fancy tool off the shelf to help build a boat. But if you don't know how to use it properly the boat isn't going to float.

Sometimes the tool is too progressive or complicated and the usage can get lost in translation. Whose fault is this? The vendor for making a complex tool or dealer who hired inflexible management unwilling to learn new skills?

My gut is most new tools being developed are technologically outpacing a lot of traditional dealerships ability to process them. As I know you've learned, being complacent and not asking questions isn't going to cut it these days.

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pspagnoli said:

Elead, vin, and socket all do this now. just limit the number of leads per person. on a round robin delivery. sales people 1 and 2 get 300 leads each 3 and 4 get 200 each and 5 gets 100. Simple.

personally i think they shouldn't have leads since they cant keep up with the follow-up. but that's another story

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pspagnoli said:

Elead, vin, and socket all do this now. just limit the number of leads per person. on a round robin delivery. sales people 1 and 2 get 300 leads each 3 and 4 get 200 each and 5 gets 100. Simple.

personally i think they shouldn't have leads since they cant keep up with the follow-up. but that's another story

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