Seeking manager feedback: Are dedicated digital storefronts for sales reps a benefit or a distraction?

[YourSalesConsultant]

I'm developing a platform to help automotive sales consultants build their personal brands and market inventory directly to their networks.
I know some dealerships prefer everything to stay strictly under the store brand, but I'm curious from a manager's perspective: how do you feel about your consultants using a tool to manage their own digital storefronts? What would make you feel comfortable allowing a platform like this for your team? Would love to get some honest feedback from the management side.

 

[KennySmithAutoUnite]

I'm developing a platform to help automotive sales consultants build their personal brands and market inventory directly to their networks.
I know some dealerships prefer everything to stay strictly under the store brand, but I'm curious from a manager's perspective: how do you feel about your consultants using a tool to manage their own digital storefronts? What would make you feel comfortable allowing a platform like this for your team? Would love to get some honest feedback from the management side.

I’m not against it. Good salespeople have always built their own book of business. Social media just gives them another way to do it.


The part that would make me nervous is when the “personal storefront” turns into a second dealership the store can’t see or control.


I’d want the inventory, pricing, incentives and availability coming directly from the store. No manually changing prices, advertising payments without the full structure or leaving sold units online because it makes the page look better.


Every lead needs to hit the CRM, assigned to that salesperson, with the store able to see the conversation and follow-up. No customer information sitting in somebody’s personal phone, inbox or spreadsheet. Any promotional post also needs to make the salesperson’s relationship with the dealership clear.


Management should be able to approve content, shut the storefront off immediately and reassign open customers if the employee leaves. The salesperson can keep the personal brand they built, but they don’t leave with the store’s inventory, customer records and active opportunities.


I’d also want to see whether it actually produces appointments and sold units—not followers, views and likes.


Build it as a store-controlled tool that helps the salesperson become more visible, and I’d consider it. Build it as a separate little dealership living outside the CRM, and the answer is no.

 

[Mitch Gallant]

Love the idea on a bunch of levels. And man, i cant remember the name but there was a platform of this nature I discovered here on DealerRefresh back in like 2010 that offered personalized sales rep websites. Bought in hard for a minute.

The thing that would make me comfortable letting my sales reps use a tool like this is an assurance of consistent execution / agreed upon standards that if the rep is not fulfilling than the platform is turned off immediately not to be turned on again for them... at the very least becomes unsubsidized if I'm participating.

It's likely just my lack of vision, but I don't see how a platform like this clears the bar to not be a distraction.

 

[Alex Snyder]

Love the idea on a bunch of levels. And man, i cant remember the name but there was a platform of this nature I discovered here on DealerRefresh back in like 2010 that offered personalized sales rep websites. Bought in hard for a minute.

Probably DealerRater. We were very tight with that crew, and they participated here a lot before selling it to Cars.com.

 

[Matthew Davis]

There's potential OEM implications here. Many brands mandate specific look, feel, colors, etc. You can fly under the radar for a while.

Then there's the matter of marketing and selling to a cohort that has the second highest turnover in ANY industry (~74% annually), only eclipsed by hospitality.

 

[dealerdata1]

I'm developing a platform to help automotive sales consultants build their personal brands and market inventory directly to their networks.
I know some dealerships prefer everything to stay strictly under the store brand, but I'm curious from a manager's perspective: how do you feel about your consultants using a tool to manage their own digital storefronts? What would make you feel comfortable allowing a platform like this for your team? Would love to get some honest feedback from the management side.

With current FTC crackdowns, and OEM ad covenants and restrictions, and even State level mandates it seems like more head ache than it is worth

I used to manage an independent sales persons own website many years ago, and I would say unless the sales person is doing north of 50 cars a month there isn't really a point

As a dealer it would also be a negative, as now you don't have that tracking data to retarget that customer for advertising unless you have additional pixels installed on that website too.

So purely from a management stand point, as a GM I would see this as more of a head ache personally. But I also have no doubt this would work great in selective markets for select sales people that have built a following off social media.

 

[YourSalesConsultant]

I’m not against it. Good salespeople have always built their own book of business. Social media just gives them another way to do it.


The part that would make me nervous is when the “personal storefront” turns into a second dealership the store can’t see or control.


I’d want the inventory, pricing, incentives and availability coming directly from the store. No manually changing prices, advertising payments without the full structure or leaving sold units online because it makes the page look better.


Every lead needs to hit the CRM, assigned to that salesperson, with the store able to see the conversation and follow-up. No customer information sitting in somebody’s personal phone, inbox or spreadsheet. Any promotional post also needs to make the salesperson’s relationship with the dealership clear.


Management should be able to approve content, shut the storefront off immediately and reassign open customers if the employee leaves. The salesperson can keep the personal brand they built, but they don’t leave with the store’s inventory, customer records and active opportunities.


I’d also want to see whether it actually produces appointments and sold units—not followers, views and likes.


Build it as a store-controlled tool that helps the salesperson become more visible, and I’d consider it. Build it as a separate little dealership living outside the CRM, and the answer is no.

They you so much for your honest response. I will take your post to heart to make a service that will work for both sales consultants and dealerships

 

[joe.pistell]

I'm developing a platform to help automotive sales consultants build their personal brands and market inventory directly to their networks.

Most Top reps are 'attempting' this now. They need a personal branding stylist. This rep sells 30 a month and he creates these SM posts by hand

 

[ryan.leslie]

Probably DealerRater. We were very tight with that crew, and they participated here a lot before selling it to Cars.com.

Those were great days!

We pioneered the "employee pages." They were always tied to the dealer and if they left the dealership their ratings and reviews did not. It was a great way to empower them and mitigate risk of churn.

My buddy Mike "The Chevy Dude" Davenport helped birth that concept. Mike has done well for himself building a tremendous following and launching his own store. He's an excellent case study for both sides of the "should dealers encourage this" equation.

 

[YourSalesConsultant]

Love the idea on a bunch of levels. And man, i cant remember the name but there was a platform of this nature I discovered here on DealerRefresh back in like 2010 that offered personalized sales rep websites. Bought in hard for a minute.

The thing that would make me comfortable letting my sales reps use a tool like this is an assurance of consistent execution / agreed upon standards that if the rep is not fulfilling than the platform is turned off immediately not to be turned on again for them... at the very least becomes unsubsidized if I'm participating.

It's likely just my lack of vision, but I don't see how a platform like this clears the bar to not be a distraction.

Most Top reps are 'attempting' this now. They need a personal branding stylist. This rep sells 30 a month and he creates these SM posts by hand
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I see what you're saying, ours is a little different. As we allow vissels consultant to have his own platform to offer his own vehicles. We just need to ensure that the dealership has a level of control. So that they can monitor and ensure the customers getting the best experience