What’s happening on the showroom floor?

[Tzur.asaf]

Curious to hear from dealership leaders:

How do you actually know what happens in live sales conversations on the showroom floor?

Most dealerships have strong visibility into leads, CRM activity, appointments, test drives, follow-up, F&I, and closed deals.
But the actual face-to-face conversation between the customer and the salesperson is often much harder to measure or coach consistently.

That conversation is where a lot of value is created or lost:

• How well the salesperson qualifies the buyer
• How objections are handled
• Whether trade-in, financing, protection plans, or next steps are positioned well
• Why some deals move forward and others stall
• What top performers do differently

We’re building InstoreX, an AI platform designed to help dealerships understand and improve showroom sales conversations — with the goal of helping managers coach better, improve customer experience, and close more deals.

We’re currently looking to speak with a small number of dealership managers and sales leaders who would be open to sharing how they manage and coach their teams today, and potentially help shape the product as design partners.

No sales pitch — we’re trying to learn from operators and build this around real dealership workflows.

If you’d be open to a short conversation, comment here or email me at [email protected]

Learn more: www.instorex.co

 

[KennySmithAutoUnite]

Curious to hear from dealership leaders:

How do you actually know what happens in live sales conversations on the showroom floor?

Most dealerships have strong visibility into leads, CRM activity, appointments, test drives, follow-up, F&I, and closed deals.
But the actual face-to-face conversation between the customer and the salesperson is often much harder to measure or coach consistently.

That conversation is where a lot of value is created or lost:

• How well the salesperson qualifies the buyer
• How objections are handled
• Whether trade-in, financing, protection plans, or next steps are positioned well
• Why some deals move forward and others stall
• What top performers do differently

We’re building InstoreX, an AI platform designed to help dealerships understand and improve showroom sales conversations — with the goal of helping managers coach better, improve customer experience, and close more deals.

We’re currently looking to speak with a small number of dealership managers and sales leaders who would be open to sharing how they manage and coach their teams today, and potentially help shape the product as design partners.

No sales pitch — we’re trying to learn from operators and build this around real dealership workflows.

If you’d be open to a short conversation, comment here or email me at [email protected]

Learn more: www.instorex.co

Most stores really do not know. You hear the salesperson’s version, review the TO, then look at the CRM and the final deal. By then, you are coaching the result, not the conversation that caused it.


The value is seeing the exact point the deal moved or died. Missed question. Weak value build. Objection not handled. No clear next step.


The biggest hurdle is trust. If the floor sees it as a gotcha tool, they will fight it. How are you handling consent, and can it connect the conversation to the full deal in the CRM, including the trade, payment, pricing, and manager involvement?

 

[dealerdata1]

As a customer walking into a brick and mortar establishment if I was asked to consent to being audio recorded I would decline.

I can't independently validate how that data is being used, or if it is being re-sold, or whatever.

The easier option is just simply implementing a regular training regiment for staff whether it be in group role play, or one-on-one sessions, and for managers to actually be involved instead of sitting on the desk watching tiktok and eating bonbons.

An oversimplification of the problem the industry faces, but sales managers are for the most part, lazy as a whole I would say.

Now solutions like what Zoom offers for phone conversations, that is a different story I would say.

 

[CarsonWhite]

Curious to hear from dealership leaders:

How do you actually know what happens in live sales conversations on the showroom floor?

Most dealerships have strong visibility into leads, CRM activity, appointments, test drives, follow-up, F&I, and closed deals.
But the actual face-to-face conversation between the customer and the salesperson is often much harder to measure or coach consistently.

That conversation is where a lot of value is created or lost:

• How well the salesperson qualifies the buyer
• How objections are handled
• Whether trade-in, financing, protection plans, or next steps are positioned well
• Why some deals move forward and others stall
• What top performers do differently

We’re building InstoreX, an AI platform designed to help dealerships understand and improve showroom sales conversations — with the goal of helping managers coach better, improve customer experience, and close more deals.

We’re currently looking to speak with a small number of dealership managers and sales leaders who would be open to sharing how they manage and coach their teams today, and potentially help shape the product as design partners.

No sales pitch — we’re trying to learn from operators and build this around real dealership workflows.

If you’d be open to a short conversation, comment here or email me at [email protected]

Learn more: www.instorex.co

This is an interesting concept. I'm aware of this happening in other retail industries. Before I got involved/worked in auto, an old coworker of mine at LinkedIn left to launch a similar tool called Luxe: Luxe

Essentially training/monitoring tech for retail salespeople in high end luxury (Jewelry, Watches, Designer Clothes).

DealerData1 as a good point regarding disclosures. I'm not sure what a customers reaction may be. Most shoppers already have a laundry list of reservations about being in store. Does layering that they could be recorded, in-person, for training purposes add a straw that breaks the camel's back?

I don't know.

There is validity and value to what you're describing. I think there is some challenges to overcome in how it gets done in practice. Perhaps reach out to the founder of the company I sent. There may be an elegant solution for this

 

[levin233]

Real talk: most managers already know who their top performers are without any AI telling them. The issue isn't identifying the problem, it's fixing it. Can InstoreX actually coach the bad salespeople to be better or does it just confirm what you already know?

 

[KennySmithAutoUnite]

Real talk: most managers already know who their top performers are without any AI telling them. The issue isn't identifying the problem, it's fixing it. Can InstoreX actually coach the bad salespeople to be better or does it just confirm what you already know?

Levin, that is exactly the test for me.

I do not need AI to tell me who my best and worst salespeople are. I can look at the board, CRM, appointments, shows and solds and figure that out pretty quick.

Where I see value is telling me why somebody keeps losing customers and giving the manager something specific to coach.

Tell me Johnny keeps talking over customers, never asks about the trade, gets buried on price too early, skips the appointment ask, or keeps ending calls with “let me know.” Now I have something I can actually work on with him instead of just telling him he needs to make better calls.

AI is not going to fix somebody who does not care. We have all had that salesperson. But if the person is coachable, this could make the manager a lot better at catching the same mistakes over and over.

My test would be simple. Pick a few struggling salespeople and use it for 30 to 60 days. Are they setting more appointments? Are more people showing? Are they following up better? Are they selling more cars?

If those numbers move, you have something.

If it just tells me Johnny is bad on the phone, I already knew that.