6 Reasons Your Dealership Does NOT Need A CRM

[JessicaRuth]

CRM is not a new topic around these parts, in fact it's one of the most common. But, despite the best practices, offers of help, questions of which one is best, we all know your CRM isn't going to work unless you work your CRM.


"...What the following reasons provide are valuable talking points to discuss opportunities with a CRM solution or problem you may be experiencing in your store. Admittedly the title to this article is very tongue in cheek, especially since I serve dealerships in my position for a CRM provider.
[h=3]CRM Utilization will not be enforced[/h]It happens to the best of us. With grand intentions we sign up for the latest and greatest CRM solution with all the bells and whistles then… we let our salespeople get away with not properly using it. Maybe it is just too difficult for the salespeople? In that case you may..."
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[automotiveseo (blog)]

Jake
Great article and you are right on the money with your observations.

 

[yagoparamo]

Kelly,

Lots of good points.

CRMs are often bought as a solution to control leads/customer interactions and hopefully increase sales. What is often overlooked is that CRM's record sales processes that need to be in place before hand in order to make this new tool a success. It is also overlooked the amount of management needed to get these system to work; it is often times a 'change of culture' rather than just simply a new tool. Lots of dealers have no phone recording software or even if they have it they don't use it. What good is it to add information to the CRM about poorly handled phone calls? We will get great time stamp report cards and a great overview that our sales team now answers 1.5 minutes faster than before but the calls will still being mishandled with poor communication and information to our customers. This results in an overload of data that we don't know how to actually use t increase sales.

The purpose of a CRM, and any other software you buy for the dealership, needs to: Increase sales OR truly decrease costs OR increase productivity.

A CRM itself looks from the outside as the solution but it is only the tool to find the solution.

 

[jeffwallen]

hacked again

 

[KevinFrye (blog)]

I have worked with multiple CRMs at a huge automotive group, and have seen all of the issues you talk about - however - I have learned one key thing. Until you get your mid-level managers involved with your CRM tool, you will never see great success. Your sales managers must be "bought-in", and be directly involved with using the CRM each day to then be able to motivate and lead their sales teams to use the tool as well. That means you must be able to show managers how a CRM can help them make more money (seems to always be the case ...  
 
Will be VERY interesting to see a cloud based DMS (Microsoft) working with a CRM tool in the upcoming years...

 

[Lorrie Daniels]

Your 6 reasons are exactly what we face everyday in getting dealerships or any company to realize the benefits of a CRM and why its important to have a CRM. However without a "champion" enforcing the process they are doomed to failure. All my successful customers have made using their CRM mandatory, and it's worked. You can't stop bad behavior in any company with any sales force, but you can get your team to be productive if you give them the right training and tools to enable them to do their job well and improve. In every industry's sale department, training, education and management are the driving forces of successful sales numbers and gross. I use a CRM myself and I can tell you I am very successful and it's made my life much easier than it would ever be without one ! Since I can use my CRM from my iphone I'm in it all day everyday. Dealers just need to be more educated before deciding on a CRM if they have a champion and how to enforce it in my opinion.

 

[joe.webb]

Management, Managers, Managing.... those are the three keys to utilizing a CRM effectively.  It amazes me to this day how much weight a sales manager has when it comes to adoption and usage of a dealership's most necessary tool... a CRM.  Without a competent, respected, knowledgeable manager leading the charge (not owner or Internet director, but a manager of people), CRM success slips away.