Anyone using Higher Gear? I can't find any recent reviews.

[Jay Juliano]

Like I said, I'm not a fan of Higher Gear. However, it IS a functionable CRM. When used correctly, it will certainly make your sales team more productive (like any other CRM). In my opinion, it's dated and the "2nd Grader" design is just sloppy and confusing. Sorry Jeff

It slows us down,,,it prevents you adding an "up" entry if your to do list isn't complete..that REALLY hurts the sales process...

A CRM is only as good as how you use it. HG will only prevent you from moving forward with a new task if the salesperson has incomplete tasks (ie. a scheduled phone call that was suppose to be placed yesterday). In other words, your salespeople are NOT contacting their customers. This actually hurts you, not the system.

it leaves things out of documents..like in our dealership it won't printout the 33.50 bmv fee on the sales order.

Solution: Phone call to technical support for that value to be dropped in to the document. If documents are missing fields regarding customer information it may be due to the salesperson not properly entering the data in to HG.

Half our managers have never been properly trained on it

From my experience half of ALL sales managers don't want to adapt to change. CRM's are easy to use, when you use them. I find that whenever a salesperson or manager doesn't "get it" it's because they "don't want to get it". These managers need to adapt or they need to go.

It doesn't mesh well with our other dealer systems.. for example the inventory sheet you print is out of date containing vehicles that have been gone for years..its a joke really..

Please don't take this the wrong way. HG does not manage your inventory. HG will not mark your cars sold. HG will not roam your lot to see what has been sold or what has been wholesaled. HG simply PULLS your inventory from your DMS or your Inventory Feed. If you have vehicles listed on HG that have been sold for years, the person who manages your DMS or Inventory System is a joke.

again I don't know if its the software or if its just not being maintained right.

It's not being used right. It sounds like HG is not the only piece of software that isn't being used right (or used at all) at your dealership.

but in our dealership it causes more problems and slows us down to the point where I think it is costing us sales.

It doesn't. Your staff does.

It is micromanagement at its worst especially when it isn't set up right to HELP the sales people not SLOW THEM DOWN.

It will hold you accountable for your lack of actions. Nothing more or less.

 

[tginakron]

Mr. White:
Like I said I am not sure if its the system...(it does seem very outdated) or the way it is being used...all I know is virtually no one that actually has to use it cares for it at all. It seems to me that a system like this probably has an options menu where the dealer can customize how leads are handled,accountability, moving forward etc....we all wish we had a better system that helped us rather than slowed us down....TIME KILLS DEALS.

Tony,

I am sorry to hear you experiencing issues. I will get with support and training now and reach out to you at the store. Thanks for the feedback, we will get this right for you ASAP!

Jeff

Jeff White
Vice President
Higher Gear
(561) 400-9071
[email protected]

 

[jon.berna]

Jay your post although very "to the point" is 100% spot on. I am sure there are a few CRM company reps scrolling through here that would love to be able to say what you did to their clients, but are too nice etc. What you are saying is the same thing as the thread Jeff started last week: Link

That is why for all of you out CRM shopping you must take the good and bad reviews about a product especially one as complicated as a CRM with a serious grain of salt.

- 50% of the install is on the dealer - Did you give them a clear expectation of your business model? Did you hold them accountable to each phase of the install?

- 90% of the usage is on the dealer - The CRM Co. should not be expected to manage your staff or train each new user that comes on board

- 60% of the continual setup/maintenance is on the dealer - new features and enhancements require you to adjust your business processes first before you just roll out and expect them to work perfectly

That leaves the rest up to the CRM Co, but their efforts are usually very close across the board. The biggest difference is and always will be the store the system was installed in. That difference can usually boils down to the two groups. One - the person responsible for leading the change in the dealership and his/her ability to manage the install. Two - the rest of the mgmt. to own the daily responsibilities of managing technology.

 

[tginakron]

with all due respect none of the above is true..I said it before and I will keep saying it until it changes........Higher Gear the way it is used HERE the way it is set up HERE is a joke and everyone is baffled as to why it is still being used. You just haven't lived until you get a fresh customer and have to use this dinosaur, I haven't specifically timed it out yet, but I would venture to guess that Higher gear adds about 30 to 40 minutes of unnecessary delay to the sales process. Between the software not being set up right and the managers being ignorant of how to use it effectively it just gets in the way. It can probably be set up for a smoother process but that doesn't seem to be a priority here or with Higher Gear. Poll our sales people, you'll see. OR MAYBE ALL OF US ARE "LACKING TO TAKE ACTION".COME ON!!!

 

[jon.berna]

My response wasn't focused on Higher Gear just CRM installs in general.

You mentioned software not being setup right and the managers not using it. Both items are partly owned by the Dealer. You also said it isn't a priority to make things smoother in your store. If you are a sales person at your store then I feel for you because you have a limited ability to change the CRM or their desire to make the current one work better.

Between the software not being set up right and the managers being ignorant of how to use it effectively it just gets in the way. It can probably be set up for a smoother process but that doesn't seem to be a priority here or with Higher Gear.

 

[tginakron]

My response wasn't focused on Higher Gear just CRM installs in general.

You mentioned software not being setup right and the managers not using it. Both items are partly owned by the Dealer. You also said it isn't a priority to make things smoother in your store. If you are a sales person at your store then I feel for you because you have a limited ability to change the CRM or their desire to make the current one work better.

Its very problematic...as sales people that are diligent we still manage to work around the weak links..we have to ..we only get paid when the car is down the road. Thanks for getting it.