Changing CRM's

[russ]

THANK YOU Jerry and Jeff!!! Finally something is said about the abuse of blatent plugs on this forum and every other one out there. As a vendor, I can read through it and for the most part keep my mouth shut - However, I cannot disagree with the effectiveness and success of these shameless plugs. Often times, opinions are formed by "perception" of staus quo... I have "lost" a few deals recently where the dealership making the CRM change never even looked at us... we discussed functionality, value, etc. but they were sold by "perception." So yes, is high volume messaging succesful? Appearently, yes. Now that the "chicken" is seen for what it is... Hopefully more people will think for themselves and do their own research. Forgive me if MY perception is wrong, but look at the 2 highest number of posts and they are from the 2 administrators - who is #3?

 

[Mitchell Brenner]

I guess all of the anger towards me is because I used this forum for what it was meant for. I first asked about Contact Management, used that feedback to switch gears and look at 4 other CRM's and ask about experiences. Since I continued to ask and learn I thought it would be appropriate to put up my conclusion! What is the point in asking for help and then never letting anyone know what we decided. As to being a shill for Vin Solutions that's just plain stupid. I was just saying what our decision was and why. If you don't want opinions, advice, and feedback from dealers then what do you want? Anyone who knows me also knows that if Vin Solutions doesn't live up to all their promises I'll be back on talking about that. So please know who you're talking about before sharing you're ridiculous opinions. Believe me when I say that my opinion is, was, and always be my own. Don't confuse me with yourselves. I'm actually honest!

 

[Mitchell Brenner]

You had a fair shot. I just chose to go in a different direction! Deal with it!

THANK YOU Jerry and Jeff!!! Finally something is said about the abuse of blatent plugs on this forum and every other one out there. As a vendor, I can read through it and for the most part keep my mouth shut - However, I cannot disagree with the effectiveness and success of these shameless plugs. Often times, opinions are formed by "perception" of staus quo... I have "lost" a few deals recently where the dealership making the CRM change never even looked at us... we discussed functionality, value, etc. but they were sold by "perception." So yes, is high volume messaging succesful? Appearently, yes. Now that the "chicken" is seen for what it is... Hopefully more people will think for themselves and do their own research. Forgive me if MY perception is wrong, but look at the 2 highest number of posts and they are from the 2 administrators - who is #3?

 

[Mitchell Brenner]

Are you saying I'm an insult to a profession I have proudly been a part of for 27 years! When you're actually in the car business then tell me that but until then please don't be an insult to a business I love. You know what happens when you assume? Well you just did!

Briefly I would like to comment on the tangent this thread has taken. I view this forum, DealerRefresh and another fairly often, I seldom log in and I make inquiries/contribute even less because of that very reason. At one point in every forum on every thread I was interested in, the same company was pushing their product relentlessly. Yes, on every thread I was interested in. For several months, until one of the people took a different job at a dealership group, two employees of this company would work the threads in tandem pushing their product(s). Very disheartening especially when every experience I have had with this company has been difficult to say the least. So I thought it best to just stay out of it.
I've always thought , especially as a vendor, that one of the biggest faux pas a salesman can make is to try to "sell:, (or over sell), another salesman. For me it's an insult to the profession to the point that I don't even like to watch. Hopefully the last several posts on this thread will help tame the problem down a little bit. It might encourage people like myself to inquire/contribute more.

 

[Mitchell Brenner]

The real reason not your fabricated one we went in a different direction:

Ralph Paglia on ADM

Hi Finney, I detailed out a response to your situation with recommendations and wanted to add that I was able to get Larry to resolve a different situation for a dealer in Colorado by him drafting several webCRM resources into service. I know that Larry and I both understand your situation, and I personally would not accept the current version of the ILM app within webCRM as my primary tool. There are no perfect Lead Management Systems out there... Although apps like DealerSocket and VinSolutions get a lot of airplay and show very well, they are not without their own flaws. Personally, if I was forced to choose between DealerSocket and VinSolutions, I would choose VinSolutions 100% of the time regardless of other parameters such as DMS, BDC or no BDC, etc. I have personally seen far too many problems with DealerSocket installations on a first hand basis, and listened to quite a few dealership employees complain about DealerSocket, while the exact reverse is the case for my experience at "street level" with VinSolutions. Besides all that, Matt Watson is the CTO for VinSolutions and he is one of my favorite all time technologists to have served the auto industry... After Dean Bergen, Joe Bihner, Steve Kelley and a few others, of course!

THANK YOU Jerry and Jeff!!! Finally something is said about the abuse of blatent plugs on this forum and every other one out there. As a vendor, I can read through it and for the most part keep my mouth shut - However, I cannot disagree with the effectiveness and success of these shameless plugs. Often times, opinions are formed by "perception" of staus quo... I have "lost" a few deals recently where the dealership making the CRM change never even looked at us... we discussed functionality, value, etc. but they were sold by "perception." So yes, is high volume messaging succesful? Appearently, yes. Now that the "chicken" is seen for what it is... Hopefully more people will think for themselves and do their own research. Forgive me if MY perception is wrong, but look at the 2 highest number of posts and they are from the 2 administrators - who is #3?

 

[Mitchell Brenner]

Creative advertising like having your web address, email address, phone #, promo line etc. right under your photo on the site? You better move out of your glass house. Someone might throw stones!

As a vendor who enjoys participating in this community to share and gather information, I find it very offensive when other vendors take shortcuts and try to gain an unfair advantage over their competition by using manipulative and deceiving tactics to make others think they have “the superior product.†Take for instance the glowing testimonial above; one would think that was written by a Vin Solutions employee or perhaps a customer who was paid or provided with a free service to do so. Especially when said message has been broadcasted on other sites: We made our CRM choice! - Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community (ADM)

One would also think that before making all these great accolades you would want to at least be using the product so you could give a more detailed and trustworthy testimonial. I am sorry but these CRM threads that you have been starting seem like they are all part of a cheesy Vin Solutions marketing ploy.

And while I am on a roll, it really irks me when a vendor comes on here and puts something like this in a post: “Is Liquid Motors ILM GM OneSource certified?†Why ask a question like that when you probably already know the answer. If your product is so good, then you shouldn’t have to throw others under the bus. We all have to play in this sandbox, so I would suggest we show our competition a little respect.

So to those who care: “Please keep in mind that certain vendors may be using creative advertising ploys to market their products, especially when certain testimonials appear to be written by the vendor themselves. It’s always recommended that you do your own due diligence when choosing products and services.â€

Now I feel better.

 

[Alex Snyder]

Finney - you've got this all wrong. I watched, yesterday and last night, as you posted and two other people posted what seemed like sales pitches for VinSolutions. Couple that with some of the exact same things popping up on other industry forums and it looked like a spam tactic was at play. I don't think anyone is pointing a finger at you, so stop taking it that way.

VinSolutions, through Matt, has been extremely verbal everywhere. When you keep your eye on everything: Kain's Ning site, Paglia's Ning site, DrivingSales, twitter, facebook and a few other industry channels you see at least 5 messages from Matt every day. Sometimes it is the same message repeated across all mediums. It gets to be too much. I've started to grow skeptical of the timing on some of the things Matt is saying - especially when 2 new accounts sign up (like last night) to immediately say all kinds of stuff that a normal dealer would never say. It sounded like an infomercial for VinSolutions. You couple that with your posts and it was like the Internet had become one big VinSolutions commercial.

They needed to be called out, and I'm glad it happened. You just got caught up on the tail end because you posted this message everywhere and the timing with the other new accounts.....which were deleted by the way.

Most of us are marketers of some sort and can smell when something isn't right. Last night was certainly not right, but I don't think that had anything to do with you Finney.....and I don't think Jerry or Jeff were pointing a finger at you either.

P.S. All Jeff did was merge your posts to keep the forums tidy.

 

[Mitchell Brenner]

This isn't Finney. It's Mitchell Brenner from Precision Acura that posted those comments. I just used Ralph Paglia's quote from ADM that happened to mention Finney as the reason for my final decision. It was posted on Dealer Refresh and ADM because I had the same CRM questions on each site and wanted to post my decision since the conclusion is as important as the question. I am not, nor will I ever be, a Vendor's shill and like I've mentioned in previous posts, if they don't do as promised you will all know about it. As a 27 year veteran of the auto industry I'd expect a little more respect from my fellow brethren. Read the whole thread and you'll see that it all started with a question and ended with my conclusion until I was hit over the head with all the venom from vendors and from Jeff Kershner for no reason. Let me know if I'm only allowed to post on one site at a time and I'll choose one of the other sites so I don't get my head chewed off. Luckily I kept my Brooklyn upbringing in check during the tirades against my innocent post!

Finney - you've got this all wrong. I watched, yesterday and last night, as you posted and two other people posted what seemed like sales pitches for VinSolutions. Couple that with some of the exact same things popping up on other industry forums and it looked like a spam tactic was at play. I don't think anyone is pointing a finger at you, so stop taking it that way.

VinSolutions, through Matt, has been extremely verbal everywhere. When you keep your eye on everything: Kain's Ning site, Paglia's Ning site, DrivingSales, twitter, facebook and a few other industry channels you see at least 5 messages from Matt every day. Sometimes it is the same message repeated across all mediums. It gets to be too much. I've started to grow skeptical of the timing on some of the things Matt is saying - especially when 2 new accounts sign up (like last night) to immediately say all kinds of stuff that a normal dealer would never say. It sounded like an infomercial for VinSolutions. You couple that with your posts and it was like the Internet had become one big VinSolutions commercial.

They needed to be called out, and I'm glad it happened. You just got caught up on the tail end because you posted this message everywhere and the timing with the other new accounts.....which were deleted by the way.

Most of us are marketers of some sort and can smell when something isn't right. Last night was certainly not right, but I don't think that had anything to do with you Finney.....and I don't think Jerry or Jeff were pointing a finger at you either.

P.S. All Jeff did was merge your posts to keep the forums tidy.

 

[OmniQuest Enterprises]

PrecisionAcura. Your post did not bother me that much. You made a decision on a crm and explained why. I think your jubilation with your decision is premature though. I'm curious to see how jubilant you are in 8 weeks. The bottom line is:
I was not referring to you.

FYI, I've been in the car business for 14 years and held almost every position a dealership has. I enjoy automotive ecommerce and had an opportunity to be self-employed, get away from the 60 hour work weeks, and make considerably more money than I did at any position I've held at a dealership doing consulting and owning an inventory management company, (photos, window stickers, distribution etc). Also I should note that I've been in sales my entire life in one aspect or another. Never worked at a restaurant, never cut grass etc. I'm sorry but your assumption about me was wrong. You probably clicked on my website link and it took you to a real estate marketing company I also own. The site was just finished so I popped that url in everywhere I could, temporarily.

 

[Mitchell Brenner]

My jubilation would have been the same with any CRM I chose just so I could get Higher Gear over and done. Obviously if Vin Solutions doesn't live up to it's hype then I'll let them know about it. I'm not shy! I also know all systems have their challanges and it will be my job to work through them not only for me but the entire dealership. If Higher Gear was more than a paper weight I could have easily left things as is and not given myself this huge undertaking! I am certainly positive right now. I hope it stays that way but as they say, time will tell!

PrecisionAcura. Your post did not bother me that much. You made a decision on a crm and explained why. I think your jubilation with your decision is premature though. I'm curious to see how jubilant you are in 8 weeks. The bottom line is:
I was not referring to you.

FYI, I've been in the car business for 14 years and held almost every position a dealership has. I enjoy automotive ecommerce and had an opportunity to be self-employed, get away from the 60 hour work weeks, and make considerably more money than I did at any position I've held at a dealership doing consulting and owning an inventory management company, (photos, window stickers, distribution etc). Also I should note that I've been in sales my entire life in one aspect or another. Never worked at a restaurant, never cut grass etc. I'm sorry but your assumption about me was wrong. You probably clicked on my website link and it took you to a real estate marketing company I also own. The site was just finished so I popped that url in everywhere I could, temporarily.