Dealers United first offering for dealers? What do you think?

[yagoparamo]

Not really, I think you missed my point. The point was that the copy repair guy charges a flat hour if he is here 5 mins or the hour. If a dealership charged you 1 hour labor for an oil change, you'd be pissed!

I know it is hard to compare 2 different services, look at it this way:

If the printer guy was looking at charging for 10 minutes of work because the printer wasn't really broken (even though you call him in the first place) next time he would just not show up for $10 but not because he doesn't want to but because he can't afford to do it. There is a reality of business and that is that there is a cost and also there has to be a "motivational" profit for people to rush to get the job done.

Without getting to far off the thread and relevant to DU I have been skeptical about providing my company's product info to them for several reasons:

We don't have a 40% mark up on products; we usually range on the 10-12% to be competitive and earn long term customers. Providing deep discounts to get volume usually ends on taking shortcuts, selling a product that was overinflated in the first place, providing a decaf product, or trying to do an up-sell.

So related to our conversation, there is a cost of doing business right and either you found a process that is so unique that cuts costs dramatically or otherwise there is some shortcuts being taken.

 

[Eley Duke]

Shot in the dark, but do you think "vendor packages" would work? For example, instead of paying X to ATC, and Y to Cars.com. You just pay Z for both of them to DU (at a discounted rate of course). Obviously I would like to see a package for the combined 10000 our inventory is sent to - Just pay one. Sure would help out with those invoices as well

Now there is a concept. If DU could offer that, I would be all for it. But I am not sure A/T and Cars would go for that.

 

[mcampo2501]

Dealers United Service

I signed up with Dealers United while I was in Orlando at the Digital Dealer Conference last month. After seeing the SEO offer I wasn't expecting to get much use out out it, but I enjoyed the back rub and it didn't cost anything to join... This month however, I was pleasantly surprised and extremely impressed with both the offering as well as the service. I had also signed with hooklogic while at the conference and paid retail for their services. I contacted my local Dealers United rep, Travis Horn, to see if I could get in on the deal being already signed with the vendor, and I was taken care of like I was at a 5 star restaurant. I'm genuinely excited to see what they'll be offering next month and happy to be included in such a program. With absolutely no risk and the opportunity to, at the very least, pay less for services I'm already using, I strongly encourage anyone not signed up with these guys to do so.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Latest email from Dealers United...


The Publicly-Traded MegaDealer Groups don't get locked in for the long term and neither should you!

Want to avoid getting locked in from now on? Join Dealers United today, and you'll be able to take advantage of incredible savings and better terms every month. You've already missed no-term offerings of up to 54% off on SEO, Digital Marketing, First-Party Leads and CRM; and you won't want to miss our upcoming deal for dealer websites.

Our saying: "No Fees. No Hassles. Just Savings!" is not just a slogan, it's the truth. There are no fees to join Dealers United, and you are never obligated to accept any of the Dealer United deals we negotiate.

How do we make money then you ask?

When we find the best-in-class vendor for a given product or service, we also negotiate a commission for Dealers United (like a travel agent) that's baked into the deal; but with the huge savings we deliver to our members, the amount you pay for the product or service is still a significant savings over what even the largest dealer group could negotiate on their own.

You literally have nothing to lose by joining Dealers United. In all honesty, you just need to get your name on our list and then you'll get to see the deals (generally one per month); and if you don't like a deal, you just delete the email and wait for the next one.

If for no other reason, you should join Dealers United for the plain fact that we are negotiating with vendors who are already servicing the automotive industry. When we negotiate a deal with one of your providers, you won't really have to decide if you want to do the deal or not: you will simply enjoy instant savings with Dealers United!

Join now so you'll know if and when that happens. I am pretty sure you'll want to be informed about any deals we negotiate with your current suppliers.

While it is our policy to not share actual membership numbers, we're growing every day and already proudly represent more than 4,000 rooftops of private dealers and private dealer groups just like you – please don't get left behind, sign up today atwww.DealersUnited.net

Still have questions about how Dealers United works? Please call us at (941) 366-6760.

Best wishes,

The Dealers United Team

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Re: Dealers United Service

Okay - I know many DealerRefresh readers and members ARE Dealers United members and have taken advantage of the monthly deals.

I'm curious to hear what you think so far...

What service did you take advantage of?
How was your overall experience?
Are you finding value in being a member?

Let us know what you think!

 

[kcar]

kcar: I'd love to see you elaborate on your comment. Are you not in favor of what Dealers United is doing or just not interested in SEO?

Had missed this, going to comment now. I'd had no problems with Dealers United until I saw they were offering SEO. How can Dealers United offer SEO and preach about how great it is when your website SEO is horrible to begin with. I went through ALL of your link-building profiles, on-page SEO, content, everything and it was a nightmare. My point is, you can't sell SEO and talk about it when your company has no idea how it even works. As well, I even went through the dealer's websites who bought the SEO, same issues the company that was doing SEO literally did nothing.

I've been doing SEO for 8 years, I know what works and what doesn't. I don't think it's fair for these companies to come in and charge $$$ monthly to dealers and tell them how great SEO is. When in reality, the dealers have no idea what it is, so they panic and buy it. And what do they get in return? Nothing in terms of REAL SEO. Do they do minor minor minor* SEO, yes but it's nothing worth paying for, I wouldn't even call it SEO. I've ranked websites in top spots for keywords with 90,000+/searches in some of the hardest competitive niches, and too see the value these dealers are getting for their money doesn't sit well with me.

Will I use Dealer's United in the future? Most likely not, but if you want to revamp your values, next time don't sell something you have no idea about or don't fully understand. It's just poor taste to do that. As well, I can't hate too much if dealers are going to be too stupid and hire some internet director who has no idea what their doing.. Then that's their own fault. Someone has to capitalize on it, and someone always will.

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

I think you're off on this one Kcar. They are a broker, it's not their job to know about SEO, it's their job to offer their clients a good product at a great price.

 

[Eley Duke]

I'll jump in here. We bought 1 deal so far, and were already using 2 others we just signed for but they helped us get better deals.

Haystack - We had switched to Haystack this year and when the DU deal came out we switched to their pricing with their help and it was no problem. Great Experience so far!

Hook Logic - I was in the middle of getting ready to sign up for Hook Logic when the deal came out. We bought the deal through DU and we have been very happy!

Dealer Socket - Signed with Dealer Socket in May, when I told my DU rep this in June, he just started laughing and I started shaking my head in disbelief.

3 of the last 4 deals I had already signed with 2 of the vendors a month before the DU deal. I am not claiming to be an expert in picking solutions, but I do my research and its made me feel confident in the choices I have made and DU has picked. I have really been impressed with them so far. Our rep, Travis, has been fantastic and communicates very well. From now on I am going to sit back and see what they pick and take all the headache off my shoulders in picking vendors. Not each deal is for everyone, such as the SEO, but it's nice to know someone is doing the heavy work, gives you time to decide if its the right fit for your store, and you can make a well informed decision.

So far I have liked it!

 

[ddavis]

I'm behind the curve on this. I looked at Dealers United's website when they were just starting. I had no idea that they represented those companies. I have recommended all three of those.

 

[mcampo2501]

I truly don't see why everyone wouldn't want to be part of Dealer's United. There's no charge, no obligations, and the products they broker are all top notch. The worst thing that would come from enrolling with them is that you end up reading one extra email each month. I was using the basic HookLogic product before Dealer's United offered it. The Dealer's United price was significantly less than what I was paying. I expected tons of headache to get this seemingly free service to lower my subscription cost to a product I had already purchased, but to my surprise the people at HookLogic were incredibly receptive and adjusted everything instantly. With the money I saved I decided to upgrade my package, so it really works to the benefit of all parties.

While most dealers won't be able to take advantage of all the offerings due to being under contract, budget restriction, etc, being a member will only save you money. On top of that the staff is as helpful as you'll find. I wish the vendors I paid would treat me as well the people at Dealer's United. They are like TrueCar for dealers.

@KCAR Being a member of Dealer's United doesn't mean you have to buy the offerings. If you do a great job with SEO, good for you. The fact that SEO companies exist should tell you that someone is using them. Agree or disagree with the offering, these guys are trying to save the dealer a little money. Who else is doing that?