Technology Ideas from Dealers

Technology has become an integral part of our lives. Try living without e-mail for a day or go without your cell phone. We usually associate technology with a cost, but it has made our lives easier, and in some cases, more profitable. So we asked several automotive retailers across the county what technology products or services have enhanced their business operations in the past year.

Todd Smith, owner of Dothan Motors, Dothan Ala.

Scanning documents and creating simple to transfer PDF files has fast become an important tool for Smith, who owns a chain of buy here-pay here stores in Dothan, Ala.

One timesaving and accountability application has been between his reconditioning shop and his auction buyer.

“What I do now is scan the buy sheets, which show what the buyer paid and what he estimated what needed to be done to the vehicle,” Smith said. “Now I can send that document via e-mail to the recon center or they can scan and send their estimated actual cost of repairs. This way I can communicate with both sides and determine why there may be a discrepancy.”

He said in the past if a vehicle turned out to be a wholesale unit rather than a retail unit, he would have to hunt around for the paperwork to find out what the issues were and by the time he did, he would be on to another task.

“This makes us much more efficient and it does hold people accountable for their decisions,” Smith noted.

He said scanning technology is not new, but today’s scanner are much quicker and more efficient and have the ability to turn the scanned document into the easily transferable PDF format.

“For instance, I have my cell phone rep coming in later today,” he said. “I have some problems with him, but I just scanned my last couple of phone bills in and instead having to have the paper documents, I can call them up on my computer when he arrives.”

Smith said he uses a Palm Treo as his personal digital assistant.

“My wife calls it my brain,” he said.

David Ongaro, owner European Motorwerks, Inc., Edison, N.J.

Last year Ongaro increased his Internet marketing budget by intensifying his relationships with both Cars.com and AutoTrader.com

“We move high-end luxury vehicles like BMW, Porsche and Mercedes,” Ongaro said. “The cost of running online classifieds has gone up, but their services have been expanded.”

Between the two services Ongaro currently spends about $3,200 a month. He receives reports from both services, but feels customer services could be improved.

“I have attended classes and have learned a lot of about marketing online,” Ongaro said. “Bottom line is for what I’ve been spending, I would think someone would be calling me to make sure I’m satisfied and am using the services to their full advantage.”

He has expanded his reach. Ongaro said that certain vehicles like a BMW M3 or an Acura NSX will get customers to drive or fly hundreds of miles.

“I’ve even had dealers come from as far as California,” Ongaro said.

Dwight C’deBaca, owner, Atlas Cars Inc.

C’deBaca said he put in a new digital surveillance system at his two used-car lots about 18 months ago. He said the system currently consists of 21 cameras and covers both the interior and exterior of the two stores and cost him about $18,000.

“I looked at systems for years, but there was always a tape back up and old tapes had to be stored,” he said. “I never bought in on that.”

When the new digital storage units came out and he had the capability to watch what the cameras were seeing in real-time over the Internet, he signed up.

“I can access it from anywhere I have Web access,” C’deBaca said. “It consists of streaming video and I can pull up live shots or review history.”

One of the selling points was that the system had no recurring monthly fees. Audio recordings can also be made, so he can listen to closings and has the ability to record the closing on DVD.

“We’re not really using that feature, but we could if we needed to,” he said.

Setting up the cameras was relatively easy. The company came in helped with locating the cameras and making sure there were not dead spots, nor any areas where constant motion would keep the cameras recording all the time.

“You can actually choose an area and exclude it from the motion sensors that set off the cameras,” he said.

C’deBaca said since he purchased the system, product costs have come down considerably. Today, $18,000 is a huge amount of money for the service, but I wouldn’t be without one.”

He said the system keeps honest employees honest and helps find and solve problem areas in the dealership.

“It’s a safety net,” he said. “It’s there every day, and you don’t appreciate it until you need it.”

He said if other dealers are considering getting a similar system to make sure employees are on board as why and how the surveillance system will be implemented and operated going forward.

“There were a lot of ill feelings at first,” he said. “My employees who had been with me for years were the ones who didn’t understand. The new employees are simply told we have a system when they take the job.”

Cindy Christensen, manager, Herbie’s Auto Sales, Greeley, Colo.

Herbie’s Auto Sales began using ProMax Online, a Web-based, integrated desking and follow up system for all of the dealership’s front-end needs, in December 2006.

“The early results have been very good,” Christensen said. “We area able to track the credit scores of people who want to buy from us.”

She said they have learned a tremendous amount of information about their customers and the marketplace in general. She said as a result of the use of this product she has learned that 60 percent of their customers have less than a 500 Beacon score.

“About 25 percent of these people have to credit score at all,” she said. “We would never known that without this system.”

She said the system has more than paid for itself.

“We had the best special finance sales month ever in February,” she said. “We had the highest grosses ever. We can now make decisions on changing our inventory mix based on real-world numbers.”

Christensen said she learned about the ProMax through its advertising in Dealer Business Journal as well as her Leedom and Associates Twenty Group involvement.

“We talked to a number of our fellow Twenty Group members and discovered this was a good product,” she said.

Chris Knox, owner, Auto Company of Dallas, Dallas, Texas

Auto Company of Dallas is a small buy here-pay here operation with 480 accounts and a $3 million principal balance. With six employees, including himself, Knox is always on the lookout for cost-saving ideas.

“We needed a time clock and I almost fell over when I saw how much they cost,” Knox said.

He found an Internet based service that will keep track of an employee’s time records.

“The service costs jut $5.99 a month if you have five employees,” he said. “We’ve been using the service for seven or eight months, and it has worked very well.”

He said the system is handled completely over the Web, from the set up, to his automatic payments, to the employees who “punch in” over the Internet.

“It’s set up so they can only punch in from our ISP,” Knox said. “You wouldn’t want them to have the ability to punch in from home or the beach.”

Knox said he receives a complete report each month, and he uses the reports to submit the employee’s time records to his payroll processor.

Tracy Myers, dealer principal of Frank Myers AutoMaxx, Inc., Winston-Salem, N.C.

In the past several months, Myers had implemented a new customer relationship management system, which he said has reduced the cost per lead his two independent locations receive and increased the productivity of sales staff and management.

“Our Web site is now a lead generator,” said Meyers, who is the 2006-2007 NIADA Quality Dealer of the Year. “We had used a Web site design company in the past that cost less money on the back end, but did not produce the results we were looking for.”

He said the Web site now captures a tremendous amount of information from potential customers, and once that information s turned over to his business development center, they turn those leads into appointments and the sales team closes the deal.

“One of the features I was particularly pleased with was the ‘Live Chat’ feature,” Myers said. “A lot of people just don’t want to pick up a phone for whatever reason. This gives us the opportunity to talk to them and explain the value we offer.”

Myer said the system can automatically generate “Buzz Mail” to the customer. These are automated responses to the customer designed specifically for his dealership. They system can also track all ups including those who show up on the lot as well as those Internet leads from the Web site.

He said the system is expensive, about $3,800 a month.

“So far,” he said, “it’s more than paying for itself.”