Getting On Track With DealerTrak
Introduction
I know what youÕre thinking: of all of the technology products out there,
how did we come to choose Auto TownÕs DealerTrakTM product as the cover story
for the premier issue of Digital Dealer? There are several very good reasons,
actually. But the main reason DealerTrakTM was chosen is twofold: #1 I had
been made aware of their DealerTrakTM product about two years ago and thought
it was a fantastic application. I could easily see the value to dealers, but
unfortunately, I didnÕt have a magazine in which to share my thoughts on this
product. #2 Auto TownÕs Allan Cooper talked Editor Sandi Jerome into viewing
a demonstration at a retail auto technology conference, and Sandi came away
as impressed as I with the potential for this product. What I hope to accomplish
with this cover story is to get into some detail about this companyÕs technology
and applications, as well as the people behind them. From gaining an understanding
of DealerTrakTM, and how it could benefit dealerships, I hope to lead you
down a path of a better understanding of all technology that is available
for retail automobile dealerships.
Mike Roscoe
By Sandi Jerome
Customer
relationship management is such a hot topic that NADA has devoted a workshop
track at this year's convention just to using CRM to help dealers sell more
cars and achieve higher net profits. Normally, software reviews can be pretty
boring, but it was either this suite of exciting CRM products from Auto Town
or the Aussie accent of their E-Auto solution expert, Allan Cooper, that kept
my nose pressed to the screen.
According to Allan, "Auto Town provides software applications that help dealers sell more cars and achieve higher net profit. Auto Town's patent pending solution is the first to integrate all consumer touch points. Designed by car people, the software is also the first to automate all sales steps including profile, write-up, appraisal and credit application. Auto Town improves dealer revenue and profits, reduces transaction costs, and improves customer relationships through the use of an easy to use, fully integrated software application."
Auto Town markets its core product as DealerTrakTM which is comprised of CustomerTrak, WebTrack and ServiceTrak.
My tour of DealerTrak started with the Guest Register
By utilizing a driver's license reader, the sales staff can gather information in seconds rather than minutes. The Guest Register will not let salespeople register a guest unless they specify what brought the customer to the dealership. This "Ad Source" information will prove invaluable in helping determine which advertising investments are paying off and which are merely eroding your bottom line.
Since DealerTrak is more than just a software product - it's a sales system - the next stop was the Credit Application and Trade Appraisal module.
According to Allan, these two features alone will reduce your average transaction time by as much as 40%, leading to higher employee and customer satisfaction. The reduction in transaction time will allow the sales staff to allocate additional time to specific tasks such as the delivery process and customer follow-up. You could also benefit from a reduction in credit application expense.
The Trade Appraisal screen integrates with used car value guides including Kelley Blue Book, Black Book and NADA Wholesale guides. This timesaving feature eliminates the double entry of used cars and reduces mistakes caused by inaccurate descriptions. Once appraised, the vehicle is ready for the dealership's web site. Snap a picture, click Post, and the vehicle is effectively merchandised.
It has been said that salespeople have too much time on their hands because sales managers have too little time. Auto Town's Daily Work Plan keeps those idle hands busy. With this daily work plan, salespeople won't have to remember who and when to call their customers. The system notifies them of each contact they need to make-and when to make it. Consider the power of having sales people calling your customers on their birthdays or three months prior to their lease expiration.
For your guys and gals who won't make the call (or are no longer with you,) there is a Letter Generator with preset letters such as "Sold Thank-you Letter," "Lease Retention Letter," and "1-year Sales Follow-Up."
For your sales managers, the Report Generator allows them to view your inventory's cost as compared to wholesale Kelley Blue Book. You can create virtually hundreds of custom reports with a click of your mouse. Just click on the fields you want on the report and choose from simple pull-down boxes the items you want the report to use as selection criteria. Your sales managers will also be able to use the Electronic Sales Log to monitor your salespeople's activities from any workstation-including Internet leads. Automatically generated e-mail follow-up contacts will also help make a huge impact on closing more prospects that leave the dealership without buying the first time in (the majority of your prospects).
Since DealerTrak consolidates all sales activities within a single system, you should be able to effectively measure the performance of your sales organization, including individual salesperson performance and actual gross profit by ad source-or even a combination of the two: individual sales performance broken down by different ad sources. In addition, it interfaces with ADP and R+R systems to prevent duplicate work for your F&I managers.
Auto Town uses two methods to sell their system. Either you can pay an upfront fee and monthly support and install your own network equipment - or you can have them do it all for one monthly lease/support fee. It uses Windows NT or Windows 2000; the AST version is delivered over the internet to clients; and you'll need high speed Internet access. They interface with third-party software such as Carspecs (for added inventory functionality), Crystal Reports (one of my favorite reporting tools), and CMSI (Credit Connection) for on-line credit application processing. According to Allan, they are installed in eleven states and expanding each day. For more information, visit www.autotown.com.
The Company
Auto Town was founded in 1996 in the shadows of Silicon Valley by Jerry Daniels.
Initially, Auto Town was an Internet company and built web sites for dealerships
in 17 states. You may remember them from the 1998 New Orleans NADA convention
and exposition. By then, Auto Town had purchased two software companies and
integrated their systems, expanding their product offering to include an integrated
contact management system designed exclusively for dealerships. That same
year, Auto Town purchased RAMAC corporation and its fully established F&I
software, integrating it into Auto TownÕs product suite. By 1998, the company
had fully integrated a Windows front-end system which incorporated finance
and insurance (F&I), customer tracking, Internet, and Kelley Blue Book data,
and readily integrated with existing accounting software in automotive dealership
operations. 1999 saw the completion of the beta-test of DealerTrak in thirty
dealerships, the national launch of which took place at the 2000 NADA convention
and exposition in Orlando, Florida. Today, Auto Town is a leading software
and Internet solution producer, dedicated to improving revenues, profits,
and customer responsiveness for dealerships through easy-to-use software applications
that integrate with a dealerÕs existing systems.
The Players
Al Babbington,
Chief Executive Officer, is a 20-year veteran and innovator of the automotive
retail industry. Al has been a general manager or managing partner of several
leading automotive dealerships and management companies in the San Francisco
Bay Area. Before joining Auto Town as CEO, Al was vice president of marketing
and strategic planning for FirstAmerica Automotive (FAA), California's largest
automotive consolidator with 1999 sales of approximately $1.6 billion. The
company was sold to Sonic Automotive at the end of 1999. Prior to his association
with FAA, Al was general manager and partner with Serramonte Auto Plaza, which
was Northern California's highest volume retailer during his tenure. Al began
his career in automotive retailing as a salesperson with Cerritto Management
Company in San Jose, where he was continually promoted and became general
manager at the age of 26. Since 1985 Al has served on numerous dealer, marketing,
and product advisory boards, including those of General Motors, Ford, Nissan,
Isuzu, autobytel.com and ADP.
Allan Bird,
Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Auto Town in 1999, Allan was the
co-founder and president of Advent Resources, Inc., a leading supplier of
sales computer systems to the automotive industry. The company successfully
integrated its applications with ADP, Reynolds & Reynolds and Mercedes-Benz
Credit Data System to provide an online direct submission of a car sale for
instant financial approval. During Allan's tenure with Advent, he developed
several innovative tools and processes, including putting desktop sales tools
within automotive dealerships to increase sales productivity. Earlier, Allan
managed a 13-year sales career with Automatic Data Processing (ADP). While
there he served on ADP's finance and sales committee as an innovator of new
technology designed for the front-end retail sales environment.
Jerry Daniels,
Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Jerry Daniels has managed an extensive
and diversified automotive retail career with marked achievement in every
position he has held. These have included salesperson, finance director, sales
manager, general sales manager, general manager, and minority owner of several
major car dealership operations. As the co-founder and former president, he
established Auto Town in 1996. Jerry began his career in the automotive retail
business at the age of nineteen, and by the age of twenty-one, he was named
"Salesman of the Year" at the largest Nissan dealership in the nation. Over
the next two years, Jerry was promoted four times. At twenty-three, he became
general sales manager of a new Pontiac dealership, which became the number
one volume Pontiac Dealership in the western U.S. within three months of his
arrival. Prior to forming Auto Town, Mr. Daniels was the executive manager/minority
owner of Magnussen Buick Pontiac GMC, Menlo Park, CA.
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