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Stronghold Technologies Introduces Version 3.4 Of DealerAdvance

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--Feb. 1, 20040, 2004--Stronghold Technologies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SGHT) today announced the general release of Version 3.4 of DealerAdvance(TM), the enterprise software system leveraging wireless and Internet technologies to improve business performance and efficiencies for the automotive retail industry. Only four months after the introduction of Version 3.3, Stronghold has made a substantial leap forward with its latest software upgrade. DealerAdvance(TM) V3.4's new features include the ability to capture and manage phone-in and Internet prospects, as well as Do Not Call (DNC) compliance capabilities.

"The introduction of DealerAdvance(TM) V3.4 emphasizes the commitment we make to our customers to provide the finest solutions for optimizing dealership performance," said Christopher Carey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Stronghold. "Prior to the new features available through DealerAdvance(TM), the average Stronghold customer achieved an industry leading prospect capture rate of nearly 90% and maintained an impressive ratio of vehicle sales through appointments as a percentage of total sales well in excess of 20%. Now, with DealerAdvance(TM) V3.4, our customers have a comprehensive platform to manage virtually all of their traffic -- walk-in, phone-in and Internet generated leads -- to drive a greater number of higher quality prospects through the sales process."

Internet Lead Management

While dealerships continue to rely on walk-in traffic for a substantial majority of their prospects, consumers have in recent years increased their use of the Internet when shopping for new and used vehicles. To address this trend, Stronghold's software developers created internally an Internet lead management function that is available with new installations of DealerAdvance(TM) V3.4. The new capability is intended to increase dealers' Internet sales and improve service for their online customers.

DealerAdvance(TM) can capture customer leads that are generated from most leading auto Web sites(TM). Prospect information will automatically be entered into a customer relationship management (CRM) program that manages data from all lead sources. The software is customized for each dealer to forward leads in real-time to the appropriate manager or sales person. Dealer personnel then will be able to conduct traditional follow-up procedures, including the creation of e-mail from their wirelessly enabled personal digital assistants.

Call Management Services

Stronghold introduced last month a new suite of Call Management Services. These services complement Stronghold's industry leading customer relationship management solution and assist dealers with harnessing the potential of phone-in prospects. Through strategic relationships formed with two leading call management technology vendors, Stronghold now integrates the customer information captured from toll-free numbers provided by these vendors. Users of DealerAdvance(TM) may conveniently review all third-party incoming calls without having to log onto the call-in technology vendor's web site. Through DealerAdvance(TM), dealer staff may quickly assign the customer to a salesperson for follow-up, including task generation and correspondence via phone, letter or e-mail.

In addition to the analysis of advertising effectiveness performed by the call-in technology vendors which can be viewed through DealerAdvance(TM), the conversion rate of prospects calling in can be calculated and tracked by DealerAdvance(TM), including total sales and sales from specific ad campaigns. When this data is combined with conversion results from other sources, such as walk-in traffic, dealers will have a more accurate analysis of their spend on advertising and a complete review of their sales force activities.

Do Not Call Compliance

Since Stronghold customers are reporting such large volumes of vehicles sold through the follow-up process and with the addition of Call Management Services, the Company is pleased to offer Do Not Call (DNC) consultation and services to safeguard its clients. These subscription-based offerings were introduced in December 2003, following the Federal Trade Commission's new consumer privacy and contact laws pertaining to telemarketers. Federal restrictions place specific limits on how a dealership interacts with consumers via the telephone, and failure to conform to these limits can result in substantial fines. Fines of up to $11,000 per violation are possible, as well as civil law suits.

The DealerAdvance(TM) Do Not Call consultation and services provide training and system features that are specifically designed to assist dealerships in meeting DNC requirements without unduly restricting basic sales operations. DealerAdvance(TM) provides the means to document and record consumer "Do Not Call" requests and aids in enforcement of DNC rules by a dealership's sales organization. In less than a week, Stronghold can implement and train dealers on the Call Management and DNC functions.

Innovations and Improved Functionality

Enhancements to productivity and ease of use are key factors in every technological development from Stronghold. Once again, the solution's work plan has been simplified to enable users to more quickly become familiarized with its proven selling process that has been modified to the requirements of dealership management. Other enhancements and additions include new "action" functions, improved customer/vehicle search capabilities and more intuitive task log management.

DealerAdvance(TM) Background

DealerAdvance(TM) is a proprietary software developed by Stronghold. Marketed to automotive dealerships as part of DealerAdvance Sales Solution(TM), an enterprise software system using wireless and Internet technologies, it has at its core a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application that has been designed to maximize the revenues and reduce the operating expenses of automobile dealerships. The system is used by dealerships to increase sales by effectively capturing a greater percentage of unsold customer prospects and maximizing customer "be-back" (return) and closure rates.

Since inception, Stronghold has spent approximately $3 million on research and development activities related to DealerAdvance(TM). Initially launched with Version 1.0 through six pilot dealerships during 2001, Stronghold has installed DealerAdvance(TM) in over 70 dealerships. The software is improving business performance for 22 major automobile brands, with a concentration in mid-line dealers such as Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, Volkswagen and Chrysler.

Stronghold Technologies, Inc. (www.strongholdtech.com) is an innovator in applying wireless technology and process improvement methods to increase business efficiency and sales. The Company has developed an integrated wireless technology called DealerAdvance(TM) which, among many features, allows automobile dealers to capture a customer's purchasing requirements, search inventory at multiple locations, locate an appropriate vehicle in stock and print out the necessary forms. Through an integrated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) application, the systems sends detailed tasks for prospect and customer follow-up and produces management reports to measure compliance. DealerAdvance(TM) allows sales professionals to increase sales, improve customer follow-up, and reduce administrative costs.

An independent research report on the Company is available for investors and the general public at http://www.stocksontheweb.com/sght.htm.

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("the Securities Act"), as amended and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," or "anticipates" or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy that involve risks and uncertainties. In particular, the our statements regarding the anticipated growth in the markets for the our technologies, the continued development of our products, the approval of the our Patent Applications, the successful implementation of the our sales and marketing strategies, the anticipated longer term growth of our business, and the timing of the projects and trends in future operating performance are examples of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the timing of revenues due to the uncertainty of market acceptance and the timing and completion of pilot project analysis, and other factors, including general economic conditions, not within our control. The factors discussed herein and expressed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this filing and we undertake no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.