Latest / CBT Live / Who Takes Over When AI Hands Off Your Leads? GM Profit Jumps, Ford Recall (10.20.26)

Transcript

Who Takes Over When AI Hands Off Your Leads? GM Profit Jumps, Ford Recall (10.20.26) · CBT Live

0:00
SPEAKER_05: Is your team turning conversations into showroom traffic?
0:03
SPEAKER_01: Plus, better communication starts with better leadership.
0:06
SPEAKER_01: All that important from the CBT Live.
0:17
SPEAKER_05: Hey everyone, welcome into another edition of CBT Live, right here at the CBT Automotive Network.
0:23
SPEAKER_05: Today is Tuesday, October 20th.
0:25
SPEAKER_05: I'm joined by my lovely assistant.
0:28
unknown: Assistant.
0:29
SPEAKER_05: No, not an assistant.
0:30
SPEAKER_05: Partner.
0:31
SPEAKER_05: You're like a magician or you're like Bridget Fitzpatrick, the one and only.
0:34
SPEAKER_01: I am Bridget Fitzpatrick.
0:36
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for sometimes I feel like it.
0:39
SPEAKER_01: Trust me.
0:40
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
0:43
SPEAKER_01: We're so happy to have you all with us today.
0:45
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
0:46
SPEAKER_01: We have got a great show for you today.
0:48
SPEAKER_01: Duran Cage, founder and owner of Cage Auto, joins us in studio to talk about AI and your dealerships, leads, and who takes over when AI hands off.
0:58
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
0:59
SPEAKER_05: AI.
0:59
SPEAKER_05: Imagine that.
1:00
SPEAKER_05: Another discussion about AI.
1:01
SPEAKER_05: Supposedly this thing's gonna stick around.
1:03
SPEAKER_01: I think it's gonna stick around for a little while, yeah.
1:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:06
SPEAKER_01: It's so important to talk about AI as much as we do.
1:08
SPEAKER_01: I feel like an AI day is like 10 years.
1:12
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
1:13
SPEAKER_01: There's constant changes and updates and new things and new platforms and all these.
1:18
SPEAKER_05: So it is very important to run our dealerships, run our lives, run everything.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: It does pretty much.
1:24
SPEAKER_05: So it's great.
1:25
SPEAKER_05: Hey, by the way, we'd love for you to be part of our conversation today.
1:28
SPEAKER_05: So drop your uh questions, comments, suggestions in our chat um for you know our guests, our for us, you know, whatever you want to talk about, you know, drop it in.
1:37
SPEAKER_05: We want to hear from all of you.
1:38
SPEAKER_05: And uh, we know that uh, you know, we we love hearing from everybody, and uh, we want to know if you enjoy CBT News.
1:45
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
1:45
SPEAKER_01: And if you do, be sure to like, follow, and subscribe.
1:48
SPEAKER_01: If you're already a subscriber, thank you very much.
1:50
SPEAKER_01: We appreciate all of you.
1:51
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
1:52
SPEAKER_05: We love your support.
1:53
SPEAKER_05: Keeps us going.
1:54
SPEAKER_01: So we have a few things to get to today.
1:57
SPEAKER_01: Before we do, I would like to thank our sponsor.
1:59
SPEAKER_05: Who's that, by the way?
2:00
SPEAKER_01: That would be the Joe Verdi group.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: Oh, the Joe Verdi Group.
2:02
SPEAKER_01: The industry leader for online sales training.
2:04
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
2:05
SPEAKER_05: They do an incredible job.
2:06
SPEAKER_05: They do a great job.
2:07
SPEAKER_05: They taught me.
2:08
SPEAKER_05: They did, and they did a really good job.
2:09
SPEAKER_01: I think you're pretty good.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: So good job.
2:11
SPEAKER_05: From salesperson to dealer principal, nice.
2:13
SPEAKER_05: I owe it to Joe Verdi.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: Hey, that's right.
2:16
SPEAKER_01: Shout out there.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
2:19
SPEAKER_01: No, they're just a great, great organization, great team.
2:22
SPEAKER_01: Like we said yesterday, some of the nicest people you'll ever work with.
2:25
SPEAKER_01: I do we we've been working with them for 14 years, and it's just amazing.
2:28
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
2:29
SPEAKER_05: And their stuff, man, I'm I'm telling you, when I bring uh Sean on to when my conversations with him, like all we it's funny because we laugh about it.
2:37
SPEAKER_05: All of this stuff is still going on in dealerships.
2:40
SPEAKER_05: You know, this training is great.
2:41
SPEAKER_01: So with content that covers every step of the sales process, your sales team will sell more units with better gross and greater customer satisfaction.
2:49
SPEAKER_01: Get your new hires up to speed fast, keep your entire team sharp, and sell more cars with the Joe Bertie group.
2:55
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
2:56
SPEAKER_01: Joe Bertie Group.
2:57
SPEAKER_05: Dealerships.
2:58
SPEAKER_05: You can't, I don't want to say you can't spend enough on sales training.
3:01
SPEAKER_05: Maybe you can, but you got to spend something.
3:03
SPEAKER_05: You know, I've I talked to so many dealers and I say, What did you spend last month on training your salespeople and your managers?
3:11
SPEAKER_05: Sometimes I get deer in the headlight look, you know, like, um what do you what do you mean?
3:15
SPEAKER_05: How much did I spend?
3:16
SPEAKER_05: I have I have managers for that.
3:18
SPEAKER_05: No, no, no, no.
3:19
SPEAKER_05: Managers are not necessarily good trainers.
3:21
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
3:21
SPEAKER_05: And uh they haven't been taught on how to train.
3:23
SPEAKER_05: Sometimes they don't know what to train on specifically.
3:26
SPEAKER_05: And uh you gotta bring in the pros.
3:28
SPEAKER_05: Joe Verdi is that pro that I'm talking about and his team.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: So we've got a few news stories to go over.
3:34
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
3:35
SPEAKER_01: So General Motors reported stronger quarterly earnings this morning with its large pickup business helping drive those results.
3:41
SPEAKER_01: GM brought in 50 billion in revenue during the third quarter.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: Adjusted earnings before interest in taxes reached 4.1 billion, up nearly 22% from a year ago.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: That's pretty good.
3:53
SPEAKER_05: That's that's very good.
3:54
SPEAKER_01: Yes, and North America was part of that.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: The company's adjusted profit margin in North America improved to 8.7% compared to 6.2% a year ago.
4:04
SPEAKER_01: So that's great.
4:05
SPEAKER_05: That's fantastic.
4:06
SPEAKER_05: Way to go GM and GM dealers, all without a hybrid.
4:09
SPEAKER_01: Right?
4:09
SPEAKER_01: I know.
4:10
SPEAKER_01: So I know.
4:10
SPEAKER_01: You say what you want.
4:12
SPEAKER_01: They're doing pretty good.
4:14
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
4:14
SPEAKER_01: Uh so a Ford recall that was reported earlier this month is getting attention again this morning, and it affects more than 102,000 trucks in the United States.
4:23
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
4:23
SPEAKER_01: Yes, it involves dashboard gauges that may give drivers inaccurate readings.
4:28
SPEAKER_01: According to Reuters, citing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the speedometer and tachometer can become stuck or move erratically.
4:36
SPEAKER_04: Oh wow.
4:37
SPEAKER_01: So certain 2025 to 2026 F-series trucks are included, ranging from F-150s to super duty and larger commercial models as well.
4:45
SPEAKER_05: You know what I'm hearing, dealers.
4:46
SPEAKER_05: Big fixed stops month.
4:48
SPEAKER_05: If there's a recall like that in place, we know recalls mean money.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
4:53
SPEAKER_05: I I've you know what's funny is that I've gone onto into dealerships with our car cars from time to time and for a recall.
5:01
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
5:01
SPEAKER_05: Now listen to me, dealers, because you'll you'll get a kick out of this.
5:04
SPEAKER_05: You'll also want to kick somebody uh in the butt on this.
5:07
SPEAKER_05: You go you somebody brings the vehicle in on a recall, okay?
5:10
SPEAKER_05: And you go, hey, I'm prepared for the recall.
5:12
SPEAKER_05: And they go, okay, great, great.
5:13
SPEAKER_05: And sign you up, they get the recall done, and uh, and then they bring the car.
5:17
SPEAKER_05: You you know, either you wait or you come back later that day.
5:20
SPEAKER_05: No walk around, no suggestion on anything else.
5:24
SPEAKER_05: The vehicle I'm driving in needs tires.
5:26
SPEAKER_05: They never mention that to me.
5:27
SPEAKER_05: They never mention the next service.
5:29
SPEAKER_05: They just go, okay, Mr.
5:30
SPEAKER_05: Fitzpatrick, your recall, you're all set, you're ready to go.
5:33
SPEAKER_05: It didn't cost you anything.
5:34
SPEAKER_05: Okay, and it's a recall and it's done.
5:37
SPEAKER_05: Is that really the best we can do on a recall?
5:40
SPEAKER_05: I'm coming in, I've got this car, it hasn't been serviced in a while, and we're not getting a walk around, we're not getting a suggestion, we're not getting a tire present, we're getting nothing.
5:50
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
5:50
SPEAKER_05: So did they do the recall?
5:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, they did the recall, but you dealers know what I'm talking about.
5:54
SPEAKER_05: If that's happening in your service drive, shame on you.
5:58
SPEAKER_05: Because that the recalls mean huge dollars.
6:01
SPEAKER_05: Maybe that's even why OEMs do it, but uh, it means huge dollars to the dealer.
6:06
SPEAKER_05: Do not waste this opportunity uh for for you know recalls uh for those people coming in to do a walk around, to make those suggestions, to sell those tires, to sell those services.
6:17
SPEAKER_05: And and you're really doing a huge service to the customer to say, well, while it's in for the recall, maybe you can do these other items that need to be done on the vehicle.
6:25
SPEAKER_01: So I have a question.
6:26
SPEAKER_01: Go ahead and hopefully you know the answer to.
6:28
SPEAKER_01: For those dealers doing mobile service, will they go, will they do mobile service for recalls?
6:32
SPEAKER_05: Yes, they uh yes, not all recalls, it depends on the recall.
6:36
SPEAKER_05: But um, but from what I'm told by dealers that yes, that that is a perfect scenario.
6:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's good.
6:41
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, okay.
6:43
SPEAKER_05: But uh, but please, dealers, I mean, when you get a recall, especially you got a hundred thousand Fords out there, um, that's a huge opportunity to sell uh uh upsell those services.
6:53
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you know?
6:55
SPEAKER_05: So that's my sermon on that this morning.
6:58
SPEAKER_05: No, it's true though.
6:58
SPEAKER_05: Come on.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: Tuesday morning sermon.
7:00
SPEAKER_05: Come on.
7:00
SPEAKER_05: Okay, show this to your service director if he's not watching already.
7:05
SPEAKER_01: So finally, one more story here.
7:07
SPEAKER_01: There were a couple of dealership transactions that I wanted to mention, one in North Carolina and the other in Southern California.
7:12
SPEAKER_01: Dobbs Family Automotive has acquired Fields Mazda and Fields Chrysler Dodge G Ram in Asheville from Fields Auto Group.
7:20
SPEAKER_01: The acquisition brings Dobbs to 14 dealership and marks its entry into the Asheville market.
7:25
SPEAKER_01: Fields says the sale allows them to sharpen its focus on its luxury dealerships in that market, including BMW, Mercedes, and Land Rover.
7:33
SPEAKER_01: And Kerrigan Advisors represented Fields in the transaction.
7:36
SPEAKER_05: Go Kerrigan Advisors.
7:38
SPEAKER_01: And then meanwhile, in Southern California, Hendrick Automotive Group has sold Volkswagen of Marietta.
7:44
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
7:44
SPEAKER_05: And what do they know about Volkswagen?
7:45
SPEAKER_05: Why are they selling Volkswagen?
7:47
SPEAKER_01: And it's related real estate to Spreen Automotive Group.
7:50
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
7:51
SPEAKER_01: That transaction closed yesterday, and um the Presidio Group advised Hendrick on that sale.
7:56
SPEAKER_05: Presidio group.
7:57
SPEAKER_05: Good.
7:58
SPEAKER_05: Another good organization.
8:00
SPEAKER_05: Right here, right here in uh our hometown.
8:03
SPEAKER_05: Right over here.
8:04
SPEAKER_05: They're in Peachtree Corners, we're in Peace Tree Corners.
8:07
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
8:07
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: So that's always nice.
8:09
SPEAKER_05: They should buy us lunch more, you know.
8:12
SPEAKER_01: Maybe they're listening.
8:14
SPEAKER_05: Maybe they're listening.
8:15
SPEAKER_05: I don't know.
8:16
SPEAKER_05: They should buy us lunch more when we see you.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: All right, so before we get to hear the team laughing.
8:23
SPEAKER_01: I know.
8:24
SPEAKER_01: Um to Durant.
8:25
SPEAKER_05: Oh, yeah, by the way, yeah.
8:26
SPEAKER_05: Um uh the the author of this book, this incredible book, this is a New York Times bestselling author, by the way, um, Andrew La Civita.
8:33
SPEAKER_05: Um, he I just did an interview with him, uh, which is on, I think, both CBT as well as our sister station, asbn.com, stands for America's Small Business Network.
8:44
SPEAKER_05: Uh check that out at asbn.com.
8:46
SPEAKER_05: But this is a great interview that I did um with Andrew about his new book, and we talked about the proper way to communicate with your team.
8:53
SPEAKER_05: Uh sometimes you've got bad news that you've got to communicate with them, but you you know, you're looking for buy-in from the team, you're selling them on an idea, what have you.
9:01
SPEAKER_05: Um he's written an incredible book about this very topic and how to communicate when you are a leader to your team.
9:07
SPEAKER_05: So that we're gonna we're gonna show a little excerpt of that interview a little bit later.
9:11
SPEAKER_05: But uh great book.
9:12
SPEAKER_05: I highly recommend you get it, uh, Signal Strength, master every communication skill to speak, write, and inspire your way to the top.
9:21
SPEAKER_05: Great book.
9:21
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
9:22
SPEAKER_01: So while you're here at CBT News, or while while you go to CBT News, be sure to sign up for our newsletters.
9:28
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
9:29
SPEAKER_01: You can get all the great conversations that you see here and more.
9:32
SPEAKER_01: And be sure to like, follow, and subscribe to your favorite social media channels while you're there.
9:37
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
9:37
SPEAKER_05: And by the way, subscribe uh like and subscribe if you're watching on one of these social media channels, because I think we're right now on like six different social media channels.
9:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
9:46
SPEAKER_01: Like I said.
9:46
SPEAKER_05: Oh, I thought you were talking about the newsletter.
9:49
SPEAKER_01: No, well, okay, that's okay.
9:52
SPEAKER_05: We want to make sure like that.
9:54
SPEAKER_05: That's gonna cost me guys.
9:55
SPEAKER_05: Anybody, does anybody uh any of you guys out there not listen, always always listen to your wife when she's speaking, and then she she checks you out later and you she's like, Yeah, I told you that already.
10:04
SPEAKER_05: That happens every now and then with Bridget and I.
10:06
SPEAKER_05: It's okay.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: We had Carl Brouwer on yesterday, and he was a great marriage counselor for a little while when we decided what car we were gonna be looking at.
10:14
SPEAKER_01: Um maybe we'll share that process a little bit as we get closer to our journey for a new car.
10:21
SPEAKER_05: What were you saying?
10:22
SPEAKER_05: No, I'm kidding.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: Um also uh we are gonna be at the Use Car Week, November 16th through the 19th.
10:30
SPEAKER_01: So be sure to register.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: If you are planning on attending, it's a great event.
10:35
SPEAKER_01: Um it's gonna be in San Diego, so we're looking forward to that.
10:38
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna be doing the live show right from the show floor, yeah, as well as bringing you even more interviews uh from the event and all the coverage that you'll need.
10:46
SPEAKER_01: But be sure to check it out.
10:48
SPEAKER_05: Great event.
10:48
SPEAKER_05: As I've said before, you heard me say it before.
10:50
SPEAKER_05: If uh it's gonna be a big used car year ahead in 2027, and uh you gotta be prepared for it, whether it be how to get them, how to sell them, how to recon them, how to finance them, how to maybe even how to repo them if you're on in a buy here, pay here situation.
11:05
SPEAKER_05: That was always fun.
11:06
SPEAKER_05: I spent a couple of months uh in my career having to do that for a dealer that had a buy here, pay here.
11:12
SPEAKER_05: That was a real that was a real education.
11:14
SPEAKER_05: But I have all the respect for those that do that successfully that uh you gotta have the right stomach for it.
11:19
SPEAKER_05: But uh but anyway, used car week, it's all found right there in San Diego.
11:23
SPEAKER_05: These guys do a first class job.
11:26
SPEAKER_05: You can thank me later, but make the reservation now.
11:29
SPEAKER_05: We'll see you out there.
11:30
SPEAKER_05: Stop by and say hello.
11:31
SPEAKER_05: Who knows?
11:31
SPEAKER_05: Maybe it'll be on uh we'll interview you.
11:34
SPEAKER_05: So we'd love it.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so coming up next, we've got Duran Cage with Cage Auto.
11:37
SPEAKER_01: But before we get to Duran, we're gonna Duran, by the way.
11:39
SPEAKER_05: I'm sorry.
11:40
SPEAKER_05: You said Duran.
11:40
SPEAKER_05: It is, and I just had this conversation.
11:42
SPEAKER_01: Like Duran Duran the name, Duran Duran.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: Duran Duran.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: I know.
11:45
SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
11:45
SPEAKER_01: Sorry, Duran.
11:46
SPEAKER_05: You think we can get Duran Duran?
11:47
SPEAKER_05: That'd be kind of cool.
11:48
SPEAKER_05: But right now we just have one Duran.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: Right.
11:51
SPEAKER_05: We have the Duran.
11:52
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
11:53
SPEAKER_01: Duran will be joining us next, but before he does, we're going to play this clip with Andrew La Civita.
11:59
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, check this clip out.
12:00
SPEAKER_05: You're gonna you're gonna really like this.
12:01
SPEAKER_05: He's he's a great, great book author.
12:03
SPEAKER_05: So check it out.
12:05
SPEAKER_05: What's the best way to communicate a difficult decision that employees may disagree with?
12:12
SPEAKER_00: Oh, great, great question.
12:14
SPEAKER_00: So I think anytime you're communicating anything, positive or negative, here's what the shared goal is, here's what we're trying to accomplish, here's what we need, here's how we're going to benefit, and here's what we're going to do, and here's my support and how I'll give it to you.
12:30
SPEAKER_00: So, whatever, whatever the message is, especially if it's tough, people are adults, they they get it.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: But I think the the biggest complaint that employees or staff have when you have some difficult decisions, or maybe you don't take into account their input or anything that they might feel is rough, it's usually because you haven't complained or uh you haven't communicated to them with the rationale.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: Good point.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: So if you can get that out early, I think people get it.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: I really do.
12:57
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, for sure.
12:58
SPEAKER_05: How can leaders make it easier for employees to speak honestly about problems?
13:04
SPEAKER_05: We know we hear a lot about being authentic with your teams and open and uh and honest.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: I think I think you lead by example.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: So actually, piggybacking off what you just asked me about communicating difficult insight.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: If a leader is communicating with his or her staff and is building that trust that I'm being consistent, I'm not mercurial, I'm not hiding things from you, I'm open and honest, and I trust that you will be able to digest the information, the communication, whatever it may be.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: If I'm consistent with you, I think that fosters and creates a more open and welcoming environment.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: It's one thing to say, hey, I have an open door policy, or hey, you can come to me with whatever, but if I'm showing you that I know you can handle this kind of insight or information, it's going to be, it's going to be very likely that I'm going to be able to do it, and I'm going to welcome that from you and really appreciate when you come to me with those kinds of things.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: So it's leading by example.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
14:04
SPEAKER_05: Employees need to feel safe, right?
14:06
SPEAKER_05: I mean, uh they've they've got to feel safe in communicating with their with the leaders of the company, right?
14:13
SPEAKER_00: That's absolutely true.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think you can feel any more safer than when you repeatedly do it and you as the leader are consistent in your behavior where there aren't major repercussions.
14:25
SPEAKER_00: You're not right you're not upset with people because they're they're sharing their insight.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: And you're looking for ways, especially if you're getting feedback, whether it's on your performance, your behavior, or direction that the organization should go.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: I think that when you get that kind of insight, I think it's great to have healthy discussion about why you want to implement their ideas or why or why not as well.
14:47
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
14:48
SPEAKER_01: All right, great conversation you had there.
14:50
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, he's he's a great guy.
14:51
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
14:52
SPEAKER_05: You know, the the uh key really to running a successful operation is communication.
14:56
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
14:57
SPEAKER_05: And he nails it, that's for sure.
14:59
SPEAKER_01: And AI is answering your dealership's leads, but what happens when it's time for a human to step in?
15:04
SPEAKER_01: Too often that handoff is where opportunities get lost.
15:08
SPEAKER_01: Here in the studio is Duran Cage, founder and owner of Cage Auto, to break down how dealers can begin align, begin aligning AI, BDC, and sales teams to turn more leads into appointments that actually show up.
15:20
SPEAKER_01: Duran, thank you so much for joining us.
15:22
SPEAKER_02: Bridget, thank you, Jim, thank you.
15:24
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
15:24
SPEAKER_02: And this has been fun so far.
15:26
SPEAKER_02: I was laughing, you're funny.
15:28
SPEAKER_02: This is such a great experience.
15:29
SPEAKER_02: So thank you so much for the 24-7.
15:33
SPEAKER_05: Thank you for making the trip into the studio.
15:34
SPEAKER_05: Studio interviews are always the best.
15:36
SPEAKER_05: You know, we don't understand not everybody can do it, but we appreciate you coming in.
15:39
SPEAKER_05: We do.
15:39
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no, it's been great.
15:41
SPEAKER_05: Awesome.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: So let's get into it.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: So technology is really half of it.
15:45
SPEAKER_01: Once the AI hands off the lead to a salesperson, um, then the human has to take over.
15:51
SPEAKER_01: Where do you see dealers struggling with that handoff?
15:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and is it okay if I start with a little story?
15:56
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
15:58
SPEAKER_02: I like telling stories.
15:59
SPEAKER_02: So, and this is real, but I'm gonna change the names and things.
16:02
SPEAKER_02: But what we normally see is let's say a shopper online at night, it's 9.57.
16:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:08
SPEAKER_02: Right?
16:08
SPEAKER_02: Young lady gets on there because that's the time that works best for her.
16:12
SPEAKER_02: So at 9.57, she finds this, let's call it a white Tahoe for this description, and she puts in her information online because this is the one that she wants to confirm the availability.
16:23
SPEAKER_02: So, right after she puts in that information, what happens next?
16:26
SPEAKER_02: Right now, in most dealerships, there's an AI assistant that's gonna reach out to her.
16:31
SPEAKER_02: When that AI assistant reaches out, sometimes they set an appointment.
16:34
SPEAKER_02: In this case, in this story, it does.
16:36
SPEAKER_02: So there's an appointment at 10 a.m.
16:38
SPEAKER_02: the next day.
16:39
SPEAKER_02: The customer shows up at 10 a.m.
16:41
SPEAKER_02: the next day ready to see this Tahoe, excited, fire up.
16:45
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
16:46
SPEAKER_02: Salesperson greets the customer, says, Have you ever been here before?
16:49
SPEAKER_02: Do you have an appointment?
16:50
SPEAKER_02: She says, Yes, I have an appointment to look at a Tahoe at 10 o'clock.
16:54
SPEAKER_02: Salesperson says, What?
16:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:56
SPEAKER_02: Who did you speak to?
16:57
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, who did you speak to?
16:58
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I spoke to, and I won't say the name of the AI assistant.
17:01
SPEAKER_02: So sales rep walks men, says, Maybe that's the BDC team, because he's never heard of this name before.
17:07
SPEAKER_02: Right.
17:08
SPEAKER_02: He goes to the BDC, said, Hey, did you talk to this customer?
17:11
SPEAKER_02: And they said, No, no, no, no.
17:12
SPEAKER_02: That was the AI that set the appointment at team.
17:14
SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay.
17:15
SPEAKER_02: So he goes back out to the customer and says, Oh, you communicated with the AI.
17:19
SPEAKER_02: And so what vehicle were you looking at?
17:21
SPEAKER_02: You said a Tahoe?
17:22
SPEAKER_02: Oh boy.
17:23
SPEAKER_02: So we'll pause there.
17:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
17:24
SPEAKER_02: What's the customer feeling?
17:26
SPEAKER_02: Oh, totally.
17:27
SPEAKER_02: Totally used.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, disconnected from the dealership.
17:31
SPEAKER_05: And also that it wasn't real for me.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:33
SPEAKER_05: That it wasn't real, right?
17:35
SPEAKER_05: Because they could have felt as though I thought I was communicating with a real person because AI is becoming that much more sophisticated.
17:41
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
17:41
SPEAKER_05: Right?
17:42
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
17:42
SPEAKER_02: And then there's another side.
17:43
SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna give you a variable to that story that we're seeing more common than not, because I post about this a lot.
17:49
SPEAKER_02: Is that now everybody wants to own this appointment the next day.
17:52
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
17:53
SPEAKER_02: So what you'll see happen is there'll be an automated message that comes in at maybe 8, 8:30 for the young lady.
18:00
SPEAKER_02: Then there'll be a BDC if they have that calling to confirm, then maybe a salesperson reaching out as well, and then a manager confirmation.
18:08
SPEAKER_02: So what we're seeing on average is about four touches, four different names when we're mystery shopping and doing this within the first 72 hours of a customer engagement.
18:18
SPEAKER_02: So I think, and it's funny, the the book that you were just talking about, I think it was Andrew.
18:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, it plays right into what we're talking about because we're really not talking about AI today.
18:27
SPEAKER_02: Right.
18:27
SPEAKER_02: We're talking about communication.
18:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right.
18:29
SPEAKER_02: That's where the barrier is because this is nothing new before AI, this would have been the communication between a BDC team, the sales team, and the leadership.
18:39
SPEAKER_02: It's just now there's this fourth layer, and I think a lot of dealerships are trying to figure out where, how do we make this all make sense so we can protect the customer experience?
18:48
SPEAKER_05: Right, yeah, no question about it.
18:50
SPEAKER_05: Um when an AI tool uh qualifies a lead, um, answers questions or gets a customer interested in a vehicle, who should own that lead next?
19:00
SPEAKER_05: I mean that that's kind of really the question.
19:01
SPEAKER_05: Is the BDC the salesperson or someone else in the dealership?
19:04
SPEAKER_02: I think it depends on the the staffing of that store.
19:07
SPEAKER_02: So if they have a BDC team and that BDC's role is to be the initial outreach, then they should own that.
19:14
SPEAKER_02: But if the BDC team is going to own that and it's going to end up with a salesperson, then they should be transparent in that.
19:22
SPEAKER_02: Like let the customer know.
19:24
SPEAKER_02: I think what most of us want to know as customers is what's the next step?
19:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
19:27
SPEAKER_02: Like what's actually gonna happen?
19:29
SPEAKER_02: It's okay to have these different names involved, but just clarify who's gonna do what.
19:35
SPEAKER_02: So it can be the BDC team, and then the stores that don't have BDC, this should be the sales rep.
19:41
SPEAKER_02: But I think the the opportunity here is you have to have somebody that's reviewing this all the time.
19:46
SPEAKER_02: You know, this is that manager we call it save a save an experience, save a deal review.
19:51
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, these are the things that we now have to look at, not just car deals that we missed, we gotta look at the experience.
19:56
SPEAKER_02: Right.
19:57
SPEAKER_02: Right.
19:57
SPEAKER_02: For sure.
19:57
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: So how how would you recommend a dealer, what kind of process should be taken for those dealers that do have the BDC to create to alleviate that gray area that that's happening there?
20:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it starts with the communication of let's let's get our playbook in line.
20:15
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so when a customer puts in a request, who's gonna do what and when are they gonna do it?
20:20
SPEAKER_02: Another place that we've got to look at is within our CRM, and then with the AI partner that we're using, we have to, you know how I talked about the automated reminders.
20:28
SPEAKER_02: Well, you'll sometimes have the AI sending appointment reminders, and then you'll have the human sending the appointment reminders, and you have at the CRM.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: So we have to make sure that we're looking at what is the AI's tool, like what's their um, what's the word I'm looking for, like their process, their flow, right?
20:47
SPEAKER_02: And then we got to look at our CRM and then look at our human element.
20:50
SPEAKER_02: And so once we get those three parts laid down, then it becomes easy on who's gonna own what.
20:55
SPEAKER_02: Right.
20:56
SPEAKER_02: I think ultimately, again, that champion, whatever title we want to give them, this could be your BDC manager now.
21:02
SPEAKER_02: I see the BDC manager's role evolving much more into that person that slows down to kind of set the bar for this and they're inspecting that.
21:11
SPEAKER_02: Right.
21:11
SPEAKER_02: Right.
21:12
SPEAKER_02: And then I think the BDC teams, I think over time, we're gonna see their role evolve more into almost like a trainer to that digital assistant.
21:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
21:21
SPEAKER_02: Because you're gonna have to always refine it.
21:24
SPEAKER_02: Like you talked about recalls just a second ago.
21:26
SPEAKER_02: I see AI agents at some point helping out with the recall space.
21:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
21:31
SPEAKER_02: But they need to be trained on how to communicate to the certain customers that are in the database.
21:35
SPEAKER_05: Right.
21:35
SPEAKER_05: How do you or what do you suggest to dealers when that customer comes in and realizes that, okay, this has been an AI, or maybe doesn't realize yet.
21:45
SPEAKER_05: Who wants to break the news to that customer that thinks, oh, so Susie, this AI person isn't really a real person?
21:52
SPEAKER_05: This is somebody that I have, you know, I I kind of feel like, oh wow, I've just been duped here.
21:57
SPEAKER_05: You know, I thought I was, I thought there really was a Susie, you know, that was keeping.
22:00
SPEAKER_05: Communicating with.
22:01
SPEAKER_05: How do you do that successfully and still, you know, maintain you know a good relationship with the customer because and so that they don't feel so, you know, so duped.
22:12
SPEAKER_02: I would say start with transparency with the AI.
22:14
SPEAKER_02: You know, what's wrong with the digital assistant saying that it is an AI, a digital assistant?
22:19
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
22:20
SPEAKER_02: Because if the customer knows right off the bat that that's who they're dealing with, that it's a virtual assistant, it's not a human, okay, then it it takes care of that because most of us probably are using some kind of AI tool already.
22:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:32
SPEAKER_02: So if we're already using an AI tool, it's not that the customer is going to get worried about that.
22:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:37
SPEAKER_02: Right.
22:38
SPEAKER_02: And then maybe put a barrier in there.
22:39
SPEAKER_02: If we're concerned in your area or your demographic that customers don't really want that, you know, give that option.
22:46
SPEAKER_02: You know, what's wrong with the AI agent saying, hey, I'm a virtual assistant, you know, I'm here online 24-7 to assist you.
22:53
SPEAKER_02: However, if you'd like to connect with a real person, I'll be more than happy to make sure that they get to you first thing.
22:59
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
22:59
SPEAKER_02: So now that kind of eliminates that, what should we do?
23:03
SPEAKER_02: But I think from a leadership standpoint is if we've got an AI assistant helping us, how can we take the experience to the next level?
23:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
23:10
SPEAKER_02: So this is where I love things like videos.
23:13
SPEAKER_02: You know, can the leader send a video to the customer?
23:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
23:15
SPEAKER_02: Right?
23:16
SPEAKER_02: Or can the company, the dealership, send a video about what's gonna happen next?
23:20
SPEAKER_02: But something that takes that experience to the next level because if we're using technology, then we should have more time to lean into that experience with each customer.
23:29
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's true too.
23:30
SPEAKER_05: That's true too.
23:30
SPEAKER_05: So you're saying early on, like as soon as that customer connects with that store on an AI basis, let them know that, hey, I'm I'm a virtual assistant.
23:38
SPEAKER_05: Okay, not to make it though, hey, I'm I'm kind of a person slash AI, but let them know right up front.
23:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because look at the best run companies.
23:47
SPEAKER_02: I won't name them, but when you look at global companies, national companies, most of them are very transparent that you are dealing with a virtual assistant, even when it's on voice.
23:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
23:57
SPEAKER_02: You know, they'll explain why they're the voice AI and what they're here to do and what they can solve.
24:03
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's what most people are wanting.
24:05
SPEAKER_02: They don't want to be tricked to where they're thinking that they're talking with somebody and then they're actually not a body at all.
24:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, the even the voice is it's getting the it's getting so incredibly uh impressive now and high tech that you it takes a while, you know, that you're talking to them.
24:23
SPEAKER_05: Think about that.
24:25
SPEAKER_05: Think about that.
24:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, right.
24:26
SPEAKER_05: Exactly.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: Let me check on that Tahoe for you.
24:28
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
24:29
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
24:29
SPEAKER_05: So it's getting very tough to determine that.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: It is.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: Do you find most of the AI tools out there do have that option to say, if you'd like to speak to a human, you can do that?
24:39
SPEAKER_02: I would say almost every AI vendor or partner, I should say, that we've seen now is setting it up to where they can, you know, augment.
24:47
SPEAKER_02: You can you can train that agent the way that you want it to sound.
24:50
SPEAKER_02: So it keeps the culture of your store.
24:52
SPEAKER_02: But this is that opportunity again.
24:54
SPEAKER_02: We need to communicate with that AI partner about what we're seeing because what we'll see far too many times is, oh, I can't stand the way that thing talks to our customers.
25:04
SPEAKER_02: Or and it's just like, well, did you communicate this to your AI partner?
25:08
unknown: Right.
25:08
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, well, did you trade your right?
25:11
SPEAKER_05: It's like trading an associate.
25:12
SPEAKER_05: Exactly.
25:13
SPEAKER_02: It's just like the humans again.
25:14
SPEAKER_02: It's just like our team, it's like a leader talking about one of our teammates saying they are terrible on the phone.
25:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right, right, right.
25:20
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, you're the you're their leader.
25:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's right.
25:23
SPEAKER_02: So coach them, develop them.
25:24
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
25:25
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's where we'll see where dealers will be able to do so much more when they lean into the development piece of their AI partners and the development of their employees.
25:34
SPEAKER_02: Like what role they play in.
25:35
SPEAKER_05: What what about after hours if it's an after hours call and do you still give them that option to say um I'm a virtual assistant?
25:42
SPEAKER_05: However, if you'd like to speak to a live individual, what do what do you do then?
25:47
SPEAKER_02: So normally I I would recommend they get that option when they're talking to them.
25:51
SPEAKER_02: So if a customer says, human, you know, you'll hear that human, human.
25:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
25:55
SPEAKER_02: They just need to be trained, the AI does, on I'll be more than happy to get you over to you.
26:00
SPEAKER_02: However, there's no humans available right now because you've reached us after hours.
26:04
SPEAKER_02: However, if you have questions about inventory, yeah, finance, trade, or anything like that, I can set up time for you to speak with them, but this conversation here should save us time, mainly save the customer time.
26:17
SPEAKER_02: But this is that communication piece.
26:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
26:19
SPEAKER_02: The team, when they come in, they have to slow down and read that interaction.
26:23
SPEAKER_04: Right.
26:24
SPEAKER_02: It's almost like if you remember when the internet really started taking off, the number one thing most trainers and dealers were saying pay attention to was that lead description.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: You know, when it comes in and the customer might have chatted online or they said that they've got a trade, you would slow down to read that before you interacted.
26:43
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
26:44
SPEAKER_02: Well, now we're seeing that more on the AI space.
26:46
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
26:46
SPEAKER_02: So when the team comes in, we've got to give them the time to slow down and look at everything.
26:51
SPEAKER_02: Maybe even have somebody come in 20 to 30 minutes before the dealership opens to just slow down and process what what the AI did the night before.
27:00
SPEAKER_02: Right.
27:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, good advice.
27:01
SPEAKER_01: Good advice.
27:02
SPEAKER_01: Anything else that you would see that uh maybe dealers uh could change uh with the way that they're handling leads in this age of AI?
27:11
SPEAKER_02: So I don't think so much with the way the leads are handled because we again we review so many interactions.
27:17
SPEAKER_02: I think dealers right now are hungrier than ever to um give the customers a great experience.
27:24
SPEAKER_02: That's where I think there's almost too many touches, almost we're trying too hard.
27:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
27:28
SPEAKER_02: And I think we need to back up and simplify the experience and label it like the road to the sale.
27:33
SPEAKER_02: So if any of us have been in the business 20 years or longer, we remember though that road to the sale.
27:38
SPEAKER_05: For sure.
27:39
SPEAKER_02: They need the digital version of that.
27:40
SPEAKER_02: Like what steps do the customers really need to take?
27:43
SPEAKER_05: Good point.
27:43
SPEAKER_02: And just help them get there.
27:45
SPEAKER_02: Back up on all the calls, text, emails, all that, and just get clear what do we really want the customers to do?
27:52
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
27:52
SPEAKER_02: And then when we get to that point, what happens?
27:54
SPEAKER_02: Because what we see when a customer gets to the finance application point, we know most customers want to do that.
28:02
SPEAKER_02: I think there's been data studies that say 60 to 70% of people want to do one or two steps online.
28:09
SPEAKER_02: But what we see is when that customer does that finance app and it's handled the right way with the right people, you have a much higher closing percentage because that customer is further down the line.
28:19
SPEAKER_02: Right.
28:20
SPEAKER_02: Just like the road to the sale.
28:21
SPEAKER_02: Right.
28:21
SPEAKER_02: But I think the bigger opportunity is what are we doing to get those customers back that we didn't convert in the first 30 days?
28:29
SPEAKER_02: We're all so focused, I'm not gonna say we're all, but many are focused on that zero to seven day or zero to 30 day customer.
28:36
SPEAKER_02: Where I think technology can help is that 31 to 90 day.
28:41
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
28:41
SPEAKER_02: When somebody put in an internet request or an unsold follow-up showroom.
28:45
SPEAKER_02: And then the other piece is the retail renewal.
28:48
SPEAKER_02: You know, going in those customers that are already in your database, and there's some phenomenal tools out there that can let you crawl that database and find the right customers at the right time.
28:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
28:58
SPEAKER_02: That's where an AI assistant, I think, is can do much more for the customer, much more for the employee than just focusing on that internet lead alone.
29:07
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
29:08
SPEAKER_05: And if you're calling people that are uh 30 days out, um chances are your competition that they've stopped at or called are not, they've written them off.
29:17
SPEAKER_05: They said, ah, they didn't buy, you know, forget it.
29:19
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna focus my energy more on the fresh-ups that come in or the calls or what have you.
29:23
SPEAKER_05: You might be the only one following up with them.
29:25
SPEAKER_05: That's it.
29:26
SPEAKER_05: Right.
29:26
SPEAKER_02: Because us as humans, if we're being real, if we're being real, how many of us want to follow up on a 45-day old customer?
29:34
SPEAKER_02: We got a new one that just came out.
29:35
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
29:36
SPEAKER_02: Who wants to make that 60-day call with urgency and love and light in their heart?
29:40
SPEAKER_02: We're like, man, I've tried this customer 25 times.
29:43
SPEAKER_02: But when this AI assistant can, let's say you run a campaign to those people, you see that there's behavior, there's engagement there, and now the AI serves a message to them, and then it turns into, hey, we need to reach out to this customer.
29:58
SPEAKER_02: Now the team can make a better informed phone call or text to that person.
30:01
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, for sure.
30:02
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
30:03
SPEAKER_05: Um for smaller dealerships uh that might not have a large BDC or a dedicated manager, how can they build a clear handoff process without adding more people or creating another layer of complexity?
30:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think the small stores have the biggest advantage right now, in my opinion.
30:21
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
30:21
SPEAKER_02: It's no it's no different than a small business.
30:23
SPEAKER_02: Like a company like mine, we can move so quick with technology.
30:28
SPEAKER_02: When it's a bigger organization, there's a lot of communication that needs to take place.
30:32
SPEAKER_02: So the smaller store, the opportunity that they have is to get their sales team to understand the power of the tools that they have.
30:40
SPEAKER_02: Right.
30:40
SPEAKER_02: Because what what we're seeing a lot is you have to use more than one dashboard.
30:45
SPEAKER_02: You'll have your CRM and then you'll have your AI partner sometimes that you have to use, or there's a Chrome extension.
30:51
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
30:52
SPEAKER_02: That's much easier to train and develop a team of four or five sales reps and a leader than it is an army of 40 people trying to use these multiple tools.
31:01
SPEAKER_02: So an owner and a sales manager with four or five salespeople, I'm talking about can get very creative right now if they wanted to.
31:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
31:09
SPEAKER_02: But it starts with, I would just say, training them, developing, and then what I've learned, even on our side in the business, is focus on one area first.
31:18
SPEAKER_02: You know, you might not have an issue with lead follow-up, but you might have an issue with retention.
31:26
SPEAKER_02: That's where you could put in an AI partner with the smaller team.
31:31
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
31:31
SPEAKER_02: So that's what I would say to the smaller stores, you have an advantage because you can move quick.
31:35
SPEAKER_02: Start with training and development, and then pick that problem.
31:39
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
31:40
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
31:40
SPEAKER_05: And dealers often track response times, leads, contacted appointments set, but what metrics should they be tracking to determine whether the AI is actually helping sell more cars?
31:52
SPEAKER_02: There's two that I would really focus on right now that I don't hear many talk about is that handoff time from when, because we talked about an appointment earlier, but what you see more times than not is a hand raise.
32:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
32:05
SPEAKER_02: Right?
32:05
SPEAKER_02: So the customer raised their hand and asked a question that the AI agent could not answer.
32:11
SPEAKER_02: Right.
32:11
SPEAKER_02: That handoff time is just as important as a lead response time.
32:15
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
32:15
SPEAKER_02: What we'll see sometimes is it goes 12 to 24 hours where a customer tells an AI agent, hey, I'd like to know about this, about financing.
32:24
SPEAKER_02: I'm three hours away.
32:26
SPEAKER_02: And then for the time it gets to a salesperson or the right person that can make the decision, it's been over 12 hours.
32:32
SPEAKER_02: And so they're driving a car already.
32:34
SPEAKER_02: I would challenge leaders.
32:35
SPEAKER_02: The way that we can say this the best is challenge leaders.
32:38
SPEAKER_02: If a customer came in in the showroom, yeah, and they said, Hey, I'd like to know about the lease.
32:43
SPEAKER_05: Right.
32:43
SPEAKER_02: The lease special on this XYZ vehicle.
32:46
SPEAKER_02: Could you could I could you get that for me?
32:48
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
32:48
SPEAKER_02: If the salesperson said, Let me give them my finance leader real quick and I'll get right back to you.
32:52
SPEAKER_02: Would we ever leave the customer there for 12 hours?
32:54
SPEAKER_02: 12 hours, right?
32:55
SPEAKER_02: No, and that's the same thing.
32:56
SPEAKER_02: Would the customer stay there for 12 hours?
32:58
unknown: That's it.
32:59
SPEAKER_02: Wouldn't happen.
33:00
SPEAKER_02: So that would be the key metric.
33:01
SPEAKER_02: I would say monitor your handoff time.
33:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
33:04
SPEAKER_02: And then the other two KPIs, key performance indicators would be, you know, how many appointments did the AI agent set by itself?
33:12
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
33:13
SPEAKER_02: Which sources did they come from?
33:14
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
33:15
SPEAKER_02: And then how many were assisted where it was both human and the AI.
33:18
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
33:19
SPEAKER_02: And it's more of the the dealership setting its own.
33:22
SPEAKER_02: But I think, you know, anywhere from, let's say if it's a lead to set, we should be striving for that 30%, 40%, or higher and refining based on the lead channels that the customer came from.
33:33
SPEAKER_05: Great question.
33:34
SPEAKER_05: Great advice.
33:35
SPEAKER_05: If you could change one thing about how dealerships are managing leads in the age of AI, what would it be?
33:45
SPEAKER_02: I would say I would go back to the two two things, communication and experience.
33:49
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
33:49
SPEAKER_02: Those would be the two most important things is don't forget about how important it is of what the human element brings to the experience.
33:59
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
34:00
SPEAKER_02: And I and I'm seeing too many people, I talk to leaders all the time.
34:02
SPEAKER_02: It's like I feel like my team is backing up a little bit.
34:06
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
34:06
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, it's okay for them to back up, but they need to double down on what makes that customer excited, fired up, almost, I would say, emotional intelligence.
34:16
SPEAKER_02: You know, use your videos, use your pictures, use your voice to take that experience to the next level.
34:21
SPEAKER_02: Don't just become a store that's just going to rely a hundred percent on technology to run it.
34:26
SPEAKER_02: Because at some point, I think we both know this.
34:28
SPEAKER_02: What happens when every store has a phenomenal AI agent and a great process in place?
34:34
SPEAKER_05: You sell more cars.
34:35
SPEAKER_02: Now, what's going to happen?
34:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's going to come down to the people behind it.
34:39
SPEAKER_02: People that still are leaning into their community.
34:41
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
34:42
SPEAKER_02: The one-on-ones that still need to be happening daily to lift our people up.
34:46
SPEAKER_02: What um Andrew's book that you just talked about, the communication internally, those are the things that are going to be the most important part of businesses moving forward in the future.
34:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
34:56
SPEAKER_01: Which is kind of getting back to where we were.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: It's going to circle all the way around.
35:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's going to be great.
35:02
SPEAKER_05: It's a great time.
35:03
SPEAKER_05: I think we have a question from uh one of our viewers.
35:05
SPEAKER_05: So let's take a look at what that looks like.
35:08
SPEAKER_05: If AI completes a sale, who gets the commission?
35:12
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
35:12
SPEAKER_02: Great question.
35:13
SPEAKER_02: I like that.
35:14
SPEAKER_02: It is, but no, the the the interesting part about that, that's a true conversation that dealers are having with their leadership teams because this is where I'll see some BDC teams kind of alter the experience because they're getting paid on what?
35:28
SPEAKER_02: Most internet sales teams are getting paid on appointments.
35:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
35:31
SPEAKER_02: Right.
35:32
SPEAKER_02: So going back to that KPI, if 20% of the appointments are set by the AI agent, do you still pay that BDC rep?
35:39
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
35:40
SPEAKER_02: And so I've seen where a BDC rep paused the AI every single time because they didn't want to lose their commission because that's a that's a mom.
35:49
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
35:49
SPEAKER_02: That's a family.
35:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
35:50
SPEAKER_02: Right.
35:51
SPEAKER_02: So these are things that this is where the opportunity is.
35:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
35:55
SPEAKER_02: How can I evolve the internet sales or the BDC person's role to where they can make more income with this technology and what other measurables would be important?
36:05
SPEAKER_02: But that's a great question that was just asked because dealers I know are watching this like, wait a second, if this tool is saying it's sold as 12 cars, why am I paying them and why am I paying?
36:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
36:16
SPEAKER_02: Right.
36:17
SPEAKER_02: You think dealers feel that way about commissions?
36:20
SPEAKER_01: So are you suggesting though that the BDC rep still gets the commission, though an AI handed it off?
36:25
SPEAKER_01: If they were the one overseeing it or have you Yeah, because there's still the handoff.
36:29
SPEAKER_02: There's still so much that goes into it because what we'll notice is if the AI is the only one that sets the appointment and no one else is involved, it typically has a lower show percentage than when there is an experience that comes on top of that.
36:43
SPEAKER_02: So when there is that video, there is that love, you know, confirmation, it tends to have a much higher show percentage when it's done the right way.
36:51
SPEAKER_02: So there's there's definitely a a role to compensate for both.
36:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
36:55
SPEAKER_02: But I think the opportunity is how can we get more out of our people?
36:58
SPEAKER_02: Because I think that's what the goal of technology was.
37:01
SPEAKER_02: It was either to either save expenses, save time, or increase revenue and profitability.
37:07
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
37:08
SPEAKER_02: It should be one of them, it should be doing one of those three things, or if you're living the best life, you're doing all three.
37:13
SPEAKER_02: All three.
37:13
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
37:13
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
37:14
SPEAKER_05: We got another question for you.
37:16
SPEAKER_05: What's that look like?
37:17
SPEAKER_05: What's a good process to get customer feedback on AI agents?
37:20
SPEAKER_05: How frequently should feedback be evaluated?
37:24
SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's good.
37:24
SPEAKER_02: That's a great question.
37:25
SPEAKER_02: I think you could um probably run some surveys from time to time.
37:29
SPEAKER_02: Maybe, like we'll see with the bigger companies, they'll hit you with a survey or rate this experience.
37:35
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
37:36
SPEAKER_02: I haven't seen many AI partners do that.
37:38
SPEAKER_02: So I think that's a great idea for a partner to maybe when an appointment was set, or maybe an appointment was not set, and it turns into that handoff, that we see a survey come from that partner.
37:48
SPEAKER_02: And if they can't do it, then the dealership can do it themselves.
37:51
SPEAKER_02: They can set it up in the CRM and just say, hey, you interacted with our team, we use AI technology, we wanted to get your feedback.
38:00
SPEAKER_02: What do you think about how our our experience was?
38:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
38:03
SPEAKER_02: What would you like to see change?
38:04
SPEAKER_02: Because that gets back to the that demographic and the culture of your store where some customers are completely in love with that AI experience.
38:13
SPEAKER_02: And you might be in some places where that's a no-no.
38:17
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
38:17
SPEAKER_02: And I see that.
38:17
SPEAKER_02: I mean, even as a consultant, when I'll go into stores, I ask, who here uses AI?
38:23
SPEAKER_02: And what I'll find is some people will literally look at me with a scald face and like, I don't like AI at all.
38:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
38:30
SPEAKER_02: You know, for whatever reason that is, but imagine if the employees are like that in your company.
38:35
SPEAKER_02: I know.
38:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
38:36
SPEAKER_02: Imagine what some of the customers are feeling like.
38:38
SPEAKER_02: So that's right.
38:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
38:39
SPEAKER_02: That's a that's a great uh suggestion.
38:41
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's great.
38:42
SPEAKER_05: No, no, no question.
38:43
SPEAKER_05: Um, yeah, the industry is going through this.
38:46
SPEAKER_05: Uh somebody described it to me uh not long ago.
38:49
SPEAKER_05: He said, because it's kind of cumbersome, we're still trying to figure it out.
38:51
SPEAKER_05: He said, You remember when uh computers first came out, we had dial-up?
38:55
SPEAKER_05: Everybody was like, Oh my god, what do I do?
38:57
SPEAKER_05: How do I get on?
38:58
SPEAKER_05: This is taking too long.
38:59
SPEAKER_05: That's kind of where we're at right now with AI still in the infant stages, right?
39:04
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
39:04
SPEAKER_05: But but at the end of the day, it's gonna mean a whole lot more to the operation of a dealership.
39:09
SPEAKER_02: I think that's where the biggest opportunity is, is in that operation's the time.
39:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
39:13
SPEAKER_02: There's a general manager or an owner watching this now that is used to spending one to two, three hours going through data to look at information.
39:21
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
39:21
SPEAKER_02: And now they can do it with their personal AI agent or the right company to get their information within minutes.
39:27
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
39:28
SPEAKER_02: To me, that's invaluable because I remember sitting behind that desk and getting to work at 7 a.m.
39:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
39:33
SPEAKER_02: Just to get ready for that doc.
39:35
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
39:35
SPEAKER_02: You know, your doc, your forecast, your inventory, your old age.
39:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
39:39
SPEAKER_05: And now you can get that information quickly.
39:41
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
39:42
SPEAKER_05: On the way in over a cup of coffee from your uh on your cell phone, right?
39:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's it.
39:46
SPEAKER_05: Really is just incredible.
39:47
SPEAKER_05: I spoke to a dealer that said um uh that his his best salespeople are coming actually out of the BDC, which I thought was interesting because they have lived that life of a BDC um uh operator or what have you associate.
40:03
SPEAKER_05: And uh and when they hit the showroom floor, they have a clear understanding of what's taking place in the BDC.
40:08
SPEAKER_05: Have you found that to be the case?
40:10
SPEAKER_05: That might be a great first step for somebody coming in into the industry to sell cars to say, get in the BDC for six months.
40:17
SPEAKER_05: And so you really have an understanding of what happens when that customer does call or connect.
40:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we've never seen a BDC team that we've coached, and even in my personal experience as a BDC person, um, go down in sales or go down in income from moving up.
40:31
SPEAKER_02: I might get in trouble because now it's gonna be a bunch of BDC people, I'm gonna sell cars.
40:34
SPEAKER_02: Right.
40:35
SPEAKER_02: But there's a natural progression that if they know how to use the tools because they should already know how to communicate with customers.
40:42
SPEAKER_02: Right.
40:42
SPEAKER_02: So the advantage that they have is they know how to use the tools, they know how to communicate.
40:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the only skill set they really need to learn is that art of going over the proposal and being comfortable with dealing with those objections that they might not normally deal with over the phone.
40:55
SPEAKER_02: But I'm a perfect example of somebody I went from a BDC manager to a GSM, skipped all the other steps, and it was because I knew how to help help everybody use their tools a little bit better.
41:06
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
41:06
SPEAKER_02: So I think the natural evolution for most BDC teams, uh BDC sales reps, will get into either that management of technology role as a CTO, or they could be a salesperson and be a complete rock star on the floor.
41:21
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I see that happening a lot, especially in the near future.
41:24
SPEAKER_05: Duran, is there a magic number volume-wise that that where somebody feels comfortable installing a BDC?
41:31
SPEAKER_05: I mean, if I'm selling a hundred cars a month at a dealership, 50 new, 50 used, is that is that store big enough?
41:38
SPEAKER_05: Can it afford a BDC, or is it better off just letting the salespeople still take the calls or well?
41:44
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it also depends on how many salespeople you have.
41:47
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
41:47
SPEAKER_02: Because you could run, you could call it a, and I almost don't like to use BDC, like inside sales team or online experience team, but either way, for this the the context of this conversation, you could have a small BDC team and then two or three sales reps, to where the sales reps all they focus on is delivering that experience and selling a car.
42:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
42:08
SPEAKER_02: And the BDC team, their number one job is to take care of everything we're talking about, the communication, the handoffs, the customers dealing with AI.
42:16
SPEAKER_02: But like we said earlier, if you have a small team, you're a smaller store, and you've got five salespeople, a manager and an owner, they could sell a hundred cars off of that five-person team.
42:26
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
42:26
SPEAKER_02: So it depends on your people, how well they'll use these tools.
42:30
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
42:30
SPEAKER_02: But normally we see BDCs more along auto groups.
42:34
SPEAKER_02: So we see it like, you know, with a five, ten store group, we see that more common, or a single store selling two, three hundred.
42:40
SPEAKER_05: And is that a when you say five or ten, you're talking about a centralized BDC or one in each store?
42:45
SPEAKER_02: So I'm seeing both right now.
42:47
SPEAKER_02: There's centralized, but then I'm also seeing where there's kind of like this director, and then they have one person at each store that's helping oversee the process.
42:56
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
42:56
SPEAKER_02: Depending on how spread out the group is, I like it if you can have somebody in each store because of the commute, the communication piece.
43:04
SPEAKER_02: Right.
43:05
SPEAKER_02: Because what I know my BDC team will feel this, when you're centralized, the hardest part of that handoff is communication to a manager.
43:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
43:14
SPEAKER_02: There's very few stores that I know that have a really, really tight communication, whether you're using like a Slack or Group Me or a good SMS system to communicate, hey, here's this customer, here's what's going on.
43:25
SPEAKER_02: But when you have that champion in store, it really does help.
43:28
SPEAKER_02: It just depends on how far spread out that store is.
43:31
SPEAKER_05: Sure.
43:32
SPEAKER_05: Sure.
43:32
SPEAKER_05: Um we've had a number uh of calls that we've made from here with Kyle Disher, who comes in.
43:38
SPEAKER_05: He's great.
43:39
SPEAKER_05: He's great.
43:40
SPEAKER_05: Still waiting for the people to follow up on that on those calls.
43:43
SPEAKER_05: Um follow-up still we suffer from in a big way in this industry.
43:46
SPEAKER_05: And of course, those individuals that are at dealership say, We need more leads, we need more leads, and then they don't take care, proper care of the lead.
43:54
SPEAKER_05: What's a what's a uh an acceptable response time?
43:58
SPEAKER_05: What is a customer looking, or where a product is a good idea.
44:00
SPEAKER_05: prospect looking for once they make contact with a dealership outside the automated oh thanks for calling us you know we we here's your standard text message or what have you what's the amount of time that it that a that a dealer needs to get back to a prospect that's acceptable to them the same time that it should be on the showroom floor yeah you know if a customer walks in and they ask a question okay how long should us should that customer wait you know if you're going to the tower or the desk or whatever it should be in a matter of minutes seconds because the engaged customer is the most important customer in my opinion outside of somebody on the showroom floor right because that person's actively talking to you or your digital assistant I think it's how we communicate to that customer and then what's that end goal focus on the steps.
44:46
SPEAKER_02: When you look at the largest run companies that have this dialed in they focus really on these three key pillars which is do let's help them find the right car do we have it do you need assistance with financing we got you on that note and then are you selling or trading your vehicle right it's really those three pillars it's that it's our road to the cell condensed down and so when we're communicating to that customer it either needs to be inviting them in inviting them to a phone call or helping them with the next steps online.
45:15
SPEAKER_02: And when we simplify it that way that that makes it to where that communication could be a lot quicker.
45:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
45:22
SPEAKER_02: Because if you don't know what to say that's what's making that let me get back to you let me get back to you.
45:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah then you go get with a leader who's working four or five customers in a showroom now that customer has to wait.
45:34
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
45:35
SPEAKER_02: So we have to empower our people and I don't see enough of this and I look forward to seeing this in our industry where BDC teams, internet sales teams even salespeople are way more empowered to do more to be able to review financing with the customer.
45:49
SPEAKER_02: Like imagine a a BDC team right now that they've all gone through finance school.
45:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah imagine if they all know how to appraise a vehicle could you imagine as a customer working with that associate and they can answer just about every single question that you have imagine a sales team that doesn't have a BDC and they can actually give a proposal I mean we were doing that my team in in good old Jackson we were doing this back in 2009 2010 my general manager Jim he got tired of me coming to him about this customer needs this customer needs this yeah so he throws his and I probably shouldn't share this but he throws his username and password to the blue screen right and he says you come get with me tomorrow morning and I'm gonna teach you how to do this.
46:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah changed my life because he got tired of me going back and forth with him.
46:36
SPEAKER_02: So I sit with him he teaches me how to work car deals then I train and watch him work real car deals and then now me and my whole team we're empowered to do a bunch of deals online.
46:45
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah of course of course I still had to approve get things approved through him but you even know at that point in time what the guidelines are what the guardrails are to say wait we're not going to take that kind of a gross on that car you know it's only a two day supply versus a car that we've got you know a a year supply on you know what kind of deal to make you know what to put on the trade you know empowerment yeah exactly great opportunity yeah empowerment no question about it Duran Cage thank you so much for joining us today this has been wonderful we really appreciate you coming to the Steve Bruce this is phenomenal this is phenomenal we're glad you had fun yeah I know our viewers got a lot out of your visit so thank you all right everyone thank you so much for joining us today be sure to join us again tomorrow at noon tomorrow uh noon on the sorry Eastern Eastern then yeah I don't know I lost my trade of thought for a second but nine o'clock on the west coast joining us today we'll see you right back here tomorrow all right go make it a great day let's go to the dragon keep it alone