Dallas, TX – RedBumper, a new breed automotive inventory management company, today announced the release of an entire suite of Service Drive and Sales Equity tools for its dealers, SmartDrive. SmartDrive very efficiently allows a dealer to identify in real-time customers coming through their service drive that are in a positive equity position. By mining the data from the dealership’s sales history, SmartDrive determines the approximate payoff for any service customer’s auto loan and compares this payoff amount to local auction prices. Customers with positive equity are identified and the sales managers are alerted, creating the ultimate process for capitalizing on service drive opportunities.
“SmartDrive goes way beyond just identifying vehicles in the dealer’s service drive with positive equity, said Bruce Thompson CEO and founder of RedBumper. “While there are a few companies out there in the market that do this today, the real key is to understand and develop a process that allows the dealer to capitalize on the opportunities. SmartDrive integrates these vehicles directly into a manager’s appraisal cue each day. With a simple click, the manager gets every detail needed to evaluate the value of the vehicle, including information on the original salesperson. Once a value is determined, the manager simply clicks and the system will find every new and used vehicle in their current inventory that they can sell to the customer today, for the exact same payment or less.”
RedBumper’s calculations use the customer’s existing equity as a down payment and the manager selects the optimal replacement units to present based on profitability. The salesperson meets the customer in the service drive when he comes to pick up his vehicle. The message is very simple; “We need your car and you can be driving a brand new one today, with no money down and the same payment you have today.”
According to industry statistics, it’s estimated that 20-25% of service drive customers have positive equity in their vehicles; for every 100 customers, the dealer has 20-25 opportunities to turn service into sales. RedBumper allows both service writers and salespeople to download its apps for free. Based on credentials, users view only the information management wants them to see. However, by leveraging Smartphone technology, instant alerts can notify all parties that the service customer has either dropped off his vehicle, or arrived to pick it up. Through seamless integration, the information instantly flows into the used car manager’s appraisal workflow each day, creating the ultimate process for capitalizing on service drive opportunities.
RedBumper also harvests leads from historical sales. Using algorithms similar to those used in the service drive, it determines which vehicles are in positive equity position today. These are fresh new leads that can be worked every day. These units are automatically sent to the manager’s appraisal cue each day as well as emailed to him each morning.
“Now dealers can dramatically increase sales by simply using their own historical data in the right way,” said Thompson. “One North Carolina dealer sold 23 units out of his service drive alone last month, and he’s just getting started! The real beauty is not only can dealers sell new vehicles, but also acquire great pre-owned inventory in a tight market. The dealer knows all the service history of these pre-owned vehicles so he knows what he’s getting when he buys or trades for the vehicle. The reason customers go to a competitor is because the dealer hasn’t been on his game. Done properly, with the right tools, the dealer’s own customer base should be replacing vehicles every 3-4 years. Add that to new sales and you can understand why each and every new customer is so valuable. It’s like compound interest.”
SmartDrive is automatically integrated into RedBumper’s base product, or it can be purchased stand alone at a substantial discount to current tools on the market.
For more information about RedBumper call: 1-888-339-1116, or visit, www.RedBumper.com
