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Save Big - Consolidate All Of Your Telephony Services!

With all the technology that is available, an Auto Dealer has to assess the technology needs and cost to the dealership. Let's take a look at some of the technology that is available to the dealership; DMS, CRM, Internet, Email, Mail, E-Newsletters, Chat, Open House, Newspapers, AutoTrader, Cars.com, TV, Radio, and etc. Whether the dealership chooses to use all of this technology or just parts of it, they need a GREAT Telephony Solution.

Managing the communications of the dealership is an essential component of the business. Remember, if the phone does not ring, no one is buying! If the dealer is going to implement the latest technology to help their business succeed, they need to have a suite of telephony applications to complement these services. They should choose a telephony provider that can provide solutions that will support all the applications that are running at the dealership. In doing so, they should choose a Single Source Provider, SSP, which can offer a complete end to end solution with all the necessary telephony services. Here are ten assessments a Single Source Provider (SSP) can provide, without the need to engage four or five different telephone and software vendors. When choosing a SSP, you will also receive bundled pricing which is usually at a substantial discount and will save the dealer on their telephony cost.

1. Does their current telephone system integrate with all the applications the dealer has. If not, have the SSP offer options, including a telephone system, there are three choices, Digital, IP Telephony or Hosted. All three have their benefits; it just depends on the needs assessment of the dealership.

2. Is the voice and data network capable of handling all the traffic? Options such as T-1, MPLS, PRI, VPN, Public or Private Network, etc. are needed and should be provided by the SSP.

3. Network Cost; does the dealer have the best available plans for local, long distance and data traffic?

4. Inbound recording and tracking of Toll Free Numbers, do you have the best priced plan for your advertising solution?

5. Recording outbound calls, a dealer needs that capability to measure sales calls from the sales people and the BDC. This should be a seamless integration with their CRM. It can also be used to improve service results.

6. Voice Blast; do you have an integrated solution to send a message to your all prospects or clients with just one call?

7. Total telephony integration within your CRM system. Does the system tie into the CRM for the BDC, does it have a intuitive dialer, does it measure up dialing time verses time between calls, does it offer screen pops and recording all calls, outbound and inbound?

8. Mobility; salespeople should not be confined to a computer. With the proper telephony solution, a sales rep can manage their tasks and calls from any telephone, wireless, cellular or from home and it's all is tracked by the CRM.

9. Lead Delivery; A telephone solution that is integrated into the dealers' website. Whether it is Click to Call or managing a form on the website, once a prospect fills the form out, they should be connected immediately to the dealership while the prospect is HOT. It's always a problem to try to find that prospect once they leave your site.

10. Call Reporting: Does your call reporting give you the necessary reports that are needed to analyze your business and help you take corrective measures if needed.

Summary: Most auto dealerships use at least five different telephony vendors which mean five different bills, five different reps and no single source to manage it all. I will list a few of them; Local Voice Carrier, (Verizon, AT&T, CLEC) Long Distance Provider, Telephone Hardware Dealer, Data Provider, Toll Free Provider, (Who's Calling, CallBright), Voice or Message Blast (One Command), Click to Call Provider, etc.

Conclusion; there are Single Solutions Providers that can be the Dealerships greatest asset for all of their voice and data communication services mentioned above. Having a SSP and all of the telephony services from the SSP, the realized savings can pay for a number of the applications the dealer currently has running.