A dealership CRM is bought for three reasons and kept for one. It is bought for lead handling, for reporting the general manager can trust, and for the connection to the dealer management system. It is kept, or abandoned, on whether salespeople actually log an up. A single-rooftop store buying the same product a twenty-store group runs will pay for an administrator it does not have, so score on your own size.
CRM products single-rooftop dealers commonly shortlist, and what to make each one show you
Not a ranking. Siftvo publishes no score of its own and no vendor pays to be named here. The order is alphabetical and the line after each name is the thing to make that vendor show you in a demo, scored on your own sheet.
- CDK Global: DMS vendor with a CRM alongside: ask what the CRM costs standalone and what the integration adds
- Dealertrack: dealer systems across several functions: ask which parts you are actually buying at one rooftop
- DealerSocket: long-standing dealer CRM: ask for median time to first contact at stores of your size
- Elead: dealer CRM with a large installed base: log an up on a phone, one handed, in the demo
- VinSolutions: dealer CRM with published product detail: get the DMS connection cost and write-back answer in writing
Speed to first contact, measured
Ask each vendor how a lead from your own website and from a third-party listing site reaches a salesperson's phone, what happens if nobody responds in five minutes, and what the manager sees. Then ask for the median time to first contact at stores of your size. Speed to first contact is the number that most reliably moves closing rate, and it is comparable between vendors in a way features are not.
The DMS connection, priced
Which dealer management system you run, whether the connection is certified, whether it is read-only or writes back, what it costs per month, and who pays when the DMS vendor changes something. This is the line most often missing from a first quote and the one that most often decides the total. Get it in writing per vendor and put it into the cost calculator as its own monthly line.
Whether salespeople will use it
Logging an up on a phone in under thirty seconds, on the lot, with one hand. A task list that is obviously today's work. Texting from inside the record rather than from a personal phone. Ask to be shown all three on a phone, not a desktop. A CRM the sales floor works around produces reports that are wrong, which is worse than no reports.
Questions people ask about best automotive crm
Do we need a CRM built for automotive?
Almost certainly, because the DMS connection, the up log and desking are specific to the trade. A general sales CRM will need enough configuration to cost more than the specialist product.
What about texting customers?
Ask how consent is captured and recorded, since contacting customers carries rules about consent and opt-out that are your obligation. The software should make honouring them easy and should record what was agreed.
Is there a best dealership CRM?
Not one we will name. We publish no ranking and no vendor score. Score the shortlist on lead speed, the DMS connection and phone usability, weighted for a store your size.