If You’re Not Working With Auto Dealers, You’re Missing Out on Big Sales Opportunities

Did you know ACS Cloud Partners has a division that targets just this market?

ACS Cloud Partners runs a subsidiary that brings the latest communications technologies and capabilities to auto dealers.

Auto dealers, especially franchised groups and disparate brands that merge, face unique technology challenges that ACS, through its DealerSys division, solves. We’ll get into those particular issues and their fixes down below.

But first, it’s important to understand that targeting auto dealerships adds a lucrative demographic to ACS partners’ pipelines. Not only is there plenty of opportunities to go around, but ACS is the only technology services distributor that even specializes in auto dealership solutions.

Thousands of Auto Dealers in the United States

Consider just the number of new-vehicle dealerships as one example of the untapped potential in front of you. According to research from IBISWorld, the United States alone counts 17,600 new-car dealers as of this year.

Meanwhile, the number of used-auto dealers goes even higher, reaching 150,854 as of this year as well, per IBISWorld. Read the full article.

Altogether, that’s a lot of possibilities for channel partners. Adding even just a few auto dealers to your client roll will significantly increase your revenue.

Start looking in your sales territory for a couple of tell-tale signs that an auto dealer could use your technology expertise:

A large, possibly out-of-state, company that recently purchased a local, perhaps family-owned, dealer? In this scenario, the big buyer tends to determine which phones and software will stay or be replaced. Sometimes a channel partner is already involved. However, investigating the situation and bringing ACS Cloud Partners-delivered technologies to the table could very well put you at the top of the heap.
Have two or more auto dealer brands merged? Chances are high that their technologies are either aging or won’t work well together (or both!). Showing these customers how to streamline communications and software through ACS Cloud Partners’ auto dealer-specific solutions will highlight opportunities to save money while taking advantage of digital transformation to boost revenue.

Given the issues that ACS-delivered technologies mitigate for auto dealers, you’ll likely encounter some willing ears in your sales process. Let’s take a look at some of the more common challenges auto dealers encounter, then we’ll share how you, through ACS, can turn those challenges into assets.

Time for Change

Digital transformation isn’t just a buzzphrase — it’s a real need, and auto dealers are a prime market.

We say this from experience. A surprising number of auto dealers still use copper-based telecom systems, which are quickly going extinct. Even the dealers that have switched to digital platforms aren’t done upgrading their technology. There’s always more they can incorporate to help employees work with more efficiency and therefore be more productive, and, in turn, generate more sales.

That’s one reason why ACS Cloud Partners fields so many orders for VoIP systems that integrate into auto dealers’ customer relationship management software. Auto dealers also often add call-tracking analytics with real-time monitoring, reporting, and all the AI-powered enhancements that come with that software. That way, they immediately start getting the most out of their investments.

VoIP, as you most likely know, boasts a number of benefits, including:

Cost savings. Installation and maintenance expenses are lower with VoIP than they are with copper, and there are no long-distance or per-minute fees. (Plus, as more carriers retire their copper assets, copper won’t remain an option for much longer anyway.)
Advanced features that POTS can’t support. Those include video calling, call forwarding, and sentiment analysis, among many others.
Scalability. The ability to turn extensions and features on and off as needed is vital so dealers can easily accommodate changes in buyer demand and/or the number of staff.
Integrations that copper cannot support. This is especially critical among auto dealers that merge operations. In many cases, disparate locations and franchises use different technologies and vendors that do not interoperate. Auto dealers have to implement VoIP, an sometimes, streamline software so they work from the same data sources

Of course, migrating to VoIP and its associated resources also means the auto dealer will have to replace its copper connectivity with fiber. VoIP will not function on copper lines. But that’s okay because fiber brings higher bandwidth and faster data transfer speeds — and copper’s going the way of the dodo anyhow.

Beyond the Phone

IP technologies deliver much more than just a new phone system. Working with ACS Cloud Partners to install this modern infrastructure gives auto dealers the freedom to add more platforms that help them do the following, as just some examples:

Enhance the customer experience.

More consumers now demand the ability to visit a digital showroom before ever going to the brick-and-mortar dealer. Auto dealers have to run websites that enable 360-degree views of each available vehicle, offer online chat, and capture prospects’ data. In fact, strategic digital marketing has become more necessary than ever in the age of dealer-less vehicle buying (think direct-to-consumer companies including Carvana, Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid).

Manage Inventory

Similarly, auto dealers need to update inventory in real time. Buyers have little patience for showing up for a test drive only to discover the vehicle they had in mind is gone. When that happens, they tend to leave negative online reviews that then impact an auto dealer’s reputation. In an era of tough competition, auto dealers must take all steps possible to avoid issues that can translate into lower sales numbers.

Assess prospect and customer sentiment.

Auto dealers’ sales and marketing experts have to craft campaigns and talking points to create a sense of urgency that builds revenue. Next-generation communications platforms with artificial intelligence capabilities help do that.

Process credit cards.

Not everyone finances new vehicle purchases in traditional ways. Plus, auto dealers usually have service departments. For both aspects, they need to process credit cards — with extreme assurances of customer security and privacy protection. On that note, auto dealers have become potentially lucrative targets for hackers. Auto dealers house a range of sensitive data, from home and email addresses to social security numbers and banking information. Helping auto dealers stave off cyberattacks has become more critical than ever.

Conclusion

The auto dealer-focused technology providers ACS Cloud Partners have signed all speak to at least one of these needs. In our next blog, we’ll discuss more about why you want to work with auto dealers, and we’ll highlight the unique solutions specific to the auto sales industry. Tune in for that because these companies aren’t doing what the rest of the pack is doing — and that’s why we chose them.

As a partner with ACS Cloud Partners, we help you build your business through countless resources like our FiberLookup™ and PricingPRO™ tools and dedicated sales support teams. Our partners also benefit with customized commission structures and marketing techniques to increase revenue. Because of our established relationships with providers, you are able to market the full portfolio of products to your customers.

If You’re Not Working With Auto Dealers, You’re Missing Out on Big Sales Opportunities