AdAgencyOnline.Net

THOUSAND OAKS, CA, APRIL 12, 2011 – IntellaCar, LLC announced today the release of IntellaCar™ 2.0, the next generation of the ground-breaking iPad/iPhone app that has proven to increase dealership sales effectiveness within weeks, revolutionizing the car sales experience for both dealerships and consumers. A mobile sales tool, IntellaCar empowers Sales Consultants with instant “anywhere” access to crucial information. From vehicle specifications to inventory details to competitive comparisons, IntellaCar helps them make the sale.  IntellaCar 2.0 adds new features that boost its impact even further, including: 

• ·         Ability to capture customer data and send it directly to dealer CRM
• ·         Email and printing to easily share content with customers
• ·         Garage function that saves/shows selected vehicles
• ·         On-the-spot vehicle data capture for appraisal 

IntellaCar charter dealerships have experienced dramatic results in the first few months, and are anticipating an even stronger outcome from IntellaCar 2.0. Sales Consultants using IntellaCar not only exhibited significant monthly sales increases that outpaced dealership averages, but new Sales Consultants were able to get up to speed more quickly, and even the most successful Sales Consultants experienced gains.  Noel Graham, Manager at North Hollywood Toyota, says “The more we use the product, the more our sales people are actually learning…IntellaCar has given us a new advantage.” 

IntellaCar’s intuitive interface is optimized to help Sales Consultants make the sale within their existing sales process.  Information is prioritized based on customer needs and summarized for a quick read during the sale. Dealer-specific content, such as inventory and “Why Buy Here” provides a competitive edge. 

Intellacar was created by a passionate team of automotive marketing specialists with decades of experience in developing OEM and dealership solutions, led by Co-Founders Jim Hughes and Bruce Polkes. Their expertise is in simplifying the complex and facilitating the sales flow, critical in today’s world of information overload. IntellaCar is committed to helping dealers improve the customer experience and bringing back the excitement of purchasing a new vehicle. For more information, contact Jim Hughes at (805) 241-5000 or info@IntellaCar.Com; or visit www.IntellaCar.com.

AdAgenyOnline.Net, a nationally recognized  automotive advertising resource / networking portal, reviews cutting edge automotive advertising technologies and vendor solutions on their hosted blog talk radio station — WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time.  This week’s Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising show, moderated by Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., will feature a review of InstaQuote in an interview with Carlos Diaz, the founder of InstaQuote and the C.E.O. of Caryote.  The show is scheduled to air live on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2011 between 12 Noon and 12:30 PM EST.

Philip shared his reasons for reviewing InstaQuote as a possible conversion tool for his affiliated automotive advertising agencies and his online audience of automotive advertising decision makers. “To price or not to price on an auto dealer’s website is a question that automotive advertising agencies have already answered with a resounding yes.  Customers demand transparency in their online shopping experience and price is a question that must be answered almost before it is asked.  Some auto dealers stick to the old school philosophy of posting MSRP with an offer to contact them for their best Internet price.  Their intention is to preserve gross profit and incentivize the online shopper to contact them so the dealer can explain why price isn’t as important as their product and excellent service.  Unfortunately, today’s educated consumer knows that the best price is only a click away and they can service their vehicle anywhere after their purchase.  Although, why would they go to the dealer that wanted to overcharge them for the vehicle in the first place?”

“I am reviewing InstaQuote for an Internet Sales Manager who contacted me to ask if they could provide an efficient way to instantly quote a competitive price to his online shoppers as well as in response to his leads sourced from various third party providers.  Frankly, I am not a believer in auto response based systems, however sometimes limited staff and resources force a dealer to choose between an automated response or no response at all.  The solution lies in a hybrid of a timely response with a competitive price followed by a personal reply to fill in the holes and establish a relationship with the customer.  Customers soon discover that most dealers will “meet or beat” any legitimate price so their objective  quickly converts to finding a dealership that they are comfortable with.  Price still matters but people and process are more of a consideration for online shoppers who are compiling their short list of dealers to visit.”   

“InstaQuote is able to quote 100% of a dealers’ new vehicle Internet leads from their own site, the manufacturers’ site and third party marketing platforms in seconds.  They use proprietary multi-point information matching to ensure quotes are generated accurately in a very comprehensive conversion tool on the dealers website using a manufacture-grade configurator that follows business rules defined by the dealer to respond to all inbound inquiries.”

“Perhaps the most unique value offered by InstaQuote is the customer friendly format that the price is delivered in.  In addition to providing the price on the vehicle selected by the customer, they also quote several comparable vehicles as well as providing information on the dealer including a convenient Google based map and directions to facilitate a visit.  When combined with a comprehensive follow up system integrated into a process powered by a motivated staff and efficient CRM I can see InstaQuote as a key ingredient in the sales process.”

About Carlos Diaz

In early 2001, after the “dot-crash”, Carlos Diaz, the founder of InstaQuote was forced to enter the car business as a means to support his family and like most others who first enter the “business”, the transition was not easy. Mr. Diaz had over 7 years of web development experience having worked for such companies as General Electric and UGO.  Carlos was ahead of the curve with in-depth knowledge of the internet and programming. Now armed with car sales experience, he was a perfect fit for the internet department which, at the time, no other salesperson wanted to be part of.

Carlos quickly excelled in achieving his sales goals. However, he still felt the process was too complicated, which was due to his dealership’s refusal to let him answer the number one question presented by all online customers, “What is your best price?”. This was when the idea of a system that could provide price quotes to customers without dealer interaction came to his mind. This was the birth of InstaQuote.

For the next few years Carlos worked for various dealerships. He also continued to evolve InstaQuote from a simple access database to a full featured website designed to help him increase his personal sales goals.

In 2003, while working for a Honda dealership in New Jersey and after achieving numerous awards from both the dealership and Honda, he was taken aside by the VP of Operations and asked what his secret to success was.  Nervously he told the VP about InstaQuote, who proceeded to immediately promote Carlos to Internet Sales Manager on one condition, that he allow the dealership to use InstaQuote. A few months later, and after helping increase the dealerships status to number one in the nation, Carlos was promoted to Director of eBusiness Development.  Carlos managed six Business Development Centers for 7 franchises,  all powered by his InstaQuote system.

About InstaQuote

• Caryote Technologies, Inc. is a privately held, Phoenix, Arizona based corporation.

• The name Caryote (pronounced car-yote) is derived from the words “Car” and “Coyote” which was inspired by an encounter with a pack of 3 Coyotes on the day the company was formed.

Products/Services

InstaQuote was originally designed and developed in late 2001 as a way to enhance the overall car buying experience. It offers the user the opportunity to use the internet as a means to avoid in-dealer negotiation of a vehicle.

The InstaQuote Philosophy

1. Provide a high-quality, intuitive, and engaging email based quote that offers the perfect balance of information and interactivity to satisfy the customers immediate needs and promote dealer communication.

2. Incorporate the latest web based technologies that enhance the overall customer experience.

3. Introduce industry leading features that promote dealer transparency, such as finance and lease payment options.

4. Provide easy-to-use dealer controls that feature simple instructions and familiar layouts that mimic their existing processes for price setting.

5. Allow for simple integration and implementation into any dealer environment, which complements and enhances existing sales processes.

About Philip Zelinger

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online and founder of AdAgencyOnline.Net.  He invested 25 years as a General Manager and Dealer Principal followed by his last ten years in the automotive advertising industry learning from the teams that he built so he can now presume to teach.  His role as a “Dealer Coach” is enhanced by his hosting a nationally recognized auto industry social networking portal and blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time.  As the author of two books on the auto industry, including “How To Sell A Car – a Career Guide to The Automobile Industry,” he is a recognized authority on market trends and developing technologies with the responsibility of selecting key vendors and applications for his dealer clients as well as forming strategic partnerships for his vendor clients to leverage their shared resources to bring their products and services to market.

About AdAgencyOnline.Net and Ad Agency Online, L.L.C.

AdAgencyOnline.Net reviews automotive advertising vendors and new technologies on several blog talk radio shows in addition to the Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising.  Other shows include “Auto Industry Insiders”  and “Automotive Advertising Experts.”  The shows attract automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers, auto industry vendors and O.E.M. representatives that listen to WAAOL to find vendors, applications and technologies to maximize the R.O.I. for their automotive advertising dollars.

AAOL is a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies linked by an online communication / distribution system developed by Philip Zelinger.  The proprietary operating system that powers AAOL was designed to reduce fixed and semi-variable expenses for full service automotive advertising agencies.  The developing technologies that enhanced the performance of the independent automotive advertising agencies linked by AAOL has served as the role model for the solutions suggested on AdAgencyOnline.Net and represented by AAOL to their affiliated automotive advertising agencies when serving their auto dealer clients.

Ad Agency Online L.L.C is focused on discovering and representing new automotive advertising vendors not yet recognized by the mainstream automotive advertising industry. Recent automotive advertising vendors represented by AAOL include; Argistics – AutoTransaXion, SiSTeR Technologies Video CarLot, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies,  Gumiyo, Kihon Media, CarFolks.Com, Ai Dealer, Laser Stream Video, ronsmap and IntellaCar; to name a few.

Previous guests interviewed on WAAOL include a growing number of automotive advertising experts.  Past guests included, Clayton Stanfield from EBay Motors, Mark Dubis from CarFolks.Com, Jared Hamilton from DrivingSales.Com, Dale Pollak from vAuto, Jerry Daniels from Automotive Broadcasting Network, (ABN), Terry Alling from Kihon Media, Brian Ferris and Spencer Sterling from DealMaker.Com, Mike Parsons from Laser Stream Video, Brian Hoecht from Ai Dealer, Ralph Paglia from ADP and host to the auto industry social networking community ADM, Len Critcher from ecarlist.com, Tim Zierden from AAX, Jim Ziegler, consultant to the auto industry, Jeff Kershner, host of DealerRefresh.Com, Jeff Raab from the Detroit Trading Company, (DTX), Mike DeCecco from Dealer.Com, Ken Schwartz from CityTwist, Michael R. Spadafore from R. L. Polk & Co., Kevin Schwartz and Rick Rochon from AdSymetrix, Bruce Cerbone from Argistics, Scott Davis from Bull Dog Marketing Technologies, Matt Watson from VinSolutions,  Michael T. Fay from Colliers International Of South Florida and their C.A.R.S. division, Matt Brown and Zack Powell from TheDealerDashBoard.Com, Mark Burack from Liquid Motors, Pat Ryan, Jr. from FirstLook, Al Cantarella from AutoWebsitePlus.com, Michael Roscoe and Cliff banks from Dealer Communications, Steven Munyan from HireTheWinners.Com, Todd Mathews from WideStorm, James Crouse from CloudOne, Brian Story from VehSmart, Mike Martinez from izmocars and most recently Jim Hughes from IntellaCar.

For more information on Philip Zelinger, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., InstaQuote or any of the preferred automotive advertising vendors previously reviewed on WAAOL contact Philip through AdAgencyOnline.Net.  Automotive advertising vendors, automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers that would like to be considered as a “preferred automotive advertising vendor” on AdAgencyOnline.Net and/or to hire/join Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. to represent them can contact Philip Zelinger at pzads@bellsouth.net, call him at 888-796-2228 or visit AdAgencyOnline.Net at http://adagencyonline.net.  To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!”  ###

THOUSAND OAKS, CA, JANUARY 31, 2011 – IntellaCar, LLC announced today the nationwide launch of IntellaCar™. IntellaCar is an innovative mobile sales presentation and training tool that revolutionizes the car sales experience for both dealerships and consumers. Toyota Dealers are the first franchise to be offered this game-changing platform.

IntellaCar empowers Sales Consultants with a one-stop source of information using an intuitive interface that is optimized to help them make the sale within their existing sales process. It includes product features/benefits, walkarounds, competitive comparisons, technology demonstrations, third-party reviews and more. The information is prioritized and aggregated using IntellaCar’s proprietary Optimized Information Delivery system, based on customer purchase motivations and summarized for a quick read during the sale. The accurate, unbiased information gives customers a better understanding of the vehicle and a more confident, gratifying purchase experience. For dealerships, the differentiating dealer-specific content, such as inventory and “Why Buy Here,” provides a further competitive edge. IntellaCar’s mobile platform runs on iPhone, iPad and iTouch, enabling it to be used anywhere, in or out of the dealership.

Results from the IntellaCar pilot tests at various Toyota Dealerships were outstanding, and dealers have been extremely pleased with their IntellaCar experience. Mike Shum, General Manager at Sunnyvale Toyota, says, “The three things that IntellaCar has brought to the team are 1) the speed with which they can deliver information to the consumer that is relevant, precise and accurate, 2) its mobility doesn’t limit them to sitting at a sales station and 3) it helps new sales people acclimate to the product knowledge they’re going to need a lot faster.”

IntellaCar was created by a passionate team of automotive marketing specialists with decades of experience in developing OEM and dealership solutions, led by Co-Founders Jim Hughes and Bruce Polkes. Their expertise in simplifying the complex and facilitating the sales flow, so critical in today’s world of information overload, was honed at Hughes Hunter, Inc. an automotive marketing firm. IntellaCar is committed to improving the customer experience of purchasing a new vehicle, while empowering the sales consultant to assist today’s educated consumer. For more information, contact Jim Hughes at (805) 241-5000 or info@IntellaCar.Com; or visit www.IntellaCar.Com. ###

IntellaCar FAQ’s:

What is IntellaCar?

• IntellaCar is a sales presentation platform that resides on an iPad, iPhone or iTouch – providing the Sales Consultant with instant access to information, such as walk around. features/benefits, technology videos, competitive comparisons, inventory, and more.
• Due to the mobile device, the sales consultant can access this information wherever and whenever he/she needs it during the sale – even without a connection. It enables them to build value in a vehicle and simplify the complexities – all without leaving the customer.
•  Relevant information is organized and prioritized based on the customer’s individual stated needs; actually re-sorting the data to maximize relevancy.

When is it used?

• It is used during the actual sale, to share unbiased facts with the customer, or the SC can just look up something.
• The flow is  based on best practices, but it is not structured scripts. It’s designed to synchronize with the sales process from the sales consultant’s perspective, yet is flexible as every situation is different.

Why is it valuable to the sales consultant and the customer.

• It empowers the sales consultant to assist today’s educated consumer; enhancing credibility, building trust and engaging  the buyer. It enhances values, so there is less focus on price.
• The sales consultant has complete control and access to everything they need to earn the customer’s trust and business … in that order!
• In the end, INTELLACAR delivers a more efficient, effective and engaging sales experience, where the customer can make a confident purchasing decision.

In today’s consolidating auto industry automotive advertising agencies must maximize the R.O.I. in a quantifiable manner for any investment they make of their time or with their client’s money.  Social media, including directed investments in and with Facebook, presents some unique challenges to monetize the services provided by an automotive advertising agency.  I recently replied to a question posted on FOCUS, a social networking portal I support composed of professionals sharing best practices, titled — Do Facebook Stores Really Do Anything – How Do You Monetize Facebook?

That question revealed a new area of responsibility for automotive advertising agencies.  Agency retainers are no longer supported by production fees associated with conventional radio, TV or print advertisements.  Media savings and commissions for placing broadcast media have also taken a back seat to consulting on Internet based investments and enhanced selling processes leveraging the viral nature of social media.  In part, providing production and associated Creative and Marketing Services have been supplemented by Consultation Services focused on key vendor selection, directing social media activities and integrating selling processes on websites with those at the dealerships.  Easier said than done when attempted through the glass wall of the Internet.

Automotive advertising agencies are constantly challenged to provide a verifiable R.O.I. for their services in a consolidating auto industry.  Most agencies take credit for everything from website and floor traffic to conversion rates and increased sales to support their fees.  Unfortunately downsized dealers with reduced staff and budgets now rely on detailed R.O.I. analytic tools built into every process and application to track their individual investments; or at least they should!

In response to these new dealer expectations, most vendors integrate a Dealer Portal into their solution that quantifies and qualifies the results of their application independent of the advertising agency’s possibly self serving analysis.  Automotive advertising agencies have found that, as with any recommended vendor or advertising investment, their agency retainers and commissions must also be supported by quantifiable results.  In a performance based business model with line item accountability the R.O.I. from Facebook and other social media investments in time and money can prove to be hard to quantify.

My actual answer to the post on Focus concerning how to monetize Facebook was, “The key to answering this question is to manage the expectations of the advertiser.  If their goal is to make as many friends as possible with the confidence that people like to do business with people that they like — then the answer is an unqualified yes!”

“Social networking sites have unique personalities and rules that govern the conversations that they manage for their online community of friends designed to filter out direct sales messages. The market on Facebook is a conversation that exists before, during and after the shopping / buying decision. Any sales and/or marketing message is best delivered from the inside out as a C2C message between like minded consumers sharing their experiences vs. from the outside in as B2C message delivered by a self serving retailer.”

“As a result, direct sales messaging in Facebook stores will only go as far as the reputation that the retailer has earned by his/her other contributions to the community and of course their track record with previous customers and their willingness to share their experiences online.”

“The R.O.I. from Facebook is realized by collecting a data base of Facebook friends that allow retailers to group their friends by categories. The ability to then deliver relevant messages in a scalable and efficient manner to a qualified and targeted group of potential customers as one friend to another is the way to monetize Facebook.”

“In addition, the R.O.I. should not be limited to considering only short term sales since it is often reflected by increased traffic to the retailers website and/or an enhanced reputation that is only evident over time and reflected in the referrals and customer satisfaction / retention that it develops.”

“Finally, the search engines have weighted references in social media in their algorithms to determine their rankings and page positioning for retailers. As a result, conversations about the retailer on Facebook can be reflected in improved S.E.O. that might not be otherwise achieved. Also, the value of W.O.M.O. — Word Of Mouth Optimization — is less tangible and verifiable, however it has similar value which must be factored into any R.O.I. analytics.”

I have since added specific areas of responsibility concerning the need for the affiliated automotive advertising agencies of Ad Agency Online to help build, manage and monitor the Facebook stores that we are recommending for our auto dealer / vendor clients.  As with any website, price and product matter … unfortunately, in that order.  It is not enough to simply set up the site and sit back to monitor and manage the results.  The more productive Facebook stores are built with the same focus on their online retail displays as they apply to their brick and mortar facilities.

AdAgencyOnline.Net, a nationally recognized automotive advertising resource / networking portal, announced that they will reviewing a respected auto industry focused Internet marketing platform, AutoRevo, on their blog talk radio station WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time.  Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and the host of WAAOL, will be interviewing the President/CEO of AutoRevo, Chad Polk, on his blog talk radio show Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising.  The show is scheduled to air live on Wednesday, December 01st, 2010 from 12:00 Noon to 12:30 PM EST.

The pair of automotive advertising experts will be sharing best practices with automotive advertising agencies anxious to help their auto dealer clients to maximize their R.O.I. from the virtual showrooms they are building on the Internet Super Highway to compliment their brick and mortar facilities on their local car row.  Consumers have clearly chosen the Internet as their media of choice to gather the information that they need to purchase a new or pre-owned vehicle. AutoRevo has an earned reputation as an automotive advertising vendor able to build a website that is consumer centric while providing applications that promise to increase site traffic and improve conversion rates for their auto dealer clients.

Philip Zelinger has recently reviewed several website providers with expanding marketing platforms for his affiliated automotive advertising agencies.  These competing automotive advertising vendors are being considered as preferred automotive advertising vendors to be featured on AdAgencyOnline.Net.  Philip explained why he decided to included AutoRevo in his vendor review for his affiliated automotive advertising agencies. “Every auto dealer has their own unique personality and needs and it is unlikely that I will find any single website provider that can service them all.  AutoRevo attracted my attention based on some positive feedback that I heard about them from their existing auto dealer clients and I decided to learn more about them for mine. I was impressed by the diversity of their Internet marketing platform that included applications focused on the mobile market as well as the expanding value of integrating social media and reputation management into the auto dealer’s online marketing plans.  After all, what are friends for!”

About Chad Polk

Chad Polk is the President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-founder of AutoRevo that was established in December 2003. Prior to his technology career, Chad was an NCAA student-athlete at Baylor University, where he played baseball.  After college, he finished his baseball career with the Toronto Blue Jays in their minor league system.  While at Baylor, he earned a degree in Management Information Systems, which became a springboard to his technology career.  Chad began his technology career at a large consulting firm in Dallas, Texas, where he consulted on various offerings, from Microsoft technologies to web development. Polk then moved on to start a full-service listing management company called eGiantAuctions. Seeing a need for auto dealers to manage all Internet marketing channels from a single application, he started AutoRevo.

About AutoRevo

AutoRevo now services dealers across all 50 states and Canada with its robust Internet marketing platform, combining custom dealer websites, market pricing comparisons, mobile inventory management, SEO services, social media, email marketing, reputation management, and online inventory distribution.  After 7 years of triple-digit growth, AutoRevo placed in the top 1000 on the Inc. 5000 list, as well as being named for the second year in a row to the Dallas 100.  Today, AutoRevo is highly focused on rapid expansion of its current product suite and professional services.  For more information, visit http://www.autorevo.com or call 888-577-9229. Read the rest of this entry »