It has been observed that the effective application of most of the CRMs is a complex process.  As a result, regardless of their experience and skill, all types of users struggle to learn using them. 

CRMs deliver a number of features and benefits that are extremely critical for the sales managers. This includes centralized management of customer account, and tracking and reporting off sales opportunities.   In most of the cases, the management wants all their sales representatives to utilize the CRM for receiving essential information relating to the customers and analytics relating to the sales cycle. However, many sales representatives consider this process to be a wasteful practice because there is almost no return for them on the entry time invested.  

Moreover, most of the mobile CRMs tend to keep the salesmen confined to their desk because they are not lot-ready. This is why most of the sales professionals are rather reluctant about these solutions.  There is no denying the fact that it is extremely difficult to get back to the desktop during the deal closure process that may involve handling multiple interested clients at a time. 

Ideally, a CRM solution should be designed to make lives easier for the sales professionals instead of putting additional burdens on them.  This is probably the reason we still find some highly proficient sales old-timers that prefer using a pen and paper to stay updated with their prospective clients while working their lots.  

Many automobile dealerships end up paying well over $1500 every month for CRM solutions that fail to deliver the desired results.  On top of that, thorough training is required for most of these CRM solutions. At times, the dealerships are left with no other alternative but to hire full-time managers to ensure proper roll-out, management, and usage of the system. 

Most of the automobile dealerships feel that the perfect CRM solution for them is the one that requires no more than five minutes to learn. Systems that are more complex can be detrimental to the productivity of the dealerships because it doesn’t help the salesmen in selling, their specialized skill. 

It is interesting to note that most of the auto dealerships are able to utilize only ten percent of their CRMs features. Considering the steep price of these CRM solutions, this is certainly an extremely high underutilization of available resources.      

Dealers should also be cautious about upsell products such as dealership websites and services for data appending. Some dealerships may benefit from all-in-one CRM packages, but these solutions are not fit for all. The employees managing the CRM system play a crucial role in the dealership. If that person decides to leave, someone else should be able to take charge of the same immediately. 



Many dealerships feel that the one of the most serious concern areas of a CRM solution is its mobile component. To ensure efficient functioning for a sales representative on the lot, the best suited mobile solution must be lightweight. Also, there are many vendors using a desktop client with responsive web versions that are completely different when used as a native mobile application. The most useful solutions for the dealerships are the native mobile CRMs equipped with features such as ID scanners and VIN scanners. 

Dealers require a simple CRM system that allows them to manage the team of salesmen without the hassles of using a management dashboard that is overwhelmed with reports and tools that are irrelevant to them. Most of the vendors charge an exorbitant amount to provide CRM training to the sales team. However, when a new representative joins the team, the dealerships are left with bland training videos. 

The interface of the CRM must be interactive and colorful. A user-friendly graphical interface is generally preferred by the sales people because it makes the process of entering client details more interactive and easier.   

Unfortunately, a high percentage of industry players only provide unnecessarily complex and unimpressive software tools. Available for extremely high prices, these solutions focus more on sales management rather than the professionals selling the vehicles. 

Looking at the needs of the dealerships, it is important to have mobile CRM solutions that are as simple to use as the popular social media platforms. The goal should be to create simple solutions that support the sales professionals in their day to day work. 

It is possible to create CRM solutions that bridge the gap between the dealerships and technology by linking the prospects of the dealership to its inventory, offering the basic, and leveraging social media and cloud computing.