He Sold the Car Without Training: Should Service Drive Leads Push to the CRM?
One store planned to switch off the CRM push for service drive leads. They forgot, and what happened next changes how you should think about it.
Mike Crothers says dealers using MOTO(acquire)'s service drive acquisition tool are buying cars within minutes of turning it on.
One store bought its first car out of service within 24 hours of going live, with the CRM push still turned on.
The salesperson who sold that car was never trained on the tool. He got a CRM lead, went to the service customer, and sold the car.
Pushing service drive leads into the CRM lets your sales team work them like any other lead, without a new process to learn.
MOTO(drive) stores consistently buy about 1% of their repair orders without dedicated service acquisition hires.
Every dealer setting up service drive acquisition hits the same question: should service drive leads push to the CRM, or should they stay in a separate tool for a dedicated buyer to work? A lot of stores lean toward keeping them separate. They worry about cluttering the CRM or handing leads to salespeople who don't know the process. One store's accident answered the question better than any setup meeting could.
Mike Crothers, CEO of MOTO(acquire), shared what happened right after launch. As he put it: "Dealers are buying cars like within minutes of turning it on out of service."
What happened when the CRM push stayed on
One store went live and bought its first car out of service within 24 hours. That alone is a good start. The interesting part is how it happened.
During setup, the store planned to turn off the CRM push. Then they turned the tool on, got busy, and forgot. So the push stayed on, and service customers who said yes flowed straight into the CRM like any other lead.
The salesperson who ended up selling the car had never been trained on the tool. In Mike's words, "He just saw a customer. The customer said yes, it pushed into CRM, he got assigned it, he went back there and talked to him and sold the car. It's like that easy."
Picture it from the desk: a salesperson sees a new lead pop up, and it's a customer sitting in service. Maybe he calls, and the customer says, "I'm here." He walks back to the service lounge and sells him a car.
Should service drive leads push to the CRM?
Based on this story, Mike's answer leans toward yes. Here is why it worked:
No new habit to build. Your salespeople already live in the CRM. A service customer who wants to talk shows up exactly where they already look for work.
Speed. The customer is physically in your building for a limited window. A lead assigned in the CRM gets worked while the customer is still in the lounge, not after they've picked up their keys.
Training isn't the bottleneck. The salesperson in this story didn't need to learn a new screen. He needed a lead, a customer, and a reason to walk back to service.
Keeping leads separate can make sense if you have a dedicated buyer covering the drive. But if you don't, the CRM push is what gets a real person in front of a ready customer fast.
How long does service drive acquisition take to work?
The examples Mike shared point to fast results. Dealers are buying cars within minutes of turning the tool on, and this store bought its first one within 24 hours. You can see another example in this video about a store that bought a car on its first day live.
Over time, the bigger number to watch is your buy rate against repair orders. For context on what a steady month looks like, see how many repair orders a dealer can expect to buy from.
How MOTO(drive) handles the handoff
MOTO(drive) is MOTO(acquire)'s service drive acquisition tool. It uses your DMS data and automated texts to reach service customers, pushes VIN and miles to your inventory tools, and alerts the sales team when a customer is ready.
MOTO(acquire) integrates with all major DMS platforms and many others, including Tekion, Dealertrack, CDK, Reynolds, and Auto/Mate. If your DMS isn't connected yet, MOTO(acquire) will build the integration. MOTO(drive) stores consistently buy about 1% of their repair orders without dedicated service acquisition hires.
For more on buying from your service lane, browse the service drive acquisition video library.
Frequently asked questions
Should service drive leads push to the CRM?
In Mike Crothers' example, leaving the CRM push on is what made the sale happen. The lead was assigned to a salesperson who had never been trained on the tool, and he sold the car anyway. Your sales team already works the CRM, so service leads get handled fast without a new process.
How long does service drive acquisition take to work?
Mike says dealers are buying cars within minutes of turning on MOTO(acquire)'s service drive acquisition tool. One store bought its first car out of service within 24 hours. Results depend on your store, but early buys are common once the tool is live.
Do my salespeople need training to work service drive leads?
The salesperson in Mike's story sold the car without any training on the tool. The lead showed up in the CRM, he was assigned it, and he went back to service and talked to the customer. If your team can work a CRM lead, they can work a service drive lead.
Do I need to hire a dedicated service buyer?
Not necessarily. MOTO(drive) stores consistently buy about 1% of their repair orders without dedicated service acquisition hires. Pushing leads to the CRM lets your existing sales team cover the drive.
Which DMS platforms does MOTO(drive) work with?
MOTO(acquire) integrates with all major DMS platforms and many others, including Tekion, Dealertrack, CDK, Reynolds, and Auto/Mate. If your DMS isn't connected yet, MOTO(acquire) will build the integration.
Find out what's sitting in your service drive
See how MOTO(drive) stores consistently buy about 1% of repair orders without adding a service buyer. Start with the service drive readiness questionnaire.
More on Service Drive Acquisition
Full transcript
We just recently launched our service drive acquisition tool, and right out of the gate dealers are buying cars within minutes of turning it on, out of service. There's this store up in Utah. Within 24 hours they bought their first car. The cool thing was, when we set this up, they were going to turn off the CRM push.
But they just didn't do it, because they turned it on and then they got busy. They were like, oh, we forgot to turn off the CRM push. So the guy that sold the car didn't even get trained on how to use this tool, MOTO. He just saw a customer. The customer said yes, it pushed into CRM, he got assigned it, he went back there and talked to him and sold the car.
It's that easy. Salesperson at the desk: oh, a new lead, customer in service. All right. Or he might have called the customer and the customer said, I'm here, and then he just went back and sold him a car.