Ask a dealership where its leads come from and you'll get a confident answer: Carsales, the website, Facebook, manufacturer leads. Ask how many phone enquiries came in last week, who took them and what happened next, and the room goes quiet.

Phone enquiries are some of the warmest leads a dealership gets. The customer has picked up the phone. They want to talk. And they're the leads most likely to vanish, because nobody types them into the CRM.

Why phone leads disappear

  • They rely on someone doing data entry. A consultant takes a call between two customers on the floor and means to log it later. Later never comes.
  • They're recorded badly. "Guy called about a Ranger, will come Saturday." No surname, no number, no follow-up.
  • They skip allocation. Whoever answers owns it, even if they're about to go on leave.
  • Nobody hears how they went. A web lead leaves a paper trail. A phone call leaves nothing, so a consultant who's losing calls can do it for months without anyone knowing.
  • They're invisible to marketing. If phone enquiries aren't counted, the campaigns that drive calls look like they're not working.

What basic call tracking does

Traditional call tracking gives you tracking numbers per ad or source, a call log and recordings. That tells you a call happened and where it came from. It's a start, but someone still has to listen, work out what the customer wanted and put it in the CRM.

What AI call tracking adds

AI call tracking does the listening and the data entry for you. Here's how Dealership Marketing's AI Call Tracking works on new and used car sales calls:

  1. A customer calls your dealership. It works with your existing phone system, so there's no need to change provider.
  2. The AI evaluates the call in real time and works out which department the lead belongs to.
  3. The lead goes straight into your CRM, filled in with the customer's details from the call and a short summary of what was discussed. In Odin, it's allocated to the consultant who took the call.
  4. The AI Phone Coach reviews the call, praises what went well and gives specific feedback on what to improve.
  5. Managers are alerted when key sales criteria were missed on a call, so they can step in while the lead is still warm.

All call data is stored securely in Australia.

What to look for in call tracking software

  • Works with your current phones. Changing phone provider is a big, risky job. You shouldn't need to.
  • Fills in the CRM for you. If a person still has to type up the call, you'll get the same gaps.
  • Knows your departments. New and used enquiries should land with the right team.
  • Coaches, not just records. A recording nobody listens to changes nothing. Feedback on every call does.
  • Keeps data in Australia.
  • Handles recording notices properly. Callers should be told their call may be recorded. A short notice on your phone system takes care of it; we help you add one during setup. Check your own obligations with your adviser.
  • Works with your CRM. Best of all if it's built to work with the CRM your team already lives in.

Rolling it out

  1. Add the recording notice to your phone system.
  2. Connect your phones and CRM. Phone enquiries start landing as leads straight away.
  3. Tell the team why. It's not about catching people out. It's about never losing a lead and getting better on every call.
  4. Use the coaching in your weekly meetings. Pick a great call and a call that got away, and talk through both.
  5. Watch the phone leads in your reports. For the first time, you'll see how many enquiries the phone actually brings in, and how many turn into appointments.

Better calls, not just more data

Call tracking tells you what's happening on the phone. Turning that into more appointments is a people job. That's why AI Call Tracking pairs so well with The Sales Reset, our 4-week in-dealership sales program: the training sets the standard, and the AI Phone Coach keeps coaching every real call after the four weeks end.

See it working with your phones. We'll show you how AI Call Tracking logs, summarises and coaches your sales calls, and how it feeds Odin. Book a demo.