One of the key tools salespeople have to progress deals is the option to present potential customers with quotes.  Many dealerships handle this within their DMS, however there are some that will build these using the Write Up Form.  By customizing the print output the Write Up Form can be a suitable alternative used to present quotes to customers, with the real sale and purchase agreement done via the DMS.

We also have several dealerships that utilize pre-built "email modules" to quickly and easily add quotes to their AutoPlay Email Responses.  These can be used for fleet deals, or for normal sales leads.  AutoPlay Quote Builder Emails can be created from a listing or used within the Sales Pipeline to communicate with your customers.  "Modules" can be customized to suit your specific requirements (development work for any changes is quoted on a case by case basis).

The AutoPlay Quote Builder is available from $100 p.m +GST (quoted on a per case basis dependent upon complexity of template).  

If you have any questions about the Quote Builder contact sales@autoplay.co.nz

The AutoPlay Sales Pipeline is great for keeping track of what vehicles are being Test Driven at any one time.  This is not only great for keeping track of vehicle availability, but also ensures that any speeding or parking fines can be attributed to the customer who had the vehicle at the time.

However did you know that AutoPlay can also be used to keep track of your Service, Employee, Sponsorship, Client Supplier or Press loan vehicles?  Once enabled the Loan Vehicle Form is managed through the vehicle registry screen and costs just $100.00+GST per month, per location. 

We've been working hard on the latest HTML5 version of the AutoPlay Studio.  It's been a huge project, but the good news is the finish line is in sight.

We have selected 5 dealers to start trialing a BETA version of the software from Monday April 1st, 2019.  This will provide us with first hand feedback on how dealers use the new system and allow us to make any tweaks that come up.  If you've been selected as one of the lucky few trial dealers we'll be in touch in March to give you access, and walk you through the new features.

We've also pinned down a full launch date of Monday July 1st, 2019.  This day is 99% locked in barring any catastrophes in the rest of the development project.  We'll share more details as they become available.

WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW VERSION OF THE AUTOPLAY STUDIO?

1. It's faster! - Our developers have worked really hard to make sure the new version of the software runs as quickly as possible.  This means it's a lot easier to search through your database of leads and customers.
2. It's more stable - One of the main drivers for rebuilding the Desktop software was to make sure we are taking advantage of the latest tech to provide our dealerships with a stable, cohesive platform that helps dealers run both their day-to-day and long term business.
3. It will work on a wider range of internet browsers - The current Silverlight based version of AutoPlay will only work on Internet Explorer (as Silverlight is no longer supported by other browsers).  The new version will work on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari etc - so you can use whatever browser you prefer.
4. You can use it on more devices - As it's browser based, you'll be able to use the new version of AutoPlay on a wider range of devices.  At present we only have the Desktop software, and a purpose built iOS App for iPhones and iPads.  The new version will work on Android and Windows smartphones and tablets - giving you greater freedom to use AutoPlay your way.
5. It's familiar....but better - We've made sure not to dramatically change the Sales Pipeline in the new HTML5 version of the software - after all, if it aint broke, don't fix it!  However this doesn't mean we've become complacent.  For example the Sales Pipeline Dashboard has had a number of key improvements driven by customer feedback.  We've introduced the ability to filter your leads by Created Date in addition to the normal 'Next Action' date, we've added a Updated column and we now show the method that was used to capture the lead (i.e manually loaded, Lead API, email capture etc).  
6. It will let us return to quarterly releases - For those dealerships that were customers before 2018, you'll remember we used to release a new version of the AutoPlay Sales Pipeline every 3 months.  As we've been busy working on the HTML5 version the normal release schedule has been disrupted.  Once we release the new version in July we'll be going back to quarterly releases - meaning that more of your good ideas will be able to be added to the AutoPlay suite of products, in a faster time frame.

KEY DATES
April 1st, 2019          BETA trial launch with 5 dealerships
July 1st, 2019           Full customer launch

You can contact matt@autoplay.co.nz if you have any questions about the new HTML5 version of the AutoPlay Sales Pipeline.

After a down December saw AutoPlay customers capture significantly fewer Leads, Test Drives and Sales than the month prior, January 2019 saw a significant increase in activity across all key KPI’s.  The volume of Leads (up 16.1% from Dec 18), Test Drives (up 19.5%) and Sales (up 16.2%) all returned to normal levels in January 2019.  

‘Web – Dealer’ regained the top spot as the most common source of leads for kiwi dealers in January 2019 – up 15.7% from December 2018.  This pushed ‘Web – Classified’ down to the second most common source of leads, increasing by 8.1% from the month prior.  In December 2018 the volume of ‘Brand’ leads suffered the most as brands wound down for Xmas – decreasing by 38.8%.  In January ‘Brands’ increased marketing activity back to normal levels and subsequently dealers using AutoPlay reported an increase in leads from this source of 29.7% from December 2018.

With the number of Test Drives captured overall increasing by 19.5% we saw an increase in Test Drives recorded against each Source with ‘Web – Dealer’ (up 10.5%), ‘Direct’ (up 20.1%) and ‘Web – Classified’ (8.7%) sources all seeing increases in Test Drive volume. 

​Continuing the trend, Sales increased across the board in January 2018.  Sales attributed to the ‘Web – Dealer’ source increase by 13%, ‘Web – Classified’ increased by 8.7% and ‘Repeat increased by 6.5% from December 2018 to January 2019.

​Make sure to check back in March to find out the most common sources of Leads, Test Drives and Sales in February 2019.  To find out more about the range of reports available via AutoPlay contact us on sales@autoplay.co.nz or +64 9 361 1505.