#DigitalRetailer Podcast

Your Leads Deserve Better

Let’s get real for a second.

I’ve been in this business for over two decades — as a salesperson, a manager, a trainer, and now building software to help dealers sell more cars. And I can say without a doubt: most dealerships are butchering their lead follow-up.

I know, because I mystery shop stores all the time. I submit leads. I request offers. I test the process. What do I get in return?

Voicemails that sound like hostage negotiations:

“Hey this is John from ABC Toyota please call me back thanks click.”

Emails that feel like bots wrote them. Texts that don’t acknowledge anything about what I did on the dealer’s site. Just generic, box-checking garbage.

And listen — I get it. You’ve got automation in place. You’ve got templates. You’ve got AI tools writing your first responses.

But here’s the thing no one’s telling your team:

Speed doesn’t matter if the message is worthless.

Lead Follow-Up Is Not a Checkbox

If you’re in sales, follow-up isn’t a task. It’s not just something you “do.” It’s the moment.

That’s the window where the customer decides if you’re a real pro — or just another rep dialing for dollars.

And that’s where we lose so much opportunity. Not because we’re not “fast enough”…

…but because we don’t connect.

Think about it: that customer didn’t accidentally submit their info on your website.

They didn’t just randomly drop a VIN, name, phone number, and email for fun.

They had intent. They engaged. They took time.

Now you’ve got a lead in your CRM — and this is your chance to build trust and momentum. Or?

You check the box, send the script, and wonder why they ghost you.

How the Customer Engaged Should Shape Your Follow-Up

Here’s the strategy shift:

The way a customer becomes a lead matters. A lot.

At intice, we’ve built tools that create intentional conversion pathways — from credit score checks, to scheduling a test drive, to building a deal online, or getting a real-time trade offer.

Each one of those paths tells you something powerful:

What the customer cares about

What step they’re on in their buying journey

How you should talk to them next

If someone checks their FICO score through LoanMaker, don’t hit them with a “Just following up on your inquiry” message.

You thank them for getting prequalified. You edify that move. You invite them in to take the next step.

That’s the difference between “responding fast” and selling cars.

Here's the Fix — And It’s Free

We built a tool called intice ECHO. It’s simple, free, and available right now.

It gives your team real talk tracks, call guides, and scripts based on how the customer actually converted on your website.

We’re not talking about a robotic script. This is a framework that helps your team sound like a pro — even if they’re brand new.

📞 Phone call guides

📩 Voicemail scripts

💬 SMS templates

🎥 Even video response ideas

Every interaction is designed to feel human, relevant, and personal. Because that’s what actually moves the needle in this business.

This Isn’t 2005. Lead Closing Rates Shouldn’t Be 5%.

I’ve seen stores with lead-to-close rates in the 4–6% range. That’s not a lead problem — that’s a people problem.

When we coach teams, implement better follow-up, and leverage tools like ECHO, we can easily push that to 10%, 12%, even 15%.

Do the math on your lead volume. That’s hundreds of cars per year.

Stop Talking Like a Robot. Start Connecting Like a Pro.

Salespeople: don’t wait for the automation to “do its thing.”

Use it as a starting point, not a crutch. Grab the lead. Make the call. Be human. Move with urgency. Show them that you’re different.

Managers: mystery shop your store. Find out what your team is really saying.

If you’re not impressed, neither is your customer.

Dealers: you’re already spending thousands on ads to drive leads. Don’t blow it at the moment of truth.

Give your team the tools, the training, and the framework to win.

👊 If you want the ECHO tool — it’s free.

DM me or drop your email in the comments.

And if you’re serious about closing more leads and fixing the follow-up gap that’s costing you real money every single month — I’m ready to help.

Because your leads deserve better.

So do your customers.

And so do you.

– David Farmer

Founder & CEO, intice

CarMax trained your customers to expect instant offers—so we built a tool that gives your dealership the same power, with better results.

In this episode of 360° Live, I’ll walk you through how Express Cash Offer creates a dedicated trade funnel that pulls in motivated sellers, drives real appointments, and gives your store an edge in used car acquisition.

We’ll break down:

The psychology behind the instant offer model

How Express Cash Offer fits into a full-funnel campaign

Real strategies to drive traffic via social, CTV, and email

The appointment layer that actually gets customers to show

If you're tired of losing trades to national buyers, this is the playbook to take them back.

💬 Drop your questions in the chat or DM me for a full campaign walkthrough for your rooftop.

We all want more traffic, more leads — but the truth is, you don’t have a lead problem. You have a conversion problem.

In this live session, I’m breaking down the full journey:

I’ll walk through the exact breakdown:

We’ll expose the biggest blind spot in the automotive sales process — and the real reason why your lead-to-close ratio is underperforming.

💡 Hint: It’s not your marketing budget.

Let’s talk strategy, tech, process — and how to turn more leads into real showroom opportunities without spending a dollar more on ads.

David Farmer leads a session focused on enhancing CRM opportunities to boost closing percentages for dealerships. He emphasizes the need to improve the overall system rather than just generating more leads, introducing the intice360° for effective lead engagement. The session showcases a dealership website that integrates customer engagement tools, allowing for seamless inventory viewing and lead generation through CTAs. Key features include two-factor authentication for security, real-time offers, and personalized communication strategies to enhance customer experience. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding customer motivations and training salespeople to effectively present payment options.

In this live session, I’m breaking down how to set real goals and actually track your progress across Internet Leads, Phone Calls, and Walk-In Traffic.

I’ll be revealing a brand-new Dealer Dashboard Tool I built using AI—designed to help you monitor total leads, sales by source, and pacing in real time. This is a game-changer if you're serious about turning data into deals.

If you're running a BDC, managing a sales team, or just trying to stop flying blind each month—this live training will give you the tools (and mindset) to get hyper-focused and actually hit your numbers.

👉 Track leads.

👉 Track sales.

👉 Get pacing reports.

👉 Hit your goals.

Don't miss this one.

By David Farmer, Founder & CEO of intice

After my last video, I got a comment that made me realize something: even though we’ve been talking about our success with Honda for a while now, there’s still a misconception out there that intice360° is just for Honda dealers.

Let me be crystal clear—we’re not. Not even close.

Yes, Brandon Honda in Tampa was our very first intice360° website customer, and yes, we’ve expanded across a ton of Honda and Acura stores. We’re part of the Honda and Acura digital dealer programs. But our footprint is expanding—and fast—across multiple OEMs.

And that’s what today’s blog is about: showing exactly how flexible, powerful, and tailored our intice360° website solution really is across different brands.

Our Website Platform Is Built Different

When I say we offer a full website solution, I mean it. Most website providers give you a CMS—a bare shell—and then leave it up to you to stack a bunch of overpriced, disconnected widgets on top of it.

With intice360°, there are no add-ons. Everything is included. It’s one platform. One provider. One seamless experience.

Our MAKER Suite includes:

LeadMaker® – our $25 Test Drive scheduling tech

TradeMaker® – full trade-in experience with KBB integration or real-time Express Cash Offers

DealMaker® – full digital retailing from first click to final pencil

LoanMaker® – pre-approval and credit tools, soft pulls included

Credit Score Express® – customers get their score without a hard hit

Entice Chat – our fully integrated, live chat solution

It’s all built in. Not bolted on.

Kia, Acura, CDJR: See How intice360° Flexes

Let’s break it down by brand, so you can see how we’re adapting our tech and design to deliver the best possible experience—and stay OEM-compliant.

Kia – Herson’s Kia, Rockville MD

We’re not in the official Kia program, but we are 100% compliant. Herson’s brought us on after years of working together on their Honda store. What we’ve built for Kia is visually striking and strategically tuned.

Generative AI hero sliders tailored to Kia branding

Factory fonts and full compliance reviews before go-live

CTA stack engineered for lead capture: schedule test drive, get trade offer, get pre-qualified

Specials pages with embedded video offers, dynamic CTAs, and “send to mobile” lead capture

It looks tier-one. It performs tier-three.

Acura – Jim Hudson Acura

This store helped get us into the Acura Digital Dealer Program, and they’re absolutely crushing it.

Certified, approved designs and offer formats

Custom video content using Acura assets and drone footage of the store

Clean UX with smart white space and high-impact callouts

Fully integrated Maker Suite inside every VDP and SRP

Fuse videos—new format, professionally produced, 100% compliant

Everything feels native to the brand, but distinctly intice360° under the hood.

CDJR – Scott Robinson Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

Our newest launch, and it’s a killer execution.

Deep use of generative imagery, brand-themed design, and Jeep color palettes

Dynamic inventory filtering by brand (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram)

Videos produced in-house for every special—website, social, and display ready

All lead gen tech embedded with no third-party vendors needed

Local SEO pages for each surrounding market with custom content and AI-optimized copy

Again—we’re not in the program (yet), but the work speaks for itself.

Unified Tech, Tailored Experience

Every dealership gets a fully branded, OEM-specific experience powered by the same enterprise-level back-end. That means:

Custom illustration styles based on brand (Jeep gets Jeeps, Kia gets Kias)

Video ads with factory-correct visuals and messaging

Dynamic offer banners that match your inventory and update daily

Fully VIN-decoded digital retailing tools built right into the page—not launched in a separate window

This isn’t plug-and-play. It’s precision-built.

More Than Websites

Yes, we build websites—but that’s just one piece.

With intice360°, you also get a full digital advertising platform:

Paid Search (with no markup)

Paid Social (also no markup)

Video Pre-Roll, YouTube, CTV, Conquest Email, and more

Real-time video offer production, synced to your specials

SEO and local content strategy custom-built for each store

And you get one bill. One team. One solution.

Dealers Deserve More

We built intice360° because dealers were tired of Frankenstein websites and overpriced widget stacks. They wanted:

Websites that convert

Ads that perform

Tech that works

Support that gives a damn

So we gave it to them.

If you're tired of chasing down six different vendors to manage your website, chat, trade tool, digital retailing, and ads—we should talk.

We’re already delivering this for dealers across Honda, Acura, Kia, CDJR, and more.

You can get the best-in-class solution right now.

👉 Visit intice.com

to learn more, or reach out directly. I’d love to show you what intice360° can do for your store.

—David Farmer

Founder & CEO, intice