AutomoBuzz: August 7th – In this week’s edition of AutomoBuzz I announce the success of Drive Motors raising an additional $5.2M in incubator funding. This leads into my declaration on the use of the term ‘Automotive E-Commerce’ for the idea of buying cars online as opposed to Digital Retailing or Online Checkout, part of an ongoing debate between Ed Brooks and myself. I introduce the upcoming webinar about the use of Artificial Intelligence for Car Dealers with AutoLeadStar CEO Aharon Horwitz, as well as the recent and forthcoming Refresh Fridays on DealerRefresh. I also mention the new book I’m reading by my friend and colleague Steve Stauning called “Sh*t Sandwich.”
Drive Motors Raises $5.2M
Since launching online checkout for car dealers in 2016, Drive Motors has surpassed 1,000 car orders per month, and $250 million in annual order volume for its dealership customers. Large in part because of this, Drive Motors announces that last week it has raised $5.2M in another round of funding.
“We are excited to back Drive Motors as they have captured the elusive Millennial car buyer for dealers, by selling cars the way Millennials like to buy — online with full information — and yet delivering twice the profit to dealers for the convenience,” said Duncan Davidson, a general partner of Bullpen Capital, who will join Drive Motors’ board as part of his company’s investment. “It’s a great example of thinking outside the bubble, and leveraging the existing value of brick- and-mortar businesses, rather than being disruptive for the sake of it.”
“Ecommerce is rapidly becoming essential to top-grossing car dealerships, and this funding will allow Drive Motors to offer dealers of all sizes a full-stack solution that streamlines marketing, financing, contracting, servicing, and more,” said Aaron Krane, CEO and founder of Drive Motors. “Frictionless ecommerce is a win-win for buyers and dealerships, alike.”
Turning Customers Phones into Cash Registers
As a key addition to the announcement about Drive Motors raising $5.2 Million in funds, I mention my second interview with Aaron Krane, Founder and CEO of Drive Motors. This interview was the focal point of my first Podcast for Dealer Refresh – “In the Mix” which you can check it out on Soundcloud, or hop on over to the blog post about “Turning Customer Phones into Cash Registers.”
Online Vehicle Checkout vs. Digital Retailing = Automotive E-Commerce
On July 29th, we hosted a Refresh Friday on the DealerRefresh Facebook page, where Ed Brooks and I had a debate about the terms ‘Online Checkout’ and ‘Digital Retailing’. Both of the terms can be considered correct, depending on the perspective, however, I’ve decided to move away from both terms and refer to it as, “Automotive E-Commerce.”
Artificial Intelligence for Car Dealers – Mini Webinar
The latest webinar on DealerRefresh was all about AI for Auto Dealers where special guest Aharon Horwitz, AutoLeadStar Co-Founder and CEO talked about Maximizing Dealership Marketing with AI. He also gave us a sneak peek of AutoLeadStar’s new AI product, something ONLY LIVE VIEWERS were able to witness.
Refresh Friday – DD23 Discussion Panel, Managing Vendors, and more…
On August 11th, our Refresh Friday guests were Subi Gosh and Jason Stum. Jason talked about his new “Think Bigger” podcast with Launch Digital Marketing, and Subi talked about Managing Vendors in the Auto Business.
The conversation with Subi, Senior Director of Dealer Strategy at Stream Companies, will continue on September 18th 2017 where Subi and I will be expanding on the topics during a discussion panel at the Digital Dealer Conference, so be sure to add us to your list of sessions to visit.
By participating in this discussion with us, attendees will benefit from learning more about:
- Automotive Attribution: How automotive attribution is changing and where it’s headed.
- Automotive e-Commerce: The limitations of e-commerce in the car-buying process
- Automotive Vendor Management: Ideas for learning about vendors and vendor solution
Last but not least – ‘Sh*t Sandwiches’ by Steve Stauning
Steve has self-published his new book with Amazon “Sh*t Sandwiches”, which I’ve enjoyed reading due to his approach sharing his experience and advice about life and success.
All successful people have eaten shit sandwiches to get where they are today. In fact, the more successful they are the more shit sandwiches they’ve eaten. The funny thing about shit sandwiches, however, is that the more successful you become, the more shit sandwiches you have to eat to stay there. Shit sandwiches are those little sacrifices, hardships, or unpleasantness we undertake every day to achieve some common or personal good; and everyone who wants to succeed eats them.
Want More AutomoBuzz Videos?
There is a growing playlist of the AutomoBuzz videos on my YouTube channel where you can watch past editions anytime you like. We also have a new tag here on BlogPro [AutomoBuzz] so you can easily access all posts within the series. If you have ideas or special requests then be sure to let me know so we can incorporate them into the videos. Thanks for tuning in!
