DVI, A Tool. Not a Sales Person

Joe Marconi · June 11, 2022

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bantar · June 11, 2022

Let's start with the fact that I've never used DVI. I may be uneducated. I've listened to the various pitches. They kind-of make sense, but are they a crutch for poor-performing service advisors? We are calling everyone and explaining what we found. We are overcoming sales objections, but are not "selling". We are not losing business for a lack of DVI.

I've taken many pictures of parts on cars and they are not always true to life. For instance, yesterday, I took two pictures yesterday and when the customer was there to look at it, I could not show the location of the oil leak and I knew where it was. As I was looking at the pictures, the leak was less obvious. And, I made sure to look at these pictures immediately after taking them to verify that I could see what I wanted to see. Similar thing in taking pictures of brakes and other items. Most people when they look at a picture, don't know what they are looking at anyway.

However, I like that ability to store pictures in the SMS.

From memory, the value proposition of the DVI reports is to show a diagram of the system impacted, a picture of the failure and give the person time to digest the information BEFORE you call them. In some cases, they text the report and say call the shop. I guess it depends on you each person process data as to which method is best. If someone sent that to me, I'd be on the phone asking questions. Others may simply text back and say get it done.

More often than not, we talk to people, answer questions, and then send a written Authorization to them to let them digest the data. We generally send a simpler version of the final invoice with just job prices vs a parts and labor breakdown. We write our findings in a PLEASE READ section, which are written prior to calling the customer. Once our thoughts are on paper, the call is essentially repeating the words verbally. Our goal is to not say something that isn't already written down. And secondly make sure that they can comprehend what we've written.

Today, we had a bit of a sales objection on a Volvo with 245K miles over an AC replacement. At 245K miles it's a good decision to ponder.... unless you live in Texas!! If you can't afford the AC, there's no way you will afford that new car that she was thinking of. My read is that she needs to process this a bit more and will return on Monday to do the work. We made it real easy for her to consider and return if so desired. The rubber hits the road when you see that new car sticker. I was reading on another forum that many people are saying YES to big-ticket jobs because of the price of new cars.

IMO, it comes down to the cost of DVI vs the return. With Protractor, I have to have a 3rd party DVI. It's $400-$600 monthly. They are out of their minds at that price! Now, if it was part of my base SMS, I'd probably send the report after we talk to them or just as we start the conversation.

I'll take a tangent and discuss the videoconferencing for a bit. My team developed video conferencing products in the early 90's starting with Black and White and eventually color. We found that video conferencing was a better tool than voice calls, but neither were a substitute for building in-person relationships. You build these in-person and MAINTAIN them with lesser forms of communication. On the other hand, maybe I'm just a boomer.

Transmission Repair · June 11, 2022

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tomkatv10 · June 12, 2022

Always respect your insight, Joe, but this one I disagree with. We always send the report first. We alert the customer they will be getting it and we’ll follow up within 30 minutes or they can call us. DVI’s got my shop to it’s first million revenue and we haven’t looked back. Our customers love the report and are referring other customers because of it. My advisors have enough to do in the course of the day. This makes their job so much easier. And it sells the work by itself. That way my advisors can be advisors and not sales people.

Joe Marconi · June 12, 2022

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bantar · June 12, 2022

2 hours ago, tomkatv10 said:

Always respect your insight, Joe, but this one I disagree with. We always send the report first. We alert the customer they will be getting it and we’ll follow up within 30 minutes or they can call us. DVI’s got my shop to it’s first million revenue and we haven’t looked back. Our customers love the report and are referring other customers because of it. My advisors have enough to do in the course of the day. This makes their job so much easier. And it sells the work by itself. That way my advisors can be advisors and not sales people.

Did you always have DVI? I do have questions to better understand the value.

Were you losing sales before implementing DVI and saw this come up afterwards?
If you were to stop DVI, would you lose sales?
Are you paying more for your DVI system and how much?
Any other value worth mentioning?

The reports are indeed impressive, but in every case, I find it hard to convey reality with pictures. Unless you are looking at something obvious. I do see the value in the Professional Looking Report. We don't provide the same format, but, in extreme case will have 2 pages of written notes. Most are 1-2 paragraphs. We explain our findings clearly with written words. In some cases, I do show pictures when they are picking up the car, or we show the part, if it is of interest to the customer.

Currently, with our sales success rates, I don't imagine a DVI system increasing our sales. But, I'd use it for the reporting if it was part of my SMS. I won't buy an overlay DVI package though. I'd switch to a fully integrated system instead.

Transmission Repair · June 12, 2022

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Andre R · June 12, 2022

4 hours ago, bantar said:

Did you always have DVI?    I do have questions to better understand the value.

Were you losing sales before implementing DVI and saw this come up afterwards?

If you were to stop DVI, would you lose sales?

Are you paying more for your DVI system and how much?

Any other value worth mentioning?

The reports are indeed impressive, but in every case, I find it hard to convey reality with pictures.   Unless you are looking at something obvious.   I do see the value in the Professional Looking Report.    We don't provide the same format, but, in extreme case will have 2 pages of written notes. Most are 1-2 paragraphs.   We explain our findings clearly with written words. In some cases, I do show pictures when they are picking up the car, or we show the part, if it is of interest to the customer.

Currently, with our sales success rates, I don't imagine a DVI system increasing our sales.   But, I'd use it for the reporting if it was part of my SMS.   I won't buy an overlay DVI package though. I'd switch to a fully integrated system instead.

Bantar, Autoserve1 is the system that you are looking for. It integrates seamlessly with Protractor and and is actually owned by protractor. Our cost is $88.00 a month.

It works great and you can customize as many inspections as you want. The important thing for me was the inspections stay with the repair order in the history and can be accessed

as needed after the fact.

tomkatv10 · June 12, 2022

7 hours ago, bantar said:

Did you always have DVI?    I do have questions to better understand the value.

Were you losing sales before implementing DVI and saw this come up afterwards?

If you were to stop DVI, would you lose sales?

Are you paying more for your DVI system and how much?

Any other value worth mentioning?

The reports are indeed impressive, but in every case, I find it hard to convey reality with pictures.   Unless you are looking at something obvious.   I do see the value in the Professional Looking Report.    We don't provide the same format, but, in extreme case will have 2 pages of written notes. Most are 1-2 paragraphs.   We explain our findings clearly with written words. In some cases, I do show pictures when they are picking up the car, or we show the part, if it is of interest to the customer.

Currently, with our sales success rates, I don't imagine a DVI system increasing our sales.   But, I'd use it for the reporting if it was part of my SMS.   I won't buy an overlay DVI package though. I'd switch to a fully integrated system instead.

Our sales definitely increased. The techs love it because it helps them book hours. We use bolt-on which integrates directly within Mitchell1. All techs have tablets and only see vehicles assigned to them. They clearly explain there findings and take pics to show the customer. Bolt-on is pricey, not going to lie, but the integration to the POS is worth it to me. You have to find one that fits your shop and what you’re trying to accomplish with it. All I can say is this, so many customers have complimented us in its use and it has been mentioned in a lot of our reviews. Two feedbacks I have gotten, they love the health check of the vehicle and the transparency of the shop. We have gotten new customers because of it.

Transmission Repair · June 12, 2022

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bantar · June 12, 2022

2 hours ago, Andre R said:

Bantar, Autoserve1 is the system that you are looking for. It integrates seamlessly with Protractor and and is actually owned by protractor. Our cost is $88.00 a month.

It works great and you can customize as many inspections as you want. The important thing for me was the inspections stay with the repair order in the history and can be accessed

as needed after the fact.

Wow. $88/month is not what I expected. I may check it out. Thanks. Ive done other demos and decided against it. Thanks!

Transmission Repair · November 24, 2022

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DVI, A Tool. Not a Sales Person

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