The Real Job of Your CRM (and Why Most Dealerships Still Get It Wrong)

Let’s be honest: most powersports dealerships don’t use their CRM right.

Some barely use it at all. Others have the right tool but no process. And almost none have the accountability to back it up.

On this episode of the Dealership fiXit Podcast, I sat down with Tad Kilgore-creator of three major CRMs in the powersports space-to unpack what a CRM is really for, how it’s changed over the years, and why most dealers still haven’t scratched the surface of what it can do.

If you’re a sales manager, internet lead manager, or GM wondering how to get more from your CRM, this one’s for you.

Where It Started: A Need, Not a Plan

Back in 2003, Tad was a top salesperson at RideNow, making $250 bonuses for hitting five logs a day. The group was tracking leads in Excel, and while it technically worked, there was no way to measure performance or dig into team behavior.

Tad asked his twin brother Todd, a developer, to build a better tool-something that could help him manage logs, measure follow-up, and improve accountability. That turned into the first version of Traffic Log Pro (TLP).

It wasn’t fancy. But it worked. And it was the first powersports-specific CRM that gave sales managers visibility into what was actually happening on the floor.

CRM = Customer Relationship Management (Not Just Lead Storage)

Dealers often think a CRM is just a lead bucket or a place to dump contact info. It’s not.

A CRM should:

• Track every interaction with a prospect or buyer
  
  
• Connect sales activities to performance metrics
  
  
• Identify drop-offs in the sales process
  
  
• Give managers tools to coach and correct
  
  
• Make it easier (not harder) to follow up
  
  

In Tad’s words:

“The CRM isn’t just software-it’s your system for running the business. It’s your process. It’s your playbook.”

Why Salespeople Fight It-and What to Do About It

Tad was clear: most salespeople don’t like CRMs at first. They’ll find any excuse not to use them. But that’s not the CRM’s fault-it’s the lack of accountability.

The fix?

Mandate a baseline. Five logs per day. Minimum. Not fluff. Not service customers grabbing oil and looking for the bathroom. Actual prospects. Tracked.

“If the door gives you three, you better go find two more. Get to the parts department. Work your phones. There’s never nothing to do.”

For sales managers: if you’re not tracking that, coaching that, and enforcing it-you’re not managing your floor.

The Metrics That Actually Matter

You don’t need 100 reports to get smarter. You need to look at the basics:

• Contact-to-greet: How many people did we actually talk to?
  
  
• Greet-to-sit: Are we sitting people down or letting them walk?
  
  
• Sit-to-write-up: Are we building enough value?
  
  
• Write-up-to-box: Are we closing or flinching?
  
  
• Close rate: Are we tracking all opportunities or just the buyers?
  
  

Every one of these steps is a checkpoint. And if you know your percentages, you can figure out where your process is breaking down.

Bonus tip: Don’t just look at close rate. Look at delivery rate. How many sold units actually leave the store?

OEMs Are Watching Now

It’s not just internal teams that care about CRM use. OEMs are paying attention-and starting to tie lead response, engagement, and close rates to programs and perks.

Tad mentioned working with Polaris and BRP, where dealers had to confirm contact times and track lead handling. Dealers who responded faster and followed the process got access to early allocation or program benefits.

This is the future. And if your CRM doesn’t help you track OEM leads from cradle to grave-or if your sales manager isn’t taking it seriously-you’ll fall behind fast.

Tad’s Favorite Features to Watch

Here are a few things Tad looks for in every CRM he builds or evaluates:

• Click-to-call with recordings: Every call tracked, every word coachable
  
  
• Log verification: Know who entered what, when, and how
  
  
• Salesperson visibility: How many logs, contacts, and sit-downs per day
  
  
• Gamification: Make it competitive. Lead buckets, progress bars, leaderboards
  
  
• Integration with marketing: Landing pages that feed directly into the CRM
  
  
• Accountability tools: No more chasing. The CRM shows who’s doing what
  
  

Most importantly, he builds it for the salespeople first-because if they don’t use it, nothing else matters.

Final Thought: Your CRM Only Works If You Do

At the end of the day, a CRM is just a system. You still need people to use it.

Tad said it best:

“The CRM succeeds or fails with the sales manager. If they’re not leading the charge, nothing else matters.”

You don’t need a perfect setup to start. You need buy-in. You need a baseline. You need to hold people accountable and coach based on what the numbers tell you.

Because when you do that consistently, the CRM stops being a tool-and becomes the engine behind your entire sales strategy.

This post is based on a Dealership fiXit Podcast episode featuring Tad Kilgore, founder of Traffic Log Pro, DP360, and now Ready2Ride CRM. Tune in to hear the full story, his lessons from building three systems, and how to make your CRM finally work for your store.