While other dealers are drowning in dashboards with dozens of KPIs, Andy Wright, managing partner of Vinart Dealerships, tracks four metrics that tell him everything he needs to know about whether his problems are starting inside, or outside, the dealership.
Driving the news: "I look at the number of new leads that we're creating. I look at the number of appointments we're making that are showing up. I look at the number of total store visits, which of course would be the aggregate of just organic walk-in traffic and appointments that show up. And then I look at the number of cars that we're selling, Wright told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D'Arc and Uli DeMartino.
Right now, Vinart Dealerships is up 12% in leads this month, up in appointments that actually show, down in total store visits, but still up 4% in sales. Most dealers would look at those mixed results and panic. But Wright sees a clear diagnosis.
“There's activity in the marketplace. People are shopping around online. They're submitting leads online. I don't think that people are finding the information that they want to find in the form of the deal that they're looking for,” he explained.
“So, while they're shopping online, they're not coming into the store in as great a number as they could be if the offers were more compelling. And therefore we're not selling as many cars.”
Translation: Customers want the cars but can't stomach the payments.
According to Wright, "Our OEM friends need to get more aggressive on incentives to address the affordability issue" and "interest rates just continue to be an impediment to us selling more cars."
As a result: Wright is investing in database reactivation and systematic follow-up to maximize conversion from existing relationships, instead of spending more on lead generation (that's already working).
"The often overlooked part of so many dealerships is the database, the customer base that we've all worked so hard on, especially those of us that have been around a long time," he said. "We have tremendous customer bases that we largely don't do a good job of nurturing."
Why it matters: Existing customers who already trust the dealership convert at higher rates than new prospects when deals aren't compelling enough to drive immediate action.
Yes but, instead of making more calls, Wright's team makes better calls. They track completion rates on systematic follow-up rather than just call volume, ensuring each customer interaction moves toward an appointment or identifies why the prospect isn't ready to buy.
"Outbound activity is crucial. Follow up is key. Doing it the right way is obviously very important. Quality over quantity," he added.
Between the lines: This approach has already paid off in the first half of 2025, and Wright's doubling down for the second half. He’s testing new approaches with his marketing partner DealWorld starting in July and August. And evaluating a CDP vendor that can couple customer data "with some big data and marketing ideas" to optimize targeting.
Zooming out: This dedicated precision may be more important than ever given the growing tension with certain automaker co-op programs (partnerships between car manufacturers and dealerships that help fund advertising efforts).
He's seeing firsthand how co-op restrictions can handcuff dealers who want to optimize their operations.
Some OEMs mandate specific digital retail vendors or require dealers to use particular marketing platforms to access co-op dollars, even when those solutions don't deliver results.
"When we're responsible for using one of three digital retail vendors, and one of those vendors is no longer taking new clients, so we're in essence responsible for using one of two vendors, that's a highly restrictive situation," Wright explained.
The problem gets worse when OEMs mandate solutions that don't actually work.
"Why are OEMs mandating digital retail vendors or digital retail solutions be on dealer websites when the data is showing that the engagement levels are low, the conversion levels are low, and the instances of people actually buying a car online through a digital retail system are astronomically low?"
Bottom line: The market might be “slow,” but Wright isn’t standing still. He’s tracking where the friction is, and building a playbook to work around it.
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