Most dealers spend thousands of dollars on internet leads from third-party marketplaces, search engines, website providers, and more. Yet despite these investments, a staggering number of leads still go cold. Emails are often ignored, and text message follow-ups frequently fall flat.
So when Patrick Robertson took over as general manager of Hyundai of Cool Springs, he set out to close the gap in the store's lead nurturing process with video content.
The good news: The dealership had already purchased services through Covideo, a software platform that lets salespeople send personalized video responses to leads.
The problem: After 10 months, the team had only recorded seven videos.
"It's one of those wonderful things that a dealership's paying for without getting anything out of it," Robertson told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D'Arc and Uli de’ Martino.
But now, under Robertson, every lead now gets a personalized video within five minutes—no exceptions.
Leads route round-robin to salespeople on the floor, they record a quick video on their phone, and send it through Covideo, via an integration with Elead.
Robertson allows canned responses (updated every 30 days), but he pushes his team to record fresh.
"I can say, 'Hey, we got your inquiry on the vehicle,' or I can say, 'Hey, Sam, I got your inquiry. I'm going to get back to you in just a few moments. My name is this, and I'll be with you soon,'" Robertson said. "You could do that by stepping away from your desk for 30 seconds."
The store benchmarks 90% of responses as organic and ties a monthly bonus to hitting that target.
But the whole system starts with one rule: read the lead.
"We want to be engaging and not just, you know, like an inflatable arm-flailing tube man outside the dealership," Robertson said. "We want to say to someone, 'Hey, we hear you. We know your question and we have an answer.'"
But between the lines: Robertson's greatest challenge wasn't the technology, but getting people to use it.
"You have a lot of people that have been selling cars for quite a while and they're very successful at it and they have a great way to go. But like any good coach, no one's above the team," he said.
When it comes to training, Robertson focuses on word tracks, or repeatable frameworks that salespeople customize based on what the customer actually asked.
From his POV, if a salesperson can walk up to a customer on the lot and look them in the eye, they can record a 30-second video. The resistance is simply psychological.
Why it works: Customers see AI-generated responses everywhere whether it’s an online chat bot, email, or text message marketing.
But video can cut through the noise.
"There's something authentic about it," Robertson said. "It's just to say, 'Hey, you know, thank you for reaching out. Here's who I am and I want to help.'"
The store uses video for post-visit follow-ups too. When customers leave without buying, they get a quick thank-you that keeps the relationship warm.
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The results: The store now hits a 75% video response rate within five minutes. Of those customers, 87.5% engage with the video.
And that faster engagement translates to more customers walking in and higher close rates.
"It definitely transitions to more sales, without a doubt," Robertson said. "The earlier engagement and a customer being able to respond to that definitely helps get them in the door or not."
“Just based on the closing percentage of leads alone, it's made a profound impact on our business," he added.
Looking ahead: Robertson sees AI making personalized video even easier to scale in the future by letting dealers record one introduction and automatically splicing in customer names and vehicle details to create videos that feel organic and personal, without requiring salespeople to record fresh every time.
But that technology is still in its infancy. And dealers who wait for the perfect AI solution will fall behind stores that are building customer trust with real, human video responses right now.
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