ProMax Dealer Updates

Thank You To All Our Dealer Customers!

We had a great time at NADA this year, mostly because we got to see so many of YOU there!  We're celebrating our 20th year in the business, and we never would've gotten this far without all of our great dealer customers.  

So thank you for making our NADA great, and thank you for being our partner in success.  2014 is going to be our best year ever!

And if any of you are still trapped in New Orleans waiting for a flight like some of us are, give us a call. Maybe we can hit the Quarter together!

 

ProMax version release - 2014.1.21.3 January 22, 2014

 

NADA Is Only 2 Days Away!!!

Please join us in celebrating 20 years of success at NADA Booth 2638.

We've never been more excited for NADA than we are this year!  

Yes, it's because we have many new features and improvements that we can't wait to show you.  But more than that, it's because we're celebrating 20 years as an industry leader.

 

For 20 years now, your dealership's success has been our #1 goal, and we wouldn't be an NADA Top Ten company without you: our great dealer customers!

 

So please visit us in Booth 2638 as we map out the next 20 years of success!  You can't miss us: we're on the main drag!

Version Release Changes and Fixes

• We added a new column to the Automated Follow-up grid: "Auto Delete?".  This column lets you see at a glance if this follow-up will be deleted if another status or trigger is selected for a customer.  Previously, you had to click on the Event Trigger link and go to the Edit Existing Follow Up screen.  [Item 161328]

• We eliminated an error that was occuring when sorting columns after an Edit Vehicle Recall.  [Item 161589]

• We fixed a bug on the Customer Workscreen that sometimes caused the 'Communicating With Server' box to block User Access popups.  [Item 160885]

• We updated Activity Monitoring in Lead Delivery to prevent inactivity warnings from going to deleted users.  [Item 159025]

• When inheriting the settings from another lead source in Lead Delivery, all employee assignments from the original lead source will now be cleared.  [Item 160928]

• We fixed a bug that was causing the Test Drive Agreement column on the Prospect Activity Report to not populate for TDAs printed from EZUp.  [Item 151941]

ProMax version release 2014.1.13.1 January 13, 2014

Verison Hotfix

• We corrected a problem with sorting on the Unbooked Inventory Report.  [Item 160958] 

ProMax version release - 2014.1.9.2 January 10, 2014

 New HTML Editor

In ProMax AutoResponder

We've been focusing a lot of our energies in recent months on improving e-mail in ProMax.  Last month we made changes designed to improve delivery times and increase the number of messages you could receive at one time.

This week we're introducing a new e-mail editor in the ProMax AutoResponder.  This powerful browser-based HTML editor enables you to create professional messages with ease.

To check out the new editor, go to 

Admin -> Broadcast E-mail -> Website E-mail AutoResponder Config

 

Version Release Highlights

• We fixed an issue on the Customer Workscreen that was sometimes preventing two users from viewing the same customer at the same time.  [Item 160198]

• We added First Payment Date for Last Delivered Vehicle as a Communications variable.  [Item 148939]

• On the Salesperson Activity Report customer names are now hyperlinks that link to the Customer Workscreen.  You can navigate back and forth between the report and customer without having to exit and re-sort the report.  [Item 135189]

• We're always working to improve our Proposals.  This week we made some improvements to the Alt Choice and Gas Savings Proposals.  [Items 120784 & 160302]

• We updated the column sizes on the Compliance Review Report to enable better data display and printability.  [Item 160234]

• We fixed a bug with custom Inventory Reports that was causing some vehicles to be color-shaded incorrectly.  [Items 160293 & 160740]

• We improved the process for reassigning follow-up when deleting an employee that held multiple positions.  [Item 115111]

• We added an "Insert Row" button to the Hard Adds table in Lender Guidelines.  [Item 152207]

• We corrected an issue with the Credit Insurance popup.  [Item 160136]

• We improved the navigation to Desking search screens.  Now, when you navigate away by clicking on a payment or vehicle and then go back to the search, you are returned to the same place in the results rather than back at the top.  [Item 160026]

• We updated the process for eliminating dupe customers.  Now, unworked customers with matching SSNs created prior to a SSN recall will be deleted.  [Item 154346]

• We fixed an issue with the deal export to Autosoft.  [Item 153525]

• When transferring customers from one dealership to another, a co-applicants custom Prospect Log will now be set to the same one as the customer.  [Item 160163] 

ProMax version release 2014.1.3.1 January,3 2014

Version Hotfix

We corrected an issue with ALG mileage adjustments.

ProMax version release - 2014.1.2.3 January 3, 2014

Engine Size and Number of Cylinders

 

The Engine size ("Eng") and the number of cylinders ("# Cyl") fields in the Inventory record will now automatically populate when selected from the Equipment list and rebooked.

 

Version Release Highlights

• We continued to improve our bounced e-mail detection to automatically remove defunct addresses from bulk e-mail lists.  This change addresses several of the largest e-mail providers and should greatly improve bounce rates.  [Item 128866]

• On the Internet Dashboard New Vehicle Web Report and Used Vehicle Web Report we added check boxes to the top of three columns: "Send To Web", "Call For Price", and "Certified".  This enables you to select or deselect all items in a column with one click.  [Item 117988]

• We added a number of new variables to the Sold Vehicle/Profit Report: Final Payment Date, Trade 1 Allowance, Trade 1 Payoff, Trade 1 ACV, Trade 2 Year and Model, Trade 2 Allowance, Trade 2 Payoff, Trade 2 ACV, and Trade 2 Mileage.  [Items 125586 & 154133]

• We resized the columns on the BDC and Sales Management Report for better data display, and we also updated the logic for counting spotted wholesale deals.  [Items 152919 & 157790]

• We fixed an issue with imported vehicle comments from FirstLook.  [Item 156104]

• We added a scrollbar to the Outbound Call popup to accomodate larger notes.  [Item 157760]

• The Service Appointments Log will now show both Sales and Service statuses.  [Item 158603]

• We updated the process for auto-assigning a Sales Rep on unassigned leads to respect lock restrictions.  [Item 139427]

• We did some maintenance on several Proposals.  [Items 154018, 152890, & 155825]

• We streamlined the sorting of Inventory Reports to prevent each sort from adding another screen.  [Item 153728]

• We fixed a bug that was retaining the CarFax report of deleted trades on the trade screen.  [Item 153306]

• We corrected a problem in Unbooked Inventory that was affecting the ability to Print Vehicle Info Sheets.  [Item 157811]

• We fixed a bug in Desking that was causing the screen to flicker that sometimes occured when opening the Adds popup.  [Item 157880]

• The Lease "Origination Fee" is now added onto the total for Deal Fees on the Lease F&I screen.  [Item 33848]

• We updated the rounding processes for user-entered values in the Trade Payoff and Trade Allowance fields.  [Item 155829]

• We resized the rows and columns on the Compliance Review for better data display.  [Item 128866]

• For ProCredit Express dealers, we added the ability to expand the original customer note by clicking on the note column.  [Item 158658]

• We fixed a bug with the Total Finance Breakdown Report that was creating errors if certain parameters weren't set.  [Item 156830]

• We did some maintenance on the Lead Management Report.  [Item 155678]

• Engine Size.  [Item 104019]

Happy New Year from ProMax!

This year marks our 20th anniversary, and we're stronger now than ever before.  Looking back on 2013, we made more improvements to ProMax and our related products than in perhaps any other year in our company's history.

When we tallied up all the new features, changes, integrations, and fixes; it resulted in a pretty impressive list.  We thought we'd ring in the new year by sharing our list of improvements from 2013. There are a few big new items we were dying to include, but decided to save for NADA later this month!  

So take a look at our year's progress, enjoy, and have a happy and successful 2014.

 

Major New Products/Features

• Instant Auto Credit App - prescreen plug-in for dealer websites or as standalone site, with full support for mobile
• Price Drop Alert automated e-mails for vAuto and FirstLook
• Completely new and redesigned website platform now online with many advanced features
• ProMax Mobile – Access ProMax features from your tablet or smartphone
• ProMail Plus – extended website platform with Instant Auto Credit App plug-in
• AutoTriggers Plus - extended website platform with Instant Auto Credit App plug-in
• SMS + Email Notifications on customer reassignments and inactivity warnings for new leads
• Service BDR / Service Status introduced for establishing Service Follow Up
• Outbound Call Tracking and Outbound Call Tracking Report in ProMax
• Online Privacy Notice for enhanced compliance.  Dealership specific URL added to Adverse Action, Risk-Based Pricing, Instant Screen Certificate, ProMail & Market Thief follow-up letters, plus ‘Privacy Policy Provided’ note on Customer Workscreen
• Adam DMS full two-way integration completed

Company News

• Over 2,000 dealerships now using our products
• Dealers Choice Awards: 3^rd straight Diamond Award for Desking, 2^nd straight Platinum Award for CRM
• The ProMax CRM was featured on “Car Lot Rescue” on Spike TV
• Staff increases in all departments – now over 100 employees

New Integrations

• OEM Lead Integrations with Honda/Acura and Mazda
• TitleTec (electronic registration and titling)
• Dealertrack RTS (Registration and Title Services)
• WAF Loans custom application submittal
• Two-way integration with vAuto (added ability to send trades)
• Two way integration with FirstLook (added updating of pricing/comments in ProMax)

New & Redesigned Hosted Websites

• ‘Next generation’ hosted websites online
• Dynamic search engine
• Mobile friendly
• Unique URLs for vehicles
• SEO enhanced websites
• New vehicle data (MPG, specs, options)
• Very powerful online configuration with reporting
• Enhanced handling for specials
• Photo import/export and Inventory export to third parties greatly enhanced
• Compare Vehicle feature added to the Inventory Search
• Stock Photo options added
• AutoCheck integration added to the Vehicle Detail Page and Search Result pages
• Improvements made to the Google Maps interface
• Additional advanced search options added for excluding/including specific vehicles
• Each vehicle can have a Contact Information Override
• Internet Specials can be configured within ProMax
• Appointments can now be created in ProMax from the website leads

Other ProMax Improvements

• Added the ability to send a 5-liner to RouteOne and Dealertrack from the RunCB Screen for all ProMax CRM and ProCredit Express dealers
• Interest Rate Comparison for Instant Screen with AutoSummary and related new desking close tool
• Many Daily Workplan improvements including grouping of multiple calls, a column for sending e-mail and e-brochure, and Tomorrow’s Appointments.  Now shows all types of appointments, including service
• Additional sort options added to Owner Base Equity
• New feature added to print multi-page forms and groups of forms with one click
• Many speed optimizations across ProMax, notably: Desk Log, Prospect Log, Internet Dashboard Leads, Prospect Recall, BDR Workplan/Call Log, plus many Reports, notably: BDC & Sales Management, BDR Appointment Breakdown, and Lead Management
• Black Book values added to the Trade-In screen
• Interior Color as an available field throughout ProMax, notably: Inventory, Trade-In, Quick Appraisal Tool, Bookout Sheets
• BDC Settings new option: Mark All Attempted Calls ‘Done’ in Workplan
• Tracking of inventory changes improved
• Automated Follow-up configuration improved
• New option added to Auto-export to third parties when running an Instant Screen or RunCB
• Improvements to Instant Messenger including cut/copy/paste functions
• New choices added for the Initial User Screen
• Many new columns added to the various custom report builders
• We’ve completely replaced the Inventory and Photo Export functionality to other websites with a brand new, flexible and much more reliable system
• The changes made in the Inventory Photo Manager are now tracked within the vehicle notes in ProMax
• Many new columns have been added to the various custom report builders
• The automated follow-up reason description was added to the Daily Workplan
• The “Needed Vehicles” screen has been redesigned
• We now automatically set the Transmission field in Inventory
• Deleting a Sales Manager now has option to replace the sales manager on existing customers similar to what we’ve had in the past for changing Sales Rep.

Internet Lead Management Enhancements

• New Dupe lead option to compare home, work, and cell #s for matches
• New Lead Delivery dropdown to configure a master lead source
• Text message notification for new leads now include prospect’s phone #
• New option in Lead Delivery to “Set as Default” so leads from new sources are handled properly before source is configured, and it’s easier to inherit settings from one source to another
• Non-OEM leads sent to manufacturers are now tracked in notes
• When leads in the Message Center are accessed, a system note is created in the Customer Workscreen saying who viewed it and when
• Filters enhanced to block spam leads from hosted websites
• Leads from Instant Auto Credit App, ProMail, and Market Thief can now be forwarded automatically to external CRMs (ADF format via HTTP secure post or via e-mail)
• Inbound leads can now be automatically assigned to a specific department based on Lead Source
• If the lead provider sends a VIN but not a stock number with a lead, the stock number is now looked up and set for the Desired Vehicle
• The new/used status is now set based on the stock number of the Desired Vehicle established within the internet lead
• Generic emailed lead imports can specify the first/last of the salesperson to automatically assign the lead for each type of lead
• Enhanced the duplicate lead workscreen note which displays the currently assigned salesperson
• The real time activity tracking system has been enhanced for better performance and reliability on the disposition reports sent to OEMs
• Inbound leads can have their Lead Source established based on the content of the lead for the newer certified OEM lead integrations
• Lead Delivery screen enhanced with Lead Source filters for easier management when handling a large number of Lead Sources
• Customized routing available for Ford Showcase or Ford service department leads
• Customized routing available for GM OneSource leads such as Onstar OVD
• Customized routing available for OEM Certified leads based on desired vehicle type
• Duplicate leads can now overwrite existing customers with two options for ‘Basic Contact Info’ or ‘Credit App Type Info’
• Duplicate lead handling enhanced to allow for a custom Status to be used that allows for a custom set of follow up
• Duplicate lead handling enhanced to allow for overwriting the previous Lead Source with the current Lead Source providing the lead
• An OEM lead recertification process completed for Nissan/Infiniti dealerships

Service Department Improvements

• New position type in User Access for employees: “Service BDR”
• New dealer-customizable list of Service Statuses added to Admin initially populated with default list (Used Car Service, New Car Service, Declined RO, Lost Service)
• New fields on the Customer Workscreen: Service Status and Service BDR
• Service BDR added to the mail merge letter variable list to customize letter and email templates
• New trigger added for Automated Follow-up based on Service Status changes

Desking Enhancements

• Tracking added for dealer cash deals with lienholders
• Added ability to enter up to 10 rebates
• New feature: Rebates shaded red if expired
• Taxing improvements for multiple states with emphasis on additional capabilities tailored for California
• On Sign & Drive lease program, Cover 1^st Payment box is automatically checked
• New option to auto-add GAP insurance to SF and Retail details
• New automatic removal of old, non-delivered deals with configurable date
• Multi-Option Proposal improvements including ability to view previous proposals, and option of using as few as two deals
• California leasing and licensing improvements
• New option added to eliminate rent charge from lease payments
• Deal exports now contains accessories, bank fees, license fees, rebates, VIT tax amounts
• Washington Tax Credit disclosure enhancements
• New Washington/Idaho state tax methods for lease lenders
• Texas Tax Options addition
• Michigan tax adjustments to limit Allowable Trade Credit for particular tax methods
• Semi-monthly available in lease payment calculations
• Virginia business License Tax enhancements
• Spotting vehicles now tracked in vehicle notes
• Additional GAP Insurance calculations supported
• Flag Reserve available in leasing lender configuration
• When browsing an inventory list in desking, you now have the option of immediately returning to the desking screen without having to bring up the Inventory Edit screen.
• Deal Comparison Screen upgraded look with proposal support
• One Pay Leases handled on the Alt Choice and 4 Square proposals
• New user access option to Edit Security Deposit and the deal structure now indicates if the deposit was entered manually
• New ability to vary acquisition fee by term based on vehicle
• New multi-option proposal available called Lease Benefits
• Hard/Soft adds fully implemented for lease deals

E-Mail Enhancements

• Microsoft Word can be used to create and edit communication templates
• ‘Perform Merge’ feature added to allow quick edits of existing templates for individual messages without saving the changes
• Bulk email speed greatly increased
• Various inbox sorting improvements
• Selecting templates from Customer Workscreen made easier
• Last Contact now updated on emails received from customers
• eBrochure compatibility problems addressed for Yahoo, GMail, etc.
• The email subject line can now contain mail-merge variables for further personalization of mail campaigns
• Added CC and BCC support to the email client
• Added more robust bounced mail detection to improve bounce rates
• Increased the overall speed of receiving emails in ProMax, especially when receiving many at one time
• Further tweaks on the Word/Email integration with better handling of attachments
• Auto-unsubscribe enhanced to handle more mail servers
• PNG Graphic support added to the email client
• Better display of HTML emails in the email client
• Corrected many forwarding attachment issues

Reporting Enhancements

• New “Finance Penetration Report“
• On Salesperson Inventory Report, Internet Price and Sale Price are two separate columns and either column can be hidden
• Added ability to navigate back and forth between reports and individual items without having to reload/re-sort each time, for New Vehicle Web Report, Used Vehicle Web Report, Dashboard Lead Mgmt. & Results Report
• Report enhancements added for commission calculations
• Many improvements to the Leaderboard/Ranking Reports
• New drill downs added to some reports
• The Appraisal Report can now be run across all dealers in a group
• Managers Dashboard Summary Report now displayed better in wide screen format
• Inventory Report Builder now has no restrictions on the Export functionality
• The Advertising and Sales Report is now an option from the Internet Dashboard
• ProCredit Express now has the same Credit Bureau Analysis Report as ProMax Unlmiited
• The Lead Management & Results Report now automatically includes newly added Lead Sources in the filter
• There’s a new “Monitored Leads Report” in the Internet Dashboard showing all new leads received but not yet contacted.  New leads are now being monitored for activity and email/text warnings sent if not contacted in a timely manner
• There’s a new “OEM Lead Management Report” added for use with our certified lead integrations with: Acura, Chrysler, Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo
• The Owner Base Report now includes additional fields like Email Address, City, State, Zip for better export functionality (for use in email campaign managers like Constant Contact)

Aftermarket Items

• Dealers can now email the Instant Screen Certificate from ProMax manually
• A new Recall option is now available mainly for Call Manager leads to make it easier to merge leads.
• Credit Yes custom integration that allows appointments to be set within ProMax

ProMax Mobile

• Leader Board with Dealer Group Rankings and Forecasts
• Salesperson Inventory – customizable and sortable, real-time updates, links to pictures and video
• Added the ability to export reports via e-mail
• Screens dynamically adjusts to phone or tablet
• Configurable color schemes added