Dealer Restore · Dealer resources

A practical workflow for dealership aged-lead follow-up

Use the context you already have to restart a useful conversation with eligible past leads, then help interested shoppers take the next step.

Dealer Restore helps your existing CRM; it does not replace it. Keep your CRM as your system of record and use Dealer Restore to support the conversations and next steps around those leads.

Start with a defined lead group

An aged lead is a past inquiry that still needs a clear outcome. It may be someone whose timing changed, someone who did not answer, or a shopper who is waiting for a suitable vehicle. Those are different situations. Review your CRM export and select a group your team can support rather than treating every old record as ready for the same message.

Dealer Restore accepts supported lead exports, including supported VinSolutions formats. Existing matching records retain their history. Your dealership’s CRM remains the source for final sales outcomes; automatic write-back depends on a separately configured connection.

Check permission and customer timing first

Having a phone number or importing a file is not proof of permission to text. Review your dealership’s consent records and applicable messaging requirements. Opt-outs, staff pauses, purchased vehicles and requested later contact dates need to be honored before choosing the next action.

If a customer asks for mid-November, a generic October check-in is not useful. Preserve that request as a restriction on the follow-up schedule. When the customer asks to stop, do not restart the conversation because they appear in another daily export.

Make the reply useful

Read the recent conversation before asking another question. If the shopper already gave a budget, cab style, drivetrain and color preference, use that context to search supplied inventory. Answer a price question with current listed prices when available. Unknown prices, equipment and financing terms need confirmation rather than a guess.

For example, a fictional shopper asking for “a crew cab 4WD truck around $32k” needs relevant available choices or a clear explanation of which requirement is limiting the results. Repeating their preferences without looking for a vehicle does not move the conversation forward.

Let the team take over at the right moment

Dealer Restore gives authorized staff a conversation workspace with customer details, inventory and the next step together. Staff can pause AI and respond personally. Requests requiring human judgment—such as an appraisal, financing decision or complaint—should reach the appropriate employee.

Measure actual outcomes

Review responses, opt-outs, saved visits and staff-recorded sales separately. A generated reply is not proof of delivery, and an appointment example is not a sales result. Compare your actual records before judging the value of a campaign. Dealer Restore does not guarantee a number of sales or appointments.

Continue with appointment and missed-visit follow-up, or explore the fictional workspace preview.