The 4 Most Common Problems Holding Dealerships Back (and how to fix them)

You see the numbers, you attend the meetings, and you talk to the team. 

You know your dealership is working hard, but something feels off. 

Revenue is okay, but profit isn't where it should be. 

Your best people seem burned out. You’re moving, but not as fast or efficiently as you could be.

You're not alone. After 40 years in the automotive and commercial equipment industry, Troy Ottmer has seen these challenges play out time and time again. He brings the expertise to identify what needs to be fixed and why. Brainforge delivers the cutting-edge AI systems and data infrastructure that finally provide the tools to solve these deep-rooted problems.

This is a widespread challenge across the industry. Data from a 2024 Cox Automotive study shows that 70% of dealers agree that data lags make their business insights less effective.

Here are the four most common problems holding dealerships back, and more importantly, how you can start fixing them today.
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Problem 1: You Can’t Get Up-to-Date Business Insights Because Your Data Is a Noisy Mess.

Dealerships are drowning in data all stored in different places with different levels of freshness. That is why 54% of dealerships struggle with conflicting data across systems. It flows in from your CRM, your Dealer Management System (DMS), OEM portals, telematics, and e-commerce platforms. But instead of providing clarity, it creates noise.

"It's the primary noise generator," Troy says. This "siloed information" leads to duplication, contradictions, and incomplete insights. 

The result is organizational chaos: marketing argues with sales, service disagrees with parts, and leadership spends hours in meetings trying to reconcile conflicting reports. 

Different departments operate on different sets of data, chasing their own KPIs without understanding the impact on the rest of the business. This noise is a distraction that slows everyone down and leads to subpar decisions.

• The Fix: Establish a Single Source of Truth. Imagine a world where data flows seamlessly across all departments. Your sales team knows a customer's service history before they even pick up the phone. Your parts department knows which components are in high demand based on real-time service bay data. This isn't a fantasy; it's about creating a unified data environment.
• AI's Role: This is where modern tools shine. AI acts like a volume switch for the noise. It can integrate and normalize all these disparate data streams, surfacing real-time insights and identifying anomalies before they become roadblocks. Instead of tedious, manual data-scrubbing that takes weeks, AI can give you a clear, unified picture instantly.
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Problem 2: Your Profit Engine is Sputtering, Leaving Money on the Table.

The back end of the business- parts and service, or "fixed operations" - should be your dealership's profit engine. While vehicle sales generate huge revenue numbers, the margins are slim (often 4-8%). In contrast, parts and service can have blended gross profit margins exceeding 50%.

A highly profitable dealer is "fully absorbed," meaning the gross profit from fixed ops covers 100% or more of the dealership's total expenses (less sales commissions). "Some of the best dealers are running 135% absorbed," Troy notes. "They're profitable even if they sell zero vehicles that month."

The problem is that this engine often sputters. This breakdown can be operational, with a lack of parts keeping technicians idle, or it can be a failure of demand, where marketing isn't effectively bringing customers back through the door. Without a steady stream of both parts and service appointments, customers lose confidence, and your two most profitable departments underperform.

• The Fix: Synchronize Parts and Service. The goal is to make sure your stocking strategy aligns perfectly with service demand. This involves improving workflows to maximize technician productivity and maintaining high "first pass fill rates" (ideally 92%+) so customers and techs get the parts they need without delay.

• AI's Role: AI is a perfect fit for optimizing fixed ops. It can forecast parts demand based on historical trends and seasonality (like stocking up on A/C components in the spring). It can predict repair timeliness to provide customers with accurate updates, and optimize shop loading so you're not just working on vehicles on a first-come, first-served basis, but on a schedule that maximizes overall throughput.
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Problem 3: Your Old-School Sales Tactics are Burning Out Your Team and Driving Away Customers.

Are your sales teams still relying on generic CRM blasts and price-only competition? These "old-school tactics" aren't just ineffective - they make today's informed customers feel like a transaction to be closed, not a partner to be helped. This transactional approach creates skepticism, not trust, eroding the customer experience from the start.

"Price no longer sells the way it used to," Troy explains. 

Today's customers, whether B2B or B2C, value ease of use, responsiveness, and consultative support. When your sales team is working with siloed data (Problem 1) and backed by inefficient parts and service departments (Problem 2), they can't deliver that experience. They get burned out, and customers go elsewhere.

• The Fix: Create an experience so good, customers can’t imagine going anywhere else. This is about shifting from selling products to delivering an experience that anticipates needs and provides undeniable value.  To get there, you must give them the accurate data and tools they need to provide true consultative support, focusing on lifecycle value and customer uptime to make you the only logical choice.

• AI's Role: AI can transform your sales process. It can identify opportunities earlier, personalize proposals at scale, and give your sales team predictive insights on the fly. Imagine your salesperson getting a real-time prompt during a customer conversation: "This customer's lease is ending in six months, and they've had two service appointments for their transmission. Suggest an extended warranty or a trade-in offer on the new model known for its reliability." 

But, think about what that simple prompt requires. It needs their customer profile from the CRM, the full service history from the DMS, and your current inventory data - all pulled together. 

This is where AI directly solves the 'noisy data' issue from Problem 1. With that information locked in separate, lagging systems, your team couldn't provide this level of experience. AI acts as the context engine that connects these dots in real-time. That's how you become a trusted advisor.
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Problem 4: Your Culture is Silently Killing Your Business Through Turnover.

This is the big one. Nothing kills a dealership’s momentum and profitability faster than high employee turnover. The costs to recruit, hire, and train replacements are immense, but the real damage is the loss of experience and customer relationships.

Think about it:

• Siloed data frustrates employees.
• Back-end inefficiencies erode their pride in their work.
• Outdated sales tactics burn them out and leads to turnover. 

"Left unchecked, this drives turnover, disengagement, and a weakened customer experience," Troy warns. The ultimate root cause often starts at the top. If leadership isn't listening to what's happening on the ground, a cycle of bad decisions and declining morale is inevitable.

• The Fix: Treat Culture as a Strategic Priority. This isn't about adding a ping-pong table; it's about fundamentally linking the employee experience to the customer experience. When employees feel valued, heard, and supported, customers feel it too. The key is leadership. It requires real, face-to-face conversations up and down the chain to build trust and repair alignment.

• AI's Role: AI can provide analytics that flag cultural risks by analyzing data from employee surveys, Google reviews, and customer satisfaction scores. But its role stops there. AI can inform, but it can never replace the essential human work of building relationships. Leaders must engage directly.
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Feeling Overwhelmed? Here’s Your First Step:

Reading this, you might be nodding your head - and feeling overwhelmed. A full transformation can feel like a mountain to climb. Or the unsettling feeling that your competitors have already started their ascent. The longer you wait to act, the wider that gap becomes.

So, what can you do today? What does the first hour of change look like?

Troy's advice is simple: "Stop what you're doing, grab a notepad, and go walk around your office."

Start on the Service Floor: Find a technician and ask, "Tell me about the last repair that got held up waiting for a part. What was the impact on your day and on the customer?"

Go to the Parts Counter: Ask the manager, "Of all the jobs currently open in the bay, how many are simply waiting for parts to arrive? 

Then, find a salesperson. Ask them, "How many different systems do you have to check to get a customer's full history? 

That one hour won't fix everything, but it's the start. It's how you begin building trust and showing your team that you're ready to quiet the noise, tune up the engine, and build a culture that can win for years to come.

You've taken the first step and listened to your team. Now, let's turn those insights into an action plan:

Schedule a strategy session to learn more