What is BullCutter.com ? What does it DO for dealers?

CHRIS: First, welcome, Keith, and how are you? Most importantly, what made you decide to build and launch BullCutter.comTM? What does it DO for dealers?  

KEITH: Thanks, Chris, and I'm great. BullCutter.comTM is my response to real dealer problems with bad vendors in advertising, websites, and CRM: In digital advertising, to start with, how does a dealer know their advertising is working? How do they know the clicks are real and really converting to sales? For decades, dealers could see newspaper ads, watch TV ads, and hear radio ads. It felt tangible--however, now it feels like there is nothing tangible except actual sales. Sure, vendors self-report "online results", but who checks that? Who makes sure the work is actually being done? One example I can think of is saving a dealer over $100k a year when my audit found that their pay-per-click (PPC/SEM) was sending their click traffic to a useless destination. The vendor reported the clicks, but the dealer didn't know where to even look for themselves or understand what they saw. I knew, I looked--and that vendor went buhbye. Great monetary savings for the dealer for better results! And great advertisers, website, and CRM companies have nothing to fear from BullCutter.comTM, by the way: What I really do is "clear out the trash" so that dealers can align with the best vendors in the space. BullCutter.comTM is ALL about benefit to the dealer--if you're providing great benefit and helping the dealer, you have nothing to worry about from me. Ever.

CHRIS: As a dealer myself, that's all very interesting, but how did you explain all that to the dealer? And how did YOU know the clicks from the "bad" vendor were producing bad results?  

KEITH: I explained it in human terms, and bluntly: "Your vendor is screwing you. It's like they send the pay-per-click traffic to nowhere, the same waste that opening your lot but locking your doors would produce: All kinds of advertising, but No Real Results in Sales. Or even real visits!" That is how I explained it to the dealer. Just one example of my very human approach with BullCutter.comTM. I don't bury a dealer in jargon, I shovel it out of the way. And how did I KNOW the clicks were producing bad results? Because I've studied and worked with over two hundred dealers’ online advertising--and I saw so much fraud and waste. I learned my opponent, the bad vendor, by comparing them to good vendors. And measuring results.

CHRIS: What other parts are in BullCutter.comTM and how does it benefit dealers?TM
KEITH: I also review websites for content, construction, and operation. About 25% of the time, I find a website with serious issues such as bad phone numbers, irrelevant or badly-presented inventory, and lead forms that produce no leads. That's not always the vendor's issue, but they can work with me to help the dealer fix them. For advertising vendors, as well, I look at things such as where are the landing pages for the paid search ads that will convert? And are they properly constructed and populated to convert to leads and showroom visits? I review 3rd party listing services for results, as well, and I can tie it all into a BullCutter.comTM CRM Cleanse that creates the best "advertising pitching and showroom catching" scenario for leads/visits-to-sales. The benefit I work towards for dealers is ALWAYS more sales from better and fewer vendors.

CHRIS: As you mentioned, it seems like some vendors might not like this accountability from BullCutter.comTM. Do you run into that? How do you handle it?
KEITH: Yes, some don't like it, and I run into it more than folks might think. Good vendors don't need to be wary of me looking at their good work--I'm not working with a dealer just to criticize, so any vendor doing the job right for the dealer has absolutely nothing to worry about. AND it's unlikely that their dealer client would even contact BullCutter.comTM. It's only the vendors NOT doing the job right, especially those aiming for their monthly "gravy train participation trophy" check, who need to worry: The BAD vendors. As to how I handle it, I report my findings to the dealer IN HUMAN TERMS and make recommendations to improve the vendors' performance for the store or stores. My only axe I'm grinding is with people who take advantage of dealers with jargon and poor performance: I'm paid by the dealer, only, so they can be sure I'm not working on behalf of just ANOTHER vendor who might take advantage. In fact, BullCutter.comTM encourages great vendors in advertising, website, and CRM to have us do a non-biased 3rd-party audit of any of their prospective dealer clients' current situation. The dealer would pay, so that I face no feelings that my results are influenced--but if a dealer THINKS they are being screwed, about 60% of the time so far that's true. And that's only helping good vendors get together with good dealerships. Let's all work together to benefit dealers' success! That's my reply to all vendors, all the time.

CHRIS: Two more things: What is your background for all this, and how can people contact you and BullCutter.comTM?
KEITH: My background is extensive, and there is NOBODY like me in this business: I am 13 years in the car business--including retail sales, BDC, and eComm Director of a large group--I am a former VP of a CRM company, and I spent 18 months auditing digital advertising for hundreds of dealers. There's more on that, but even before the car business I came from 20+ years in technology companies like Microsoft and IBM. The Internet is second nature to me, and I actually worked as part of the Internet Explorer team at Microsoft--so I have experience in retail as well as technology skills. I already mentioned that BullCutter.comTM is really also a cadre of experts that I call on when they're needed. And I speak to dealers in HUMAN terms. I also have a very strong cadre of associates who work with me when needed, so we can stare down a bad vendor--or appreciate a good one--like no one else can. Let's get dealers' costs down and sales UP! And it's all at BullCutter.comTM, including a two-minute video and all the contact info they need to get started. Everything goes directly to me from there.

CHRIS: Thanks! And, on behalf of me as a dealer and all dealers everywhere facing these issues, we wish you a great future with BullCutter.
KEITH: You're welcome from BullCutter.comTM, and thank you and all dealers for wanting the better results from vendors that you are ALREADY paying for. :)