Thunder Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

Thunder Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram generated 700+ appointments with TECOBI

Thunder Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram imported 47,000+ historical leads into TECOBI and used automated follow-up plus human handoff to generate over 700 appointments in about six months.

Customer story video

Eric Hale on generating 700+ appointments with TECOBI

Eric Hale of Thunder Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram shares how TECOBI helped the dealership follow up on 47,000+ historical leads, generate over 700 appointments in about six months, and give the sales team better visibility into customer engagement.

The challenge

Too much lead history, not enough time

When Thunder Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram went live with TECOBI in late January, the dealership had a massive follow-up problem. The team had more than 47,000 imported historical leads built over 10 years, but a sales team can only work so many opportunities in a day. As Eric Hale put it, the reality in a dealership is that people usually work the newest leads and move on. Older prospects often go untouched, even when there is still buying intent in the data.

47,000+ leads imported at launch
10 years of historical dealership data
Manual follow-up could not cover the volume
Older leads were not getting consistent attention

TECOBI approach

A system that keeps working the pipeline

TECOBI gave the team a way to stay active in the background without requiring a salesperson to manually work every lead. The bots kept digging back through the historical pipeline, following up persistently and re-engaging customers that the sales team had not touched in a long time. Eric described the platform as doing the work a sales team could never do, because it never turns off and keeps moving through the data.

Automated follow-up across new and old leads
Always-on outreach that keeps working
AI-assisted contact that supplements the team
Background activity surfaces engaged customers back to sales

Human handoff and visibility

Human follow-up happens when the customer is ready

The biggest operational change was not technical. It was the handoff model. Eric said the software does not replace salespeople. Instead, it tells them when a customer engages so they can step back in at the right moment and continue the conversation like they are standing right there with the customer. The team also shifted to using TECOBI as the primary follow-up system, while the CRM became a desking tool instead of a place to manage every follow-up task.

Sales reps are alerted when customers engage
Team can focus on the right lead at the right time
TECOBI became the main follow-up workflow
CRM is used for desking, not daily follow-up

Business impact

Old leads started producing new deals

In about six months, the dealership saw the system create over 700 appointments. Eric said the team also saw an average sold-unit lead age of about 110 days, showing that older records were being pulled back into the active pipeline. On the appointment side, the dealership reported about a 79% show rate and about an 80% close rate on appointments that showed. For a team of 10 salespeople, that kind of volume is difficult to reproduce manually.

Over 700 appointments generated in about six months
Average sold-unit lead age reached about 110 days
About 79% show rate on appointments
About 80% close rate on shown appointments

Partnership

Support that moves as fast as the store

Eric also called out TECOBI’s customer support, saying the team is responsive and quick to answer questions, often within minutes. He noted that feature updates arrive frequently and that the product changes are functional, not clutter. For a dealership that prefers working with privately owned companies, that responsiveness and openness to feedback mattered as much as the software itself.

Responsive support with fast turnaround
Frequent feature updates
Dealer feedback is reflected in the product
Private-company mindset matched the dealership

Put the pattern to work

Turn customer follow-up into an operating system, not another task list.

The stores above did not win by asking people to click more reminders. They created a structure where AI maintains coverage, managers retain visibility, and salespeople step in when a customer is ready for a real conversation.