QUANTUM resources
Automotive sales terms.
A clearer reference.
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- 10-step sales process (road to the sale)
- The structured sequence a dealership salesperson follows from greeting to delivery: meet and greet, needs assessment, vehicle selection, walk-around, demonstration drive, trade evaluation, presentation of numbers, negotiation, F&I, and delivery. Master Elite Sales Systems teaches its own 10-step version.
- Word-trackRead the related guide
- After-hours lead
- An inquiry that arrives when the dealership and BDC are closed, typically evenings and weekends, which is when a large share of car shopping happens. Without automation these leads wait until the next morning.
- AI BDCSpeed to leadRead the related guide
- AI BDC (also AI BDR or AI sales assistant)
- Software that does the work of a business development center automatically: it replies to leads within seconds, answers questions with real vehicle details, qualifies the buyer in conversation, follows up until the buyer converts or opts out, and books appointments. Q.CAPTURE is an AI BDC that covers Facebook Marketplace and SMS leads 24/7.
- BDCSpeed to leadLead qualificationRead the related guide
- Appointment set (set rate)
- A lead that has agreed to a specific date and time to visit the dealership. The set rate is the share of leads that reach this point, and the show rate is the share of set appointments that actually arrive.
- Show rateLead qualificationRead the related guide
- Automotive sales operating system (QUANTUM)
- A single platform that runs a dealership's sales floor end to end: training reps, distributing inventory to lead sources, generating and answering leads, and operating the pipeline, instead of a stack of separate tools. QUANTUM from Quantum Connect AI LLC is the platform that defined the category.
- BDCCRMIMSRead the related guide
- BDC (Business Development Center)
- The team inside a dealership that handles inbound leads, phone calls and internet inquiries, sets appointments and follows up, so salespeople can focus on customers in the showroom. A BDC can be in-house, outsourced, or automated with software.
- AI BDCSpeed to leadSet rate
- Buy here, pay here (BHPH)
- An independent dealership model that finances vehicles itself and collects payments directly, usually serving buyers who cannot get conventional financing.
- Independent dealership
- Close rate (closing ratio)
- The percentage of opportunities that end in a sold vehicle, usually measured per salesperson or per lead source. Dealerships track it from lead, from appointment shown, and from write-up.
- Set rateShow rate
- Cost per lead (CPL)
- Total spend on a lead source divided by the number of leads it produced. Organic sources such as Facebook Marketplace can bring the blended cost per lead well below paid advertising.
- Cost per saleLead attributionRead the related guide
- Cost per sale
- Marketing and lead-source spend divided by vehicles sold from that source. It is the number that tells a dealer whether a channel is actually profitable, not just busy.
- Cost per lead
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- The system where a dealership tracks every customer and lead, their conversations and their next step. In automotive, VinSolutions, DealerSocket and eLead are common CRMs, and an AI BDC hands qualified leads and appointments into the CRM.
- DMSSales pipelineRead the related guide
- Days to turn (inventory turn)
- How many days a vehicle sits in inventory before it sells. Faster turn frees capital and avoids the price drops that come with aging stock, which is why visibility on high-traffic listing surfaces matters.
- Facebook Marketplace auto-postingRead the related guide
- Dealer group
- A company that owns and operates several dealership rooftops, often across brands and regions, with shared management, marketing and systems.
- Rooftop
- DMS (Dealer Management System)
- The core software a dealership runs its business on: deals, accounting, service, parts and inventory. CDK, Reynolds and Reynolds, and Dealertrack are widely used examples. Sales tools connect to it rather than replace it.
- IMSCRM
- F&I (Finance and Insurance)
- The department that arranges financing and sells protection products such as warranties and GAP coverage after a vehicle is sold. A large share of dealership profit per vehicle comes from F&I.
- Facebook Marketplace auto-posting
- Software that lists a dealership's inventory on Facebook Marketplace automatically from the inventory feed, using real photos, pricing and specs, and keeps the listings current by refreshing, renewing, repricing and marking vehicles sold. Q.MARKET posts from real sales rep accounts, up to 10 new listings per rep per day.
- IMSListing refresh and renewalFacebook Marketplace leadRead the related guide
- Facebook Marketplace lead
- A buyer who messages about a vehicle listed on Facebook Marketplace, usually starting with 'Is this still available?'. Marketplace leads arrive through Messenger and are among the highest-intent organic leads a dealership receives, and among the fastest to go cold.
- Facebook Marketplace auto-postingInternet leadRead the related guide
- Fixed operations (fixed ops)
- The service and parts side of a dealership, so called because its revenue is steadier than vehicle sales. Fixed ops often covers most of a dealership's overhead.
- Read the related guide
- Follow-up sequence
- A planned series of messages sent to a lead over days or weeks until they respond, buy or opt out. Automated sequences stop the moment a real reply arrives so nobody is chased after they have answered.
- AI BDCLead nurtureRead the related guide
- Franchised dealership
- A dealership licensed by a manufacturer to sell that brand's new vehicles, along with used inventory, parts and service. Contrast with an independent dealer.
- Independent dealership
- Gross (front-end and back-end gross)
- Profit on a vehicle deal. Front-end gross is the margin between the selling price and the vehicle's cost; back-end gross is the profit from F&I products and financing.
- F&I
- IMS (Inventory Management System)
- The dealership system of record for vehicles in stock, including VIN, photos, pricing and specs, and the feed that posting tools read from. Common examples are vAuto, HomeNet and DealerCenter.
- DMSCRMRead the related guide
- Independent dealership
- A dealership not tied to a manufacturer franchise, typically selling used vehicles of many brands. Independents range from single small lots to large multi-rooftop groups.
- Franchised dealershipBuy here, pay here
- Internet lead
- A buyer inquiry that arrives through a digital channel such as a dealership website form, a third-party listing site, Facebook Marketplace, Messenger or SMS, rather than a walk-in or phone call.
- Facebook Marketplace leadLead qualification
- Lead attribution
- Assigning each sale to the source or sources that produced the buyer, so spend can be moved toward what works. Multi-channel attribution credits more than one touch when a buyer used several.
- Cost per leadRead the related guide
- Lead nurture
- Keeping in touch with a buyer who is interested but not ready, with useful, low-pressure contact over time, so the dealership is the one they come back to when they are.
- Follow-up sequence
- Lead qualification
- Working out whether an inquiry is a real, ready buyer and what they need: the vehicle, timing, trade-in, financing and budget. Traditionally done with forms and phone calls, now done by an AI assistant in natural conversation.
- AI BDCAppointment setRead the related guide
- Lead response time
- How long a dealership takes, on average, to reply to an internet, Marketplace or text lead with a personal message. Industry reports put the average at hours; an automated assistant brings it under a minute.
- Speed to lead
- Listing refresh and renewal
- Reposting or renewing a Marketplace listing so it reappears near the top of buyers' feeds instead of aging out of view. Consistent daily refreshes are what keep an inventory visible on Marketplace.
- Facebook Marketplace auto-postingRead the related guide
- No-show
- A buyer who set an appointment and did not arrive. No-shows are usually caused by a lack of confirmation, a long gap between setting and the visit, or a competitor answering faster in between.
- Show rate
- Objection handling
- How a salesperson responds when a buyer raises a concern about price, timing, trade-in value or the vehicle, using word-tracks and questions that keep the conversation moving instead of ending it.
- Read the related guide
- Opt-out (unsubscribe)
- A buyer's request to stop receiving messages. Compliant automation honours it immediately, records it, and never contacts that person again from the same sequence.
- Follow-up sequenceRead the related guide
- Role-play
- Sales practice where a rep works through a customer conversation with a coach, a colleague or an AI acting as the buyer, so the words are ready before a real customer walks in.
- Word-trackRead the related guide
- Rooftop
- Industry shorthand for one physical dealership location. A dealer group with five stores has five rooftops.
- Dealer group
- Sales pipeline
- Every open opportunity a dealership or salesperson has, arranged by stage from new lead to appointment set, shown, written up, and sold. A pipeline view is how a manager sees where deals are stalling.
- CRMRead the related guide
- Set rate
- The percentage of leads that turn into a scheduled appointment. It is the first conversion step a BDC is measured on, before show rate and close rate.
- Appointment setClose rate
- Show rate
- The percentage of set appointments where the buyer actually shows up at the dealership. Confirmation messages and reminders the day before and the morning of the visit are the main ways to raise it.
- Appointment setNo-showRead the related guide
- Speed to lead
- The time between a buyer's first inquiry and the dealership's first personal response. Buyers overwhelmingly choose the dealer that answers first, which is why response time measured in seconds rather than hours is the single biggest lever on lead conversion.
- AI BDCLead response timeRead the related guide
- Word-track
- A practised, repeatable phrasing a salesperson uses at a specific moment in a sale, such as greeting a customer or answering a price objection. Word-tracks are the building blocks of dealership sales training.
- Objection handlingRead the related guide
- Write-up
- The point in a showroom visit where the salesperson records the buyer's information and proposed deal terms and presents numbers, signalling the customer is seriously negotiating.
- Close rate