Overview
The Service to Sales Lead feature automatically sends SMS prompts to service customers returning loaner or rental vehicles, capturing buying intent and creating actionable CRM leads for your sales team.
Before You Begin
Find your CRM lead email: Locate your inbound lead email address in your CRM admin settings under "lead routing" or "integrations" (e.g.,
[email protected]).Test the connection: Send an email to your CRM lead address with a test XML file attached and verify the payload appears in your CRM.
Resolve missing test leads: If the test lead does not appear, contact your CRM administrator or representative to establish an email address that accepts Dealerware's ADF payload.
How to Configure Service to Sales
Navigate to Location Settings > Preferences in Dealerware.
Choose whether to enable the setting for All Programs or select specific individual programs.
Set your Send Rule Condition to trigger the SMS a specific number of hours before or after the contract's scheduled end date.
Enter your CRM lead email address in the CRM Destination Email field to enable ADF sync.
Business Hours Protection: Messages are sent only during dealership business hours. Triggers scheduled outside business hours are paused and sent at the start of the next business hours window.
Customer Experience & Lead Generation
SMS Prompt: Customers near the end of their contract receive a text message inviting them to explore purchasing options or trade-in value.
Confirmation Form: Clicking the link opens a form prefilled with their contact details and vehicle VIN (if available).
Timeline Selection: Customers select their buying timeline: Buying Now, Buying Soon, or Just Exploring.
Lead Creation: A lead record is created and sent to your CRM via ADF payload immediately after the customer submits the confirmation form.
How Lead Timing Works
The Service to Sales SMS timing is designed around the scheduled end of a customer's loaner or rental agreement, giving your sales team ample time to prepare before the customer arrives at the dealership:
Pre-Return Trigger: By default, the SMS is sent a configured number of hours (e.g., 3 hours) before the scheduled contract end date.
Post-Return Trigger: If a customer returns their vehicle early—before the scheduled pre-return SMS was sent—the system automatically adjusts and sends the message a configured number of hours after the vehicle is returned.
Note: If a calculated send time falls outside your dealership’s set business hours, the message will pause and automatically send at the start of your next business window.
What is Included in the CRM Payload?
Customer contact details (name, phone, email) and customer VIN (if available).
Service/rental vehicle details (year, make, model).
Contract program name and current status.
Lead provider name ("Dealerware"), timestamp, and customer purchase intent selection.
Reporting
The Service to Sales report lets you view and filter leads.
How to Access
Navigate to Reports > Service to Sales in Dealerware.
View individual lead records, along with a total lead record count and counts broken down by customer purchase intent.
For every lead record, you can review information about the customer, their personal vehicle, and the vehicle they are interested in purchasing.
Available Fields
Customer Name
Phone
Email
Customer Vehicle VIN
Customer Vehicle Year
Customer Vehicle Make
Customer Vehicle Model
Purchase Intent: Buying Now, Buying Soon, or Just Exploring
Created at (lead date)
Lead Age: days since lead creation
VIN: loaner/rental VIN
Model Year: loaner/rental vehicle model year
Make: loaner/rental vehicle make
Model: loaner/rental vehicle model
Filters
Lead creation date
Customer purchase intent
Lead vehicle model year
Lead vehicle model
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every SMS generate a lead? No, a lead is created only if the customer clicks the link and submits the confirmation form.
Where do I view generated leads? Leads are delivered directly to your dealership's CRM if sync is configured.
Does Dealerware calculate trade-in valuations? No, automated trade-in valuations and appraisals are not included and must be handled by your sales team.