Over the years, as customers have sought out the internet to research, shop and buy cars, a void has been created between customers and sales professionals -- removing a human element from much of the upfront process. Many dealers and sales professionals are now bridging that gap with the help of personal branding.

Somewhere along the way, CRM and other systems lost sight of the fact that customers are more than “leads”, “shoppers”, and “potential buyers”; they are human…