On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome Mr. Tom Murphy. Tom is an automotive industry veteran of nearly 35 years. Like many, he began pounding the pavement and working his way through the ranks until ultimately owning and operating both franchise and independent dealerships. Then after 15 years, Tom sold those interests to pursue what is known as Scilicet.
Along the way, he helped develop and bring to market some very recognizable names such as Market Scan Information Systems, Stronghold Technologies, vAuto, and most recently he provided thought leadership in the development of Cox Automotive’s enterprise dealer partnership program. If You have the opportunity, be sure to say ‘Hi’ to the Scilicet team this year’s upcoming NADA Show.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
Jim Fitzpatrick:
So Tom, for the dealers that are watching right now, tell us what Scilicet is.
Tom Murphy:
Sure. So at its core Scilicet is a collaboration platform. It brings the OEM and the dealer to the desk in real time.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
So that one or both can contribute into that deal before it’s lost.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay. So is this a solution that requires both dealer and OEMs to participate?
Tom Murphy:
It doesn’t require it. It’s clearly more powerful with both involved. The sum is greater than the parts. Right?
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Right, right.
Tom Murphy:
But they both stand on their own. For instance, now we’re in dealerships getting results for them. And we expect to do the same with OEMs soon enough.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
So do you have both dealer and OEM customers on the plant today?
Tom Murphy:
Yes and no.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
So we have dealers on the system today that are enjoying significant results.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
And as a consequence that uptick has not gone unnoticed by the manufacturers.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah.
Tom Murphy:
So we’re in conversation with two and just beginning a conversation with a third.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
And by uptick, can you offer some specifics?
Tom Murphy:
Absolutely.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
But first I’ve got to frame it. Right. So you have to understand that the way that we measure success is a bit unusual in that dealers today count their efficiency or effectiveness in terms of made and miss deals it’s binary. Either you did the deal or you didn’t.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right.
Tom Murphy:
And what we do is we live only in that realm of the missed deals today. We create a third category, which is saved.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
So what we track is what percentage of those deals that you are, you’re prepared to miss, are we able to make in our system?
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah.
Tom Murphy:
And to date we’ve, we’ve been pretty successful. The worst we’ve done is deliver 50% of those entered in our system.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Those missed deals that the dealer already that’s ready to kiss goodbye.
Tom Murphy:
That’s right. And as high as 80%.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Those numbers are staggering.
Tom Murphy:
They’ll work.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, for sure. All right, so I’m going to ask you the obvious question, how is your system able to turn missed deals into save deals at such an incredible rate?
Tom Murphy:
I appreciate the question.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah.
Tom Murphy:
Of course. The answer is the secret sauce, right? So we guard that pretty closely, not only for our benefit, but for the benefit of our customers. That’s the advantage there. They’re looking to leverage.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, for sure.
Tom Murphy:
What I can tell you is the answer can be found in transparency.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
Transparency has taken a beaten, as we all know, due largely to margin compression.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. That’s right.
Tom Murphy:
We turn it on its head. We turn transparency, we at least neutralize the margin compression if not offset it entirely.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Which is huge today, if you’ve got a tool that’s going to help in that area, then you’ve built a better mouse trap. Right?
Tom Murphy:
We think so.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
So for example, talk to me about a training and implementation.
Tom Murphy:
Well, training is really pretty simple. Our system is not complicated, believe it or not. I mean it is under the covers but on the surface, what a user needs to be able to see and do is really pretty straightforward. So training, we like to say that if you’ve seen a demo, you’ve been trained.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Tom Murphy:
As far as implementation goes, our marching orders there are literally changed nothing. We express to the dealer that they don’t have to change their sales process. They don’t have to change integration because we’re stepping into the process when it would have typically ended.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Right.
Tom Murphy:
We’re kind of a bolt on, right? So change nothing. In fact, we asked them to change nothing so that we can measure our effectiveness without them changing anything.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Very cool. So it sounds like it’s pretty easy then. I mean.
Tom Murphy:
It is.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. And from a manager standpoint, if it’s not easy to use, they’re not going to use it. Right?
Tom Murphy:
Sure, that’s right.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s really the key.
Tom Murphy:
That’s right. That’s right.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
And in this case, it’s easy to use.
Tom Murphy:
It’s 20 seconds. It’s six pieces of information and they get an answer.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow. Can you offer some more specifics on the plan?
Tom Murphy:
Sure. So first you have to understand how we count performance in our system. Our system becomes relevant only after the dealers come to the conclusion or the desk managers come to the conclusion that he can’t make a deal.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
So whatever that percentage is that they’re missing today is where Scilicet lives.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
And so the manager just turns to our system at that point in time. And from there we measure our effectiveness.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay, okay.
Tom Murphy:
And to date, we’ve not delivered less than 50%. And as high as 80% of the deals input through the system.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s incredible. Those are huge numbers.
Tom Murphy:
We like to think so.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow. How are our dealers reacting to those kinds of numbers?
Tom Murphy:
Well, it’s interesting. I mean we had a tough time believing it ourselves. We only started tracking it because we thought we would create a false dependency. And what’s happened is quite the contrary. In fact, the dealers are doing better organically.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Tom Murphy:
The first dealer we worked with went from 33 to 50% before we hit 80% of the remainder.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Unbelievable.
Tom Murphy:
So it’s really been quite unbelievable is the right word.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, for sure.
Tom Murphy:
So what I find myself telling folks is, look, I have a hard time believing I have a hard time saying it. Right. But if you stay with me long enough to hear how we do it, you will go immediately from, that’s impossible I can’t believe it too, that’s unavoidable.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Talk to me a little bit about the name Scilicet. It’s a very cool name and you spelled the word like solicit, but I guess it’s not-
Tom Murphy:
Yeah, so it’s the Latin spelling of the word solicit and there’s really … There were three reasons for that name. The first was pretty obvious. We wanted something that we could kind of define for ourselves, like Google or Uber or Twitter. Give the word meaning. Of course in English the word solicit means you know, to urge or entice. So that naturally fits with what we’re doing.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure, sure.
Tom Murphy:
And in Latin it means pure unambiguous. So again, it speaks to what we do.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay. And what’s next for you and Scilicet?
Tom Murphy:
Well, bigger and better, obviously. We are going to be at any NADA.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
We’re looking to meet with some potential partners there.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
And there’s a three to five year roadmap that will be delivered at the rate the market can consume it. If that makes sense.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay, sure, sure. And for the dealers that are watching us right now or some of the OEM executives that are watching us, how do they connect with you to learn more?
Tom Murphy:
Well, if they know how to spell Scilicet, which is not a-
Jim Fitzpatrick:
We will show it on the screen.
Tom Murphy:
Which is not a given.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Right.
Tom Murphy:
Just go to Scilicet.com.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay.
Tom Murphy:
And they’ll contact us there if they’d like. We’re also arranging meetings at an NADA, so if they want to jump on that before our dance card fills.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure.
Tom Murphy:
That would be wise.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s great. That’s great. You guys don’t have a booth, but you’ll be at an NADA, right?
Tom Murphy:
Yeah. When it came time for the booth, we were far from being able to afford it.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure, sure.
Tom Murphy:
Yeah.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
They say all the deals are made outside the convention hall anyway not inside.
Tom Murphy:
Here’s hoping.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, that’s exactly right. Well, Tom Murphy, founder and CEO of Scilicet. I want to thank you so much for joining me on CBT News.
Tom Murphy:
Thank you, Jim.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, great.
