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September 08, 2021

LetYouKnow, Inc. is changing the automotive industry optics and increasing profit maximization for dealers

For new car dealers, getting customers includes navigating several steps in the sales funnel. Dealers must invest significant portions of their budgets into generating leads and then invest time in converting those leads to a sale. However, a new car-matching platform is taking the pain points of buying and selling cars out of the process.



LetYouKnow, Inc.’s innovative platform (LetYouKnow.com) matches new car buyers with dealers easily and instantly online. Not only do buyers set their own prices on the platform, but dealers also are able to sell cars at the prices they want. Dealers anonymously list their prices on LetYouKnow’s dealer portal and the matching system will bring them highly committed buyers who are willing to pay at least those prices. By listing their new vehicles on LetYouKnow’s dealer portal, dealers are able to bypass the long, expensive process of generating and chasing leads. 

About LetYouKnow

LetYouKnow was a project years in the making. Boris Zhukov, CEO and Aaron Shao, CTO originated the idea of LetYouKnow almost 20 years ago. After working for years at perfecting the algorithm-based model that is rooted in principles of economics and mathematics, the LetYouKnow website was officially launched in late 2020. Currently, LetYouKnow has 31 dealerships in its network across eight states and five regions. 

Consumers who want to buy a brand-new car, go to LetYouKnow.com, input the type of car they want, chose the search radius and the price they’re willing to pay. If there is a match, the buyer pays a prepaid fee of $799, then the dealership information is revealed. At that point, the dealer will contact the buyer to schedule an appointment to complete their transaction and pick up the car. Not only does LetYouKnow take uncomfortable negotiations and tediousness out of car buying, but it also has proven to be tremendously beneficial for dealerships.

Changing the automotive industry optics

As the automotive industry has undergone changes over the past few years, mainly going from in-person negotiations to online listings and digitalized sales, the business fundamentals have stayed pretty much the same. This includes continued focus on chasing leads, which is both time-consuming and costly. LetYouKnow helps dealerships shift their focus from a lead-chasing mentality to sealing deals with highly committed buyers. This leads to higher inventory turnover, optimized lot space, fewer costs and more profits.

Zhukov said dealers often order large batches of new car inventory that they try to sell as soon as possible to gain a larger profit partly due to manufacturer’s kickbacks, but dealers will need to sell those larger volumes and have to turn to discounting and ads to do so. However, this method of publicly displaying discounted prices arms both buyers and competitors to use the information against these dealers. Competitors can try to undercut such discounts and buyers will use these discounted prices as their new starting points in negotiations. The result is lost sales and lower prices across all new car models including those that could have been potentially sold at sticker prices in the absence of publicly displayed discounting prices and ads.

“The result is a clear win-win situation for all parties involved,” Zhukov said. “Quicker inventory turnover rates imply larger sales volumes that will bring dealers incentive kickbacks from manufacturing companies and the ability to discount a portion of the inventory that they need to move quickly without disclosing those prices to anyone, resulting in deals to our buyers. Our goal is to unleash the supply and get buyers more deals and inventory options.”

LetYouKnow is working hard to change the status quo of the automotive industry by empowering dealers to focus on highly committed buyers. This way, dealerships don’t have to spend a large chunk of their budgets on generating leads and their sales teams can focus on tasks they perform best, which is selling cars in face-to-face negotiations and making buyers feel welcomed at the dealership as they complete their transactions and pick up vehicles.

“Every match on the LetYouKnow platform is a committed transaction,” said Zhukov. “Before LetYouKnow, dealers had to spend a significant portion of their budget to acquire leads and then pursue those leads with no assurances that a large fraction of these leads will result in car purchases; whereas, now dealers have a way of getting highly committed buyers at no cost. The dynamic of delegating the task of finding car buyers to an innovative tech company resembles a self-driving technology that auto manufacturers are currently pursuing in their development. We tell dealers that the LetYouKnow team will worry about getting them highly committed buyers.”

Maximizing profits for dealers

LetYouKnow opens so many doors to dealers to maximize their profits. Its innovative anonymous listing process with instant buyer matching resulting in highly committed buyers, allows dealers to discount only the portion of their inventory that needs to be moved quickly without disrupting any high-markup transactions. Moreover, LetYouKnow cuts costs in relation to ads, leads and floor planning; while, expanding geographical reach, making dealers more competitive compared to used-car automotive disruptors, such as Carvana and Vroom that target buyers nationwide. Additionally, any LetYouKnow-driven marketing campaigns benefit in-network dealers, as they get matched to more buyers at no cost to them.

“We saw a void in the industry,” said Leslie McGehee, LetYouKnow’s CAO. “Dealers have a portion of new car inventory that is tough to move and younger consumers are tech-savvy and want to find new car deals without being burdened with endless price negotiations. We solve dealer and buyer challenges.”

The anonymous aspect of LetYouKnow plays a large role in profit maximization for dealers. For example, dealers don’t have to publicly list their true rock-bottom price and risk a potential buyer walking away, because the competitor will beat that price. LetYouKnow does not pit one dealer against another, rather it provides favorable conditions by the sheer setup of its model for a dealer to truly reveal their rock bottom prices when anonymously listing their inventory. This is a serious upgrade to dealers unlike pitting one dealer against another dynamic, which may sound good to buyers on paper, will actually result in overinflated publicly displayed prices, as dealers will factor in future negotiations and competitive pressures without any assurance that they will successfully get that buyer. With LetYouKnow dealers simply anonymously input their price and are matched with a buyer!

“The dealer is empowered to sell cars at different prices without disclosing discounts,” said Zhukov. “This means they can make a greater profit.”

LetYouKnow is a tool that complements dealers’ portfolios and business strategies and dealers do not have to pay any signup or subscription fees for joining the network.

Zhukov said any industry undergoes changes and if businesses want to stay relevant, they need to serve data-centric consumers. Consumers are also privy to resources for research and if dealers publicly disclose their lowest price, potential buyers will often still try and negotiate a better deal, dissuading dealers from publicly disclosing their true rock-bottom price.

The industry and going forward

Shao said that LetYouKnow is moving forward into the future with an even more streamlined process for dealers. He also said they’re seeking to assist dealers with other services they offer, such as oil changes, alignments, filters, brake service and more. In addition, LetYouKnow is constantly collecting consumer data to make the process more efficient and increase transactions. 

“We are continuously honing our matching tools to make our participating dealerships run more efficiently,” he said.

In general, the automotive space is becoming more digitized. However, McGehee said the industry is still antiquated when it comes to the selling process.

“We’re poised to give the entire industry a major boost by making it a leader among other e-commerce industries in terms of innovative pricing tools,” she said. “It’s time to turn the page and focus on highly committed buyers rather than leads.”

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