HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -

According to a news release distributed on Friday, digital speech analytics expert Tony Colan has joined the Proactive Dealer Solutions team as director of enterprise sales.

Proactive Dealer Solutions (PDS) uses deep machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics that can discover patterns using voice recognition to communicate more effectively with automotive consumers and learn from the vast amounts of data collected to set more appointments and sell more vehicles.

PDS, based near Charlotte, N.C., is an international firm that has worked with more than 3,000 automotive retailers across North America.

Colan comes to PDS from VoiceBase, an information and technology services firm where he served as enterprise sales director and specialized in speech analytics and API integration.

PDS has leveraged the use of AI to listen to incoming and outgoing dealership calls to better understand dealership-consumer communications and act more efficiently. For instance, if a sales representative fails to set an appointment or gather crucial information, within minutes an email is sent directly to a manager who can act to rectify the situation.

“Opportunities abound in this marketplace,” Colan said. “The possibilities for using AI to listen to and act on data gathered from voice communication are endless. I look forward to sharing the power of these technical systems with vendors in this space.”

PDS managing partner Lawson Owen noted that Colan will be marketing PDS’ speech analytics platform to the major automotive search directories, marketing agencies, phone vendors and CRM providers that can benefit tremendously from the proof metrics the platform offers.

Owen insisted lead providers can verify what transpired from the calls they generated and marketing agencies can assist with marketing optimization for their dealer clients.

“Tony is a fantastic addition to our team,” Owen said. “He has more than a decade of experience in this field, and will be able to jump start our platform sales.”

Colan added, “Even with all the costs dealers put into infrastructure, personnel, marketing and technology, still 20 percent of calls to the dealership are lost, dropped, or abandoned. PDS has positioned itself to help dealers solve this problem and maximize performance.”