Last week the moment arrived: the announcement of the acquisition of Calldrip by CallRevu. An acquisition that was coming, although I myself had expected it to happen only a few years from now.

Calldrip has now been our partner for more than eight years. From #DCDW we are the reseller for Europe, and together we now serve more than 700 independent car businesses and dealers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark and the UK.

So what does an acquisition like this mean for us? For #DCDW? And above all: for our customers?

Fundamentally, nothing changes. The collaboration remains in place, the service remains in place, and our focus stays exactly the same: helping car businesses follow up faster, better and more measurably.

But fair is fair: the possibilities do get bigger.

With CallRevu, we gain access to far more products, data and services in the field of telephony within the car business. Not only during the first lead follow-up, but also during the second, third and fourth phone call. Think of conversations within sales, service and parts. That’s precisely where the blind spots often lie. Where do customers drop off? Where do missed opportunities arise? And where can we help independent car businesses and dealers make their processes better, smarter and more profitable?

CallRevu already serves more than 6,000 dealers in America. Now, together with us, they’re going to make the crossing to Europe. That’s a great step. But also a step that calls for nuance. Europe is not America. Prices here are different, volumes are different, and the requirements are often higher. Just think of privacy, data management and the way car businesses are organized here.

That’s also why I’m proud of what we’ve built with Calldrip over the past few years.

I want to express my thanks to the entire Calldrip team. Under the leadership of Koby Jackson, we developed a partnership that is truly unique. From #DCDW we regularly receive offers from Europe and America to become a reseller. But if, as a company — especially an American one — you want to be successful in Europe, you have to understand that this market works differently.

Lower prices. Less volume. More requirements.

Koby never complained about that. On the contrary. He always said: “I trust that with these adjustments, #DCDW will ultimately generate more revenue.”

And that’s exactly what we did.

Every year we’ve grown. Not with big words, but steadily and predictably. Precisely the way a good partnership is supposed to grow.

I’ll miss the executive meetings in St. George. Often we weren’t in a meeting room, but in a Jeep Wrangler. And that’s exactly what turned them into personal conversations. About business, politics, life and everything in between. Together with Forest Ward and Brock Jackson, those were meetings I won’t forget in a hurry and that I thoroughly enjoyed.

And now? Now we look ahead.

Next week I’ll be in New York City for two days to talk with the leadership team of CallRevu about the future. About how, together with CallRevu and Calldrip, we can further professionalize the online automotive industry in Europe.

The assignment remains the same: speed, insight and better follow-up. Because in the end, that’s always what it comes down to.

Not more leads.

But dealing better with the leads you already have.