Stronghold Technologies, Inc., the developer of DealerAdvance(TM), an enterprise software system using wireless technologies for the automotive retail industry, on Jan. 29 announced the signing of Carolina Kia-Greensboro of North Carolina as a new customer. A new Kia franchise that held its grand opening in the fourth quarter of 2003, Carolina Kia-Greensboro immediately engaged Stronghold to provide its dealer performance improvement solution.

Within three months, which concluded a performance period for Stronghold's DealerAdvance(TM), the dealership's increased sales reported for the month of December resulted in Carolina Kia-Greensboro becoming the largest Kia dealership in the states of North Carolina and South Carolina, and ranking as the nations 10th largest Kia in terms of unit sales. The dealership also is the second largest in Kia's southeast region.

Stronghold installed DealerAdvance(TM) for Carolina Kia-Greensboro in October 2003. From October to December, the dealership's monthly unit sales increased by 55 percent, according to Stronghold. During the same period, potential buyers visiting the dealership for the first time remained relatively flat.

Appointments scheduled through the follow-up process with potential buyers had a show rate of 38 percent for the three-month period, with 34 percent of these customers purchasing vehicles. The monthly appointment close rate increased by 34 percent from October to December, with the monthly vehicles sold through appointment rising by 27 percent during the same period, Stronghold said.

While dealers sell most vehicles to customers upon initial visits, sales through follow-up appointments for Carolina Kia-Greensboro represented an impressive 26 percent of total unit volume. Vehicles sold through appointment consistently increased in each month since DealerAdvance(TM) was installed, according to Stronghold.

These performance measurements, which Stronghold said demonstrate only some of the areas in which its solution assists its dealership customers, reflects higher quality prospects being brought back to the showroom and effective sales execution by Carolina Kia-Greensboro, according to Stronghold.

John Toliuszis, co-owner and general manager of Carolina Kia, used Dealer Advance in another Stronghold account and liked it so much that he had it installed at his new dealership. "Stronghold's DealerAdvance gives us the tools to constantly improve our sales process," Toliuszis said. "We get instant feedback on the effectiveness of our advertising and how our personnel are handling customer contacts. The system captures all the information we need to run our business effectively. Also, Stronghold's training and development keeps us on top of our game.

"Success through efficiency is the value proposition Dealer Advance provides," Toliuszis continued. "Managing the front end of a dealership is made much easier. The system facilitates the team approach we take to work with our customers from introduction/product presentation to non-buyer follow-up to appointment to sale. Ultimately, the Stronghold solution enables us to sell more vehicles with less sales people!"

Carolina Kia-Greensboro purchased the DealerAdvance(TM) system and signed a long-term contract with Stronghold for continued consultation and support. System installation included 10 handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) and two desktop personal computers (PCs) equipped with DealerAdvance(TM) that are networked for wireless and wired configurations.

The dealership uses a driver's license scanning station for fast and effective capture of customer information. The captured customer information is integrated with their dealer management system (DMS) that provides the entire dealership's inventory.

Through DealerAdvance's(TM) wireless platform all of Carolina Kia-Greensboro's customer and product information is available real-time in the hands of their sales force. According to Toliuszis, this substantially reduces the dealership's use of preprinted forms and significantly reduces the time to complete vehicle purchases, which results in a more comfortable customer buying experience.

DealerAdvance(TM) is now used by eight dealerships in the state of North Carolina, and more than 70 dealerships nationwide, according to Stronghold. Stronghold's management said it believes Carolina Kia's dramatic improvement and Kia Motors America's growth in the United States will provide increasing growth opportunities for the company.

Kia Motors America (KMA) reported earlier this year the achievement of record sales for the month of December 2003, highlighting the company's tenth consecutive year of sales increases. With a 27 percent increase over the same month last year, the company sold 18,575 vehicles in December, bringing KMA's year-to-date sales to 237,471. Kia Motors America is the U.S. sales, marketing and service arm of Kia Motors Corp. in Seoul, South Korea.

About Stronghold Technologies, Inc.

Stronghold Technologies, Inc. (www.strongholdtech.com) specializes in applying wireless technology and process improvement methods to increase business efficiency and sales.

The company has developed an integrated wireless technology called DealerAdvance(TM) which, among many features, allows automobile dealers to capture a customer's purchasing requirements, search inventory at multiple locations, locate an appropriate vehicle in stock and print out the necessary forms.

Through an integrated CRM (customer relationship management) application, the system sends detailed tasks for prospect and customer follow-up and produces management reports to measure compliance. DealerAdvance(TM) is designed to allow sales professionals to increase sales, improve customer follow-up, and reduce administrative costs, according to Stronghold.

An independent research report on the company is available for investors and the general public at www.stocksontheweb.com/sght.htm.