I have attended NADA conventions as a dealer and an attendee since 1983 and have experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly. Good ideas must be executed in a manner that the end user can see the benefit immediately. Not all technology works as described and can be a costly and culture shock when the smoke clears.
How can a dealer know what technology they should purchase that will improve their operation? Is it an application that his staff will benefit from, will it reduce costs, increase sales, increase efficiencies, and provide a better experience for his clients? Can one piece of software accomplish all and be a silver bullet. My answer is no. A dealer needs to be realistic in his due diligence. Nobody does it all.
I always ask my prospective clients what are you trying to accomplish. It is the first step in understanding the solution. If you agree that everything starts with the sale then having an application that focuses on sales is your starting point. Service, and Parts have a different mission and require their unique approach. Break the process down, Internet, Showroom, Phone and how you want to handle the individual steps and match that to the application. Now add owner retention and then service interaction as it pertains to increase new and used car sales.
Step by step from a paper world to a digital, compromise is all part of the equation. Think of your current sales structure and how you can become digital without losing the positive ways your sales staff conducts business today. A good application will have a small learning curve, spending resources on a application that needs hours of training and policing is a good way to lose sales, your eye is off the target.
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