It dawned on me the other day that there sure are a lot of people telling dealers what to do.

In fact, it’s pretty much the same message all the time: Get more efficient! Speed up the sales process! Car buyers don’t want to go through a 3-hour ordeal just to buy a car! Make them wait and your CSI will crash!

Or how about this expectation: People want an Amazon or Apple buying experience when buying a car.

The point is pretty much the same: Car buyers want a simplified process that they are more familiar with. They want to spend less time at the dealership. They want to accomplish more upfront before ever stepping into the store. They expect that if much of the transaction can be completed prior to their visit to the dealership, their time at the showroom will be reduced.

Not surprisingly, according to a Cox Automotive study, less than 1% of consumers like the sales process as it is today.

This is something dealers know all too well. Why? Customers tell them every day.

Dealership teams aren’t oblivious to the fact that a change is needed. In fact, we fielded a survey just recently that found that 90% of dealers want an under 2-hour sales process. Of course, wanting and doing are two different things: only 47% of dealers reported they were able to achieve under 2-hour transactions.

It takes time, cooperation, and commitment to evolve from the “old way” to a process that leverages technologies and a ‘customer first’ experience. Progress is being made, CSI is improving, but it takes time.  CLICK HERE TO READ ON