Chances are good that as a result of the pandemic you’ve had to either furlough or lay off some of your sales team as you figure out what comes next. You’re likely operating with a skeleton crew of high performers and management folks that will be key to your success once the world gets beyond COVID-19.  Industry experts forecast that the annual vehicle sales pace in April will end at around 7.5 million — a historic low and down from 11.4 million in March. Compared to 2019, sales volume is expected to fall more than 50%.

Despite all the gloom and doom, business is out there, and slowly picking up. Many analysts see April as the bottom of the decline, with an uptick in sales expect with the turn of the calendar. People need to buy cars. And dealerships around the U.S. are beginning to open.

But what’s the impact of our “new normal” of social distancing and potentially on-again, off-again lockdowns? If there is one critical change that dealers must make to emerge from the pandemic, restart operations and thrive, it’s the adoption of REAL digital retailing (DR).

COVID-19 has really just accelerated the inevitable – finally pushing dealers who thought they were on board with DR to recognize that they had simply been pursuing an “enhanced lead gen” model.

Here are some tips to help your dealership sell cars right now:

#1. Make Your Websites More Transactional: For obvious reasons, showroom traffic has plunged to historic lows but your virtual showroom traffic has likely never been higher.  Our dealer customers are seeing record traffic to their dealership websites.  This shift has accelerated the demand for digital retailing tools.  You want to sell cars.  If most shoppers want to know what payment and finance terms they qualify for prior to making a buying decision, make it easy and convenient for shoppers to find the information they are looking for – starting with online credit applications offering instant credit decisions and payment calculators quoting qualified finance terms.  It almost goes without saying but live credit score leads are not just ‘clicking’ tires.

#2. Work on Lease Sales and Marketing: Even though most automakers are offering lease extensions, it may still be a good idea to focus on lease ends. It’s also effective to use marketing to entice lease customers to pull forward for the exceptionally good deals available now — especially with those automaker incentives.

#3. Connect Service and Sales: Turn to service-to-sales marketing and relationship building. There’s no better time to strengthen the relationship between sales opportunities and the service drive. As with leases, 0% offers and payment sweeteners make for a compelling enticement. Traditionally, this has been a tactic many salespeople have resisted — but today may offer up a different perspective, with few buyers in the showroom and plenty of automaker cash to toss around.

#4. Make Your Service Center Shine:  No matter the economic conditions, vehicle maintenance is always going to be in demand.   And with the majority of the population working from home during these unprecedented times – there may never be a more convenient time than the present to bring their cars in for service.  Now is the time to take a serious look at how you are marketing your dealerships’ service department.  Make sure your dealership SEO strategy is fully optimized for your service department.  Pay attention to your online reviews.  Promote your service specials and prepaid maintenance programs.  Even consider offering home deliveries.  You may also want to consider a temporary labor and parts discount for used cars.  Doing these is a good place to start making your service center shine.

#5. Be Part of the Community: You are in the business of selling cars AND positively affecting your dealerships reputation.  Consider pulling together a community outreach program focused on providing services for hospital workers and first responders.  Offering loaners, providing detailing services, or complimentary service offers are all powerful ideas to assist the most deserving while also building community awareness and preference for your dealership.

#6. Boost Sales With Virtual Customer Interactions: No matter how you do it (on Zoom, Facetime, etc.), enable video uploads for remote trade-in valuations and offer pre-test drive virtual vehicle walk-arounds.  And of course these same tools can be used to virtually interact with your shoppers. By leveraging easy to use video technology, your sales people can remotely facilitate important steps in the buying process and accelerate the path to purchase.

It’s true that times are hard. And uncertain. But that will change, and, while our “normal” may be different moving forward, those dealers who take advantage of their opportunities today — and prepare for a digital tomorrow — will be positioning to succeed.

Even though NADA took place just a few short months ago, I think we can all agree that the Coronavirus pandemic makes it feel more like a decade ago. Writing this at the close of March 2020, I’m in the dark about what might happen next in terms of “stay-at-home” orders, dealership closures, and auto manufacturing plants being taken over with government orders to build ventilators and other urgent supplies required by our heroic healthcare workers, but there’s one thing I do know: this pandemic will change a lot. And I’m not talking about the economy and potential job losses – yes, there will be a lot of pain in the short term, but I believe in an America that will fight this off and get back to work sooner rather than later to rebuild.

What I do think will drastically change is the speed by which both consumers and dealers will begin adopting/utilizing the digital retailing (DR) tools that are available to them. And, to be honest, those dealers who have already taken the leap from old-school lead generation to a more integrated digital approach already have an advantage.  Those who have truly embraced DR – moving steps in the buying process from in-store to online – are no doubt already leading the pack. For example, in the embattled state of New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is allowing dealers to sell vehicles remotely – clearly those that can, will.

Why do I believe that now is when digital retailing will come into its own? Let’s talk about a post-COVID-19 consumer first. So much has changed in such a short time period of time. Consumers who hadn’t already embraced social media, online shopping or digital communications are now relying on their computer screens to deliver just about anything they want – including personalized workouts, social gatherings (have you tried a Zoom happy hour yet?), and, of course, online shopping/ordering for anything and everything.

This pandemic has turned us into a nation of digital-first shoppers and now that nearly every car-buying demographic has found a certain solace and connection in their screen time, it’s not likely to stop any time soon. This trying time in our history means that consumers are getting used to doing things differently – whether by choice or by force, they are becoming digital natives, and this is something that auto retailers won’t be able to ignore any longer. Also, they’re getting used to idea of “social distancing” and are well aware that this may be our “new normal” for the next 6-12 months. Perhaps not in every city and state, but in densely populated areas and for at-risk individuals.

What does this mean for dealers? Now is the time to look at how the digital experience you offer works for your online shoppers and begin exploring opportunities that insure a more seamless transition to  your desired in-store experience. In our recent report on Digital Retailing, based on dealership surveys, 92% of dealers said DR has a positive impact on sales and profitability (68%). However, they reported that the biggest challenges to successful DR were around training, leadership and process integration.

We reported that the majority of dealers (83%) agreed that “digital retailing combines technology and process/workflows to help customers move themselves down funnel online and seamlessly pick up where they left off when they get to your dealership.”  That being said, dealerships emphasized that not having the right in-store process, communication strategies and integrations were significant obstacles to DR fulfillment.

One of the things we’ve observed as we’ve rolled out our digital financing tools to our dealer customers is that it can be very difficult to wean them off their lead-gen addiction. Dealerships need to get their entire team on board – including the F&I department so that financing can also start online – making the necessary culture changes and putting training in place for personnel to get the most out of DR.

This forced lull in “business as usual” provides a unique opportunity to re-think the DR opportunity and to further train and engage your entire team so that you come back strong in a post-COVID-19 world!

https://elendsolutions.com/blog/digital-retailing-what-will-happen-in-a-post-covid-19-dealership/

Part Four: Summary - Digital Retailing, Done Right, is the Answer!

The automotive reality in today’s era of ecommerce is that Digital Retailing has become established as a part of the car buyer’s journey – and a requirement for a modernized retailing experience.  The popularity of the technology is driven, in part, by consumer demand for information and online tools that reduce the time it takes to complete a vehicle purchase in-store.

By shifting aspects of the deal online, retailers are finding a solution to changes in consumer preferences – shifts caused by todays ‘immediate gratification’ culture and the power and convenience of technology. According to FICO's 2019 Consumer Survey of Vehicle Financing, 63% of US car buyers opted for dealer financing in 2018 – down from 73% in 2017. And just 40% said dealership financing would be the first choice for their next purchase. So, while dealerships are still the top source, the convenience of technology is eroding that preference. The same study found online financing on the rise: the number of consumers acquiring vehicle financing online more than doubled in 2018 to 13%, up from 5% in 2017 – and 28% say online financing will be their first-choice next time.

Few statistics reflect the reality of Digital Retailing as clearly as the FICO report.

The Reality of Digital Retailing Sinks In

Indeed, just 43% of dealers in our own survey report that they are unable to flip the majority of pre-financed customers into a dealership financing option. Dealers, though, have responded. Today, it’s fair to say that the vast majority of dealerships offer some level of Digital Retailing in order to facilitate the online-to-showroom process. Of dealers we surveyed, most intended to make their website more transactional by adding more digital retailing tools; they agreed that consumers should be able to start and stop parts of the purchase process where they want to online – and pick it up again at the dealership.

Of course, not everyone agrees with that perspective. Just 12% of the dealers we surveyed were opposed to making their website more transactional due to a perceived loss of control over online tools. The consensus view – at least from our survey – is that dealerships who ‘power’ up with technology (e.g. digital retailing tools, e-menus, deal configurators, etc.) are more able to simplify the process to run more volume at higher profits, benefit F&I managers and their customers. The automotive transformation at play here is a literal redefinition of the sales function, in ways that benefit dealer and consumer. As technology allows the customer to move themselves down funnel and closer to the sale, the dealership salesperson becomes a guide in the process.

New Opportunities in Profitability

Ultimately, the desire of consumers to have more control, and speed (According to JD Power, 91% of consumers would consider an instant vehicle loan if that meant they could avoid dealing with a bank or doing extra paperwork) has created a mutually beneficial solution. In fact, our survey revealed that 60% of dealers using Digital Retailing said average profitability of digital retailing-initiated transactions is equal to, or higher than, non-DR initiated transactions. Consumers get speed and transparency, while dealers get speed, greater chances at profit…and transparency as well. After all, technology and data enable both sides of a vehicle transaction to come together more quickly. As a result, deal transparency may increase finance penetration, grow PVR and improve CSI.

Fact is, however, discovering new opportunities in profitability through Digital Retailing is more complicated than flipping a switch or signing a subscription agreement. Digital Retailing done right requires three key areas of focus:

1. Understand Digital Retailing leads are different:  Many dealers treat each customer the same.  Don’t do this!  A digital retail customer is so much more informed – and valuable - than a cold walk-in.  In an era of transparency, why would you treat a customer who’s done hours of research and completed steps of the process online as if they had no knowledge or information.?   Assume every ‘up’ has done research.  Make sure you’re taking advantage of these premium “super leads’ by prioritizing them and adjusting your sales process and style accordingly. Remember, a buyer who has taken the time to do the work for your team will not be happy if the salesperson starts over – or if they miss out on provided details.  Eliminate this mistake and your window of sales and profit potential will open wide. 

2. Remember, it’s a conversation:  More than ever before, consumers are buying into an experience – and each customer and each deal is different. Transactionally motivated sales people are not what your customer wants or needs.  Don’t be in the business of ‘selling’ the car.  Be in the business of helping your customer buy the car.  Your objective should be their objective. They will want unbiased guidance to navigate their many choices in a very complex transaction.  Be engaging.  Connect authentically.  Add unexpected value.  Becoming a ‘relationship’ seller creates profit opportunities – and helps you attract/retain customers for life.  Customer expectations are higher than ever and word of mouth travels fast!  If you want positive word of mouth, be sure the sales/transaction experience you offer stands out.

3. Make Finance information easily available:  People buy from people they trust.  Remember, 90% of shoppers are payment buyers – so make it easy for them to find the information they are looking for.  If Digital Retailing is the beginning of the deal, don’t withhold information.  What you want to do is trade information.  The “financial candor’ makes the customer more comfortable.  And the more comfortable they are, the more willing they are to buy. You want to sell cars.  The two-way transparency is a trust multiplier – and a sales accelerant.  In our survey, 62% of dealers report that ‘quoting consumer qualified payment terms online’ is the top opportunity to improve the customers online to in-store transition.

More than one-price shopping or direct online transactions, Digital Retailing has made a significant impact to the landscape of automotive retail. Making the deal is different, today, than ever before. And that requires dealership sales and finance teams to adjust, optimize the technology, and find new areas of profitability. In time, Digital Retailing as that first step toward desking and dealing will become as much a part of the retail landscape as test driving.

This is the final installment of Digital Finance SOS – Is Digital Retailing the Answer? For a complete look at the numbers, click here.

Part 1: Is the Strong Preference for Dealership Financing Shifting?

We recently took a deep dive into some key industry numbers around digital retailing (DR), including proprietary data from a survey eLEND conducted earlier this year. Our goal is to assess online auto financing trends, investigate DR’s potential impact on auto finance and understand dealer perceptions and attitudes towards it. 

In part one of this three-part series, we set the stage by asking: Is the Strong Preference for Dealership Finance Shifting?

The numbers tell a story of a marked shift away from dealership financing: According to FICO's 2019 Consumer Survey of Vehicle Financing, most U.S. car buyers (63%) opted for dealer-arranged financing in 2018. BUT, that's down from 73% a year earlier. And, even more concerning, is that for their next purchase, only 40% said dealership financing would be their first choice.

Compounding the shift away from dealership arranged financing, is the growing consumer appetite for online financing options.  The same 2019 FICO study shows the number of consumers acquiring vehicle financing online more than doubled in 2018 to 13%, up from 5% in 2017 – and 28% say online financing will be their first choice next time round.   While dealer-arranged financing continues to be the epicenter for auto loan originations, these trends are, and should be, concerning to dealers.

So, let’s look at why this shift is happening and what can be done about it.

First of all, we need to acknowledge the problem rather than hide from it! It’s not going away. Consumers, and especially millennials, demand control over every single experience - they demand ease, convenience, transparency and instant gratification. Nothing could offer less control and transparency  - and at the same time create more consumer anxiety and skepticism -  than what has been the typically hours-long in-dealership car buying experience.

The data tells the story: satisfaction scores among customers who secured direct financing outside the dealership were 34 points higher than those selecting an indirect financing option offered by the dealership. And, though it may be conventional wisdom to think that an online finance customer can be easily flipped, 43% of dealers in our survey reported that they are unable to flip the majority of pre-financed customers into a dealership financing option.

Acknowledging the three primary reasons that customers are willing to leave the dealership for financing are the first three steps on the road to solving this challenge:

(1) Empowered, convenience-driven consumers want more control over where and with who and how they do business.

(2) New business models and digital finance technologies introduced by lenders and some of the disruptors are attractive to buyers.

(3) Consumers are reporting much higher satisfaction when securing direct financing outside the dealership.

So what can dealers do to confront these trends and preferences? The numbers tell us that it all starts with thinking about what the consumer wants, not what the dealership wants them to do. You know the adage: give the customer what they want, or the competition will.  It’s worth noting that nearly half of U.S. customers consider just one lending source before they make a decision. So if dealers continue to be reluctant to make financing information available on their websites, are they eliminating the opportunity to be part of the consumers short list of financing considerations?

Understanding how consumers prefer to shop for vehicle financing options and adjusting your technology investments is key. Investing in digital retailing solutions to satisfy the 90% of shoppers to complete some of the ‘buying’ steps online is one way dealers are protecting and growing finance penetration.  Think of it like this.  With website based DR tools, transparency becomes a two-way street, forcing the consumer to be more transparent, giving up more of their personal information earlier in the process and shifting the online information advantage back towards the dealer.  

By changing when and how the shopper is introduced to payment information and dealership financing options, the combination of technology and data enable the dealer and the consumer to come together much faster.  The two-way transparency is a trust multiplier.  Deal transparency 1) increases finance penetration; 2) protects and even grows PVR; and 3) the accelerated transaction times directly correlate to a more positive customer experience.

But are dealerships adopting these tools? What are those tools? Are they right for the job? What are the barriers to adoption and what are the results?

In part two, of Digital Finance SOS – Is Digital Retailing the Answer? we will look into dealership adoption of DR. For a summary of today’s numbers, click here.

Enhancement to eLEND’s popular CreditPlus online credit application is designed to accelerate the sales process and create a more positive credit experience that benefits both dealers and consumers 

Foothill Ranch, CA – January 17, 2019 – eLEND Solutions™, specialists in online and in-store credit and finance solutions for auto dealers, today unveiled Showroom Credit Express, a significant enhancement to its popular online credit platform, CreditPlus. Showroom Credit Express offers a suite of digital in-store credit decisioning solutions that give dealers and consumers revolutionary efficiencies, flexibility and control of the credit experience at the dealership.

Showroom Credit Express offers four digital credit options:

(1)   Consumer Portal, for new customers and returning customers who have previously started a credit application online  

(2)   Digital Showroom, a long form application for new customers

(3)   Showroom Quick App, a short form application for new customers

(4)   Cash Buyer Quick App, a short form for cash buyers for OFAC check

All options are web-based and require no platform login - meaning all options are easily accessible via a standalone URL from any screen (desktop, kiosk, mobile device) and all operating systems (Android, iOS and Windows) - allowing consumers to drive themselves through the credit experience at the dealership.       

“‘Time kills deals’ is a dealer adage that remains true. Filling out paper credit applications just to have to key them in moments later to send to the bank is grossly inefficient, not to mention that today’s buyers want to do as much as they can before coming into the dealership,” said Marcus Barnes of Jupiter Chevrolet, Garland, TX. “Standard web forms don’t really cut it because they don’t connect the dots to the store and they don't keep compliance. For these reasons, and more, we’ve made eLEND Solutions new digital showroom applications an integrated part of our buying solution.” 

Unlike other digital credit apps available to dealers, with the Showroom Credit Express Consumer Portal, consumers are able to re-access and finalize a CreditPlus application they may have started online – for example, adding references and banking information required for loan funding. For walk-ins, first-time applicants can access and initiate the process anytime, anywhere – including on their own smartphone – while in the dealership.  All four self-service options give consumers the control and participation in the process they crave – while eliminating the unengaged wait time they dislike. In addition, process bottlenecks and inefficiencies that are commonly associated with long-form paper applications and salesperson data entry are eliminated.

As part of eLEND Solutions’ ongoing mission to provide a simplified vehicle purchase process for the retail automotive industry – current and future CreditPlus subscribing dealers can choose one, multiple or all Showroom Credit Express options – for no additional charge or fee. Additionally, all options seamlessly integrate with all major CRM platforms, include secure digital storage with easy access to all disclosures and consent (permissible purpose), and include an option for digital signature capture. 

“CreditPlus was developed to enhance dealers’ existing credit application processes so it works better for everyone – consumers, salespeople and the F&I department. Upgrading it with in-showroom digital access ‘anytime, anywhere’ was a logical extension,” said Pete MacInnis, eLEND Solutions’ CEO. “eLEND’s focus is to deliver tools that keep dealers doing what they do best – selling cars – while helping them improve profitability per car sold, and the consumer experience.”

CreditPlus, which delivers among the industry’s best performing and most secure dealership credit reporting solutions, works with 2,000+ dealership rooftops, has integrations with all major CRM & Inventory platforms, including DealerTrack and RouteOne - and is partnered with all 3 credit bureaus and all credit resellers.

eLEND Solutions will be demonstrating Showroom Credit Express at NADA Booth #6553W. 

About eLEND Solutions

eLEND Solutions™ (DealerCentric rebranded) is re-platforming from a company specialized in credit solutions to a FinTech SaaS and DaaS company focused on providing a simplified vehicle purchase process for the retail automotive industry. The advantage of their industry neutral credit and finance decisioning solutions is a more efficient, faster-moving Sales and F&I deal-flow that sells more cars at higher profits in less time – benefitting dealers, lenders and consumers.

Contact: 
Media Relations 

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, melanie@mwebbcom.com or (949) 307-1723
Crystal Hartwell, mWEBB Communications, crystal@mwebbcom.com or (714) 987-1016

There are a lot of expensive technology solutions out there that, you are constantly being told, can accomplish great things for your dealership. Almost everyday, there is a headline about the next great tech solution. But there are fewer headlines about how they often come with added costs, increased complexity, and, a ton of frustration for your staff– and nowhere is this more true than in the automotive retail space, where vendors are constantly promising new and shiny tech solutions for your dealership.

Dealers are understandably wary and many have told me they won’t change the way they do a manual task until they find a tech-based solution that ticks three boxes: 1. speeds up the process, 2. makes staff more productive, and 3. improves profitability. Seems like a pretty good litmus test to me.

We have entered an era of tech complexity in automotive retailing that makes the early days of the Internet look like a walk in the park. We are no longer talking about getting inventory online quicker or optimizing websites for mobile devices; instead, today’s tech conversations are rife with terms like artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, data mining, digital retailing and more. It’s enough to make your head spin.

By keeping it simple, with those three boxes to tick, you can stay focused on using technology to improve existing processes, rather than reinventing a wheel that does not need reinventing. Here are three good examples: 

1. Digital Retailing: A recent study by our team at eLEND Solutions found a substantial amount of confusion over what digital retailing actually is – and what it accomplishes. Dealers were clear about its benefits – 70% said that the No. 1 benefit was shorter transaction times. However, they were less sure what digital retailing should accomplish: 19% defined the technology as something that lets customers start but not finish their deal online, while 10% said it was about facilitating the entire sales and F&I process online.

Ultimately, what digital retailing actually is – and what makes it potentially so effective is its true simplicity – it simply improves and gets an early start on the existing buying journey.Tear away the bells and whistles and fancy terms, and all you need to get started is an online credit app that offers instant credit decisions and a trade-in tool that offers instant values or purchase prices.  These simple to use – and easy to implement – technologies build trust and confidence, and make the showroom sales process easier and faster. Countless surveys and studies have found that customers value the concept of digital retailing because it starts the process online – where they are most comfortable – and speeds the in-dealership experience, making for a less anxious and friendlier environment. Simpleand effective.

2. ID Verification: Smart ID verification is the epitome of technology improving the buying experience for your customers and your staff. It does (2) things very well: removes process bottlenecks and protects your dealership from ID and financial fraud.   DL technologies can authenticate the driver’s license is an official government issued document; validateimportant information fields  like name, address and DOB; and enrich the lead with a appended cell phone number.   The  purified information is then exported into your CRM – creating a more efficient in-store buying process and eliminating the information disconnects/gaps between Sales & Finance.

More advanced DL technologies can even convert the DL scan into a consumer consented pre-qualification with no SSN requirement – enabling a faster pre-qualification process, quickly and easily, at any point in your sales process.

A recent case studywith Huntington Beach CDJR found that 53% of customers who opted-in for pre-qualification via a driver’s license swipe prior to a test drive went on to buy a car from the dealership. Comparatively, just 34% of the customers that declined pre-qualification ended up buying at the store.

3. F&I Aftermarket Sales:F&I product sales have become a more prominent part of revenue and profitability for most dealers. Smart dealers are applying every day technology to help bridge the distance between sales and finance – especially technologies that almost everyone knows how to use:  tablets, smartphones and touchscreens. Most of us consume content and interact via these devices all day long.Using these same technologies during the sales process will make customers comfortable and more engaged. Recent studies have found that consumers are interested in aftermarket products – as long as they’re introduced earlier in the process- and what better way than via a mobile device?

I’m not saying it’s not important to think about how future technology solutions will impact automotive retail: staying aware of changes and trends will help you plot the way forward in terms of profitability, hiring plans, and growth projections. However, just because there’s a shiny new gadget doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work effectively for retail operations. Technology is supposed to make things easier, not harder. A mantra we should all repeat more often!

Revenue opportunities are dealership opportunities

Here’s why: In many respects, the future of automotive retail is connected to blockchain because it’s a scalable, secure ledger system that can be used in virtually any type of transaction, no matter how small or what the data may be. In fact, auto retailers sit at the intersection where the use of blockchain may well open up possibilities for additional revenue streams, and lower operations costs. Here are three areas that come to mind:

1. Registration and title management
The streamlining of registration and title documents would be a big benefit in terms of time-savings, and cost. Instead of multiple online forms and software systems for in-state and out-of-state registration, a blockchain solution would connect all parties: buyer, seller, government, and third-party VIN and insurance databases. It would potentially make the process lightning fast and transparent to all. Just think: no more waiting 10 days for lender confirmation of title transfer. Thanks to this technology you can remarket that trade-in immediately.

2. Service and relationship management
Collecting data such as GPS, service, and driving tendencies is a benefit in the era of connected cars. When blockchain technology manages that data, the opportunities are wide open. For example... to read on click here

Automotive lending sales veterans Joe Peterson joins as Chief Sales Officer and Flory Hunsaker as Regional Sales Director; both bring decades of sales success to eLEND as it introduces next-gen finance platform to dealerships across the US

Foothill Ranch, CA – March 7, 2018 – eLEND Solutions™, specialists in online and in-store finance and ‘deal-making’ solutions for auto dealers, today announced they are building out their sales team with two proven auto finance sales leaders. Joe Peterson has joined as Chief Sales Officer and Flory Hunsaker as Regional Sales Director. Together, they will lead the formation of eLEND’s national sales team to fuel the roll-out of the company’s upcoming next-stage F&I solution. The new solution, which helps dealers complete profitable deals in record time, while reducing the costly loan rewrites that plague even the most experienced Sales and F&I Managers, will launch into the market in Q2.

“I call Joe and Flory the ‘dynamic duo’ - they come to eLEND after working together to build a huge and successful portfolio of over 9,000 dealer customers,” said Pete MacInnis, CEO of eLEND Solutions. “They will be instrumental as we usher in this exciting new phase in our growth. Their deep experience in both the auto retailing and financing space, and impressive past successes, perfectly position them to bring our innovative new products and services to market.”

In an environment where customers are hyper-sensitive to time and hassle – and are demanding quick approval for financing – the challenge is to eliminate process dead zones, streamline the experience and, importantly, reduce cost to the dealer. Peterson and Hunsaker are building a sales team that will help retail professionals simplify this all-important part of the car buyer’s journey with products that crunches millions of pieces of data into a user-friendly platform, without sacrificing profit or losing lender relationships. With an average of 13% of contracts being rewritten, it’s a key issue and a significant cost risk to dealers and their finance sources.

“Joining eLEND Solutions to help dealers bridge the gaps in the current auto finance process and simplify what is currently an incredibly complex and inefficient process  is an opportunity I deeply relish,” said Peterson.

Peterson’s career spans 30-plus years in the automotive brand, retail and finance space. During that time, he has held key leadership positions with companies such as Gateway One, Reynolds & Reynolds, and Capital One, among others. Each opportunity has brought with it a chance to expand his expertise, and bring to bear a management style based on a results-driven approach to problem solving. Peterson has been especially known for his ability to use trend-based market analysis to boost market share and revenue. He is widely known as a customer-first advocate who puts his focus on developing a positive rapport through solid business relationships.  

“We’re excited to help bring forth the next chapter of eLEND Solutions to dealers and can’t wait to show customers what we have in store for the future of automotive retail and lending: from innovations in workflow and decisioning to streamlining the process of making the best match between customer and lender,” added Hunsaker.

Hunsaker brings 25-years of experience in the automotive lending industry, including a decade at Gateway One where she rose through the ranks based on her excellence in sales, new market development and leadership. Most recently, she served as Regional VP, Southwest states and built a highly success sales team with over $80 million monthly in loan originations. Goal-oriented and visionary, among her many achievements at Gateway One were creating its first employee training program, developing and managing a credit/sales team for mega dealer groups and helping generate significant metrics improvements across the company’s sales initiatives. 

“The scientific approach that eLEND Solutions brings to such challenges is the reason we joined this team – and what makes the company a key transformative player heading into the future,” concluded Peterson. 

About eLEND Solutions
eLEND Solutions is a privately held automotive technology company specializing in online and in-store credit, finance and ‘deal making’ solutions designed to create a more efficient, faster moving Sales and F&I workflow that helps dealers sell more cars in less time, improve profitability and increase customer satisfaction.  For more information, visit www.elendsolutions.com.

Contact: 
Media Relations 
Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications, Cassandra@mwebbcom.com or (818) 397-4630
Crystal Hartwell, mWEBB Communications, crystal@mwebbcom.com or (714) 987-1016

A couple month’s ago, I posted a blog that got the DrivingSales community talking about how financing and the entire, old-school, 4 square process could be moved online. The argument being – this is what consumers want so what’s stopping us from giving it to them?

Since then, we've had a deeper conversation with dealers about whether or not they are ready for a connected car-selling process. And the answer was a resounding “Yes!”

Eighty percent of dealers we talked to agreed that connecting the online and in-store experience will help them sell more cars fasters. This is good news for everyone – especially consumers, 99% of who start their purchasing journey expecting it to be hassle, according to a recent DrivingSales.com study.

Thanks in large part to the transparency offered by online shopping, consumer expectations have made the traditional 4 square process obsolete. Instead, car shoppers are seeking out a pleasurable experience – and are even willing to pay more for it: a recent AutoTrader study found that customer satisfaction trumps pricing: 54% of consumers would rather buy from a dealership that offers their preferred shopping experience over one that offers the lowest price.

Another upside of connecting online and in-store processes is that transparency finally becomes a two-way street – because, by bringing financing (prequalification not just pre-screening) online, dealers will have key information before the customer walks in the door. Right now, it’s the online consumer that has a leg up on the dealer in terms of pricing and competitive information.

The vast majority of dealers (95%) we spoke to agreed that the industry should strive to create an, easy, streamlined buying experience by starting both sales and financing online. They believe it will help sell more cars faster and lead to greater customer satisfaction -- and nearly 70% of dealerships say this is a goal for their dealership.

Now that online financing (actual credit approvals with real payment terms) is becoming a reality, let’s give consumers a car buying process they can love – making the in-store experience much shorter and much sweeter.

A couple month’s ago, I posted a blog that got the DrivingSales community talking about how financing and the entire, old-school, 4 square process could be moved online. The argument being – this is what consumers want so what’s stopping us from giving it to them?

Since then, we've had a deeper conversation with dealers about whether or not they are ready for a connected car-selling process. And the answer was a resounding “Yes!”

Eighty percent of dealers we talked to agreed that connecting the online and in-store experience will help them sell more cars fasters. This is good news for everyone – especially consumers, 99% of who start their purchasing journey expecting it to be hassle, according to a recent DrivingSales.com study.

Thanks in large part to the transparency offered by online shopping, consumer expectations have made the traditional 4 square process obsolete. Instead, car shoppers are seeking out a pleasurable experience – and are even willing to pay more for it: a recent AutoTrader study found that customer satisfaction trumps pricing: 54% of consumers would rather buy from a dealership that offers their preferred shopping experience over one that offers the lowest price.

Another upside of connecting online and in-store processes is that transparency finally becomes a two-way street – because, by bringing financing (prequalification not just pre-screening) online, dealers will have key information before the customer walks in the door. Right now, it’s the online consumer that has a leg up on the dealer in terms of pricing and competitive information.

The vast majority of dealers (95%) we spoke to agreed that the industry should strive to create an, easy, streamlined buying experience by starting both sales and financing online. They believe it will help sell more cars faster and lead to greater customer satisfaction -- and nearly 70% of dealerships say this is a goal for their dealership.

Now that online financing (actual credit approvals with real payment terms) is becoming a reality, let’s give consumers a car buying process they can love – making the in-store experience much shorter and much sweeter.