When choosing the best technology to help speed and simplify the art of selling cars, today s automotive dealer faces an overwhelming array of choices. New technology products and platforms are evolving at lightning speed, touching all aspects of the dealership, especially in the sales and F&-I departments. When evaluating technology, dealers can look to certain common sense characteristics designed to help them secure financing for their customers and sell more cars.

Processing paperwork takes time--and time means money in the F&-I business. Reducing four hours to four seconds for a credit decision means a dealer can present payment options to customers faster. And by reducing the time it takes to get funded on financed deals from seven days to one day using tools like electronic contracting, dealers can increase their cash flow while reducing operating costs. Technology tools that reduce paperwork mean faster responses, more sales, higher customer satisfaction and increased profitability per deal.

Technology tools need to be easy-to-use and accessible throughout the dealership. Once personnel learn the dealership s processes and tools, they should be readily available so that personnel stay productive, even when the dealership is humming with activity. The wide-scale availability of broadband Internet access and the increasing affordability of personal computers make deploying secure Web-based systems everywhere in the dealership affordable. The ease, speed and growing sophistication of web-based solutions make powerful tools available on demand.

Smart technologies to support F&-I are also becoming increasingly integrated with other core tools, such as the dealer management system (DMS). While a DMS connects all the key parts of a dealership, including Sales, F&-I, Parts, Service, and Accounting, it still doesn t do everything. Many companies today sell standalone products for important tasks like desking lease and retail deals, pulling credit bureaus, and managing customer contacts. But few provide these features in one integrated solution that serves the needs of sales and F&-I personnel. Rather than buying a variety of standalone products that do not work together, dealers should look for tools that offer a full array of features that operate as one complete F&-I solution--from credit bureau pulls to payment quotes to credit application processing, to electronic contracting and funding. And when choosing a technology to further accelerate the financing process, smart dealers will increasingly look for tools that can be integrated with their DMS--reducing the need to key and re-key customer information.

Technology that has all these characteristics will help a dealer get the customer to say yes faster. Menial tasks like pushing paper around the dealership, waiting in line for a lease quote, and keying and re-keying information in multiple systems do not help a dealer sell cars or F&-I products. The more time a dealership s personnel spends presenting products to customers, the better the chance the customer will get the car keys and the dealer will get the contract. And with the right technology, sales and F&-I cycles can be reduced from days to hours, and even minutes. Can you afford to be without it?

When choosing the best technology to help speed and simplify the art of selling cars, today s automotive dealer faces an overwhelming array of choices. New technology products and platforms are evolving at lightning speed, touching all aspects of the dealership, especially in the sales and F&-I departments. When evaluating technology, dealers can look to certain common sense characteristics designed to help them secure financing for their customers and sell more cars.

Processing paperwork takes time--and time means money in the F&-I business. Reducing four hours to four seconds for a credit decision means a dealer can present payment options to customers faster. And by reducing the time it takes to get funded on financed deals from seven days to one day using tools like electronic contracting, dealers can increase their cash flow while reducing operating costs. Technology tools that reduce paperwork mean faster responses, more sales, higher customer satisfaction and increased profitability per deal.

Technology tools need to be easy-to-use and accessible throughout the dealership. Once personnel learn the dealership s processes and tools, they should be readily available so that personnel stay productive, even when the dealership is humming with activity. The wide-scale availability of broadband Internet access and the increasing affordability of personal computers make deploying secure Web-based systems everywhere in the dealership affordable. The ease, speed and growing sophistication of web-based solutions make powerful tools available on demand.

Smart technologies to support F&-I are also becoming increasingly integrated with other core tools, such as the dealer management system (DMS). While a DMS connects all the key parts of a dealership, including Sales, F&-I, Parts, Service, and Accounting, it still doesn t do everything. Many companies today sell standalone products for important tasks like desking lease and retail deals, pulling credit bureaus, and managing customer contacts. But few provide these features in one integrated solution that serves the needs of sales and F&-I personnel. Rather than buying a variety of standalone products that do not work together, dealers should look for tools that offer a full array of features that operate as one complete F&-I solution--from credit bureau pulls to payment quotes to credit application processing, to electronic contracting and funding. And when choosing a technology to further accelerate the financing process, smart dealers will increasingly look for tools that can be integrated with their DMS--reducing the need to key and re-key customer information.

Technology that has all these characteristics will help a dealer get the customer to say yes faster. Menial tasks like pushing paper around the dealership, waiting in line for a lease quote, and keying and re-keying information in multiple systems do not help a dealer sell cars or F&-I products. The more time a dealership s personnel spends presenting products to customers, the better the chance the customer will get the car keys and the dealer will get the contract. And with the right technology, sales and F&-I cycles can be reduced from days to hours, and even minutes. Can you afford to be without it?

Edward K. Jen is the vice president of product management for DealerTrack, Inc. DealerTrack offers dealers web-based platforms enabling application processing, credit bureau access, and electronic contracting as a integrated solution. He can be contacted at 1.877.357.8725 or via email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .