In the late 1990s and early 2000s, we witnessed changes across industries in response to digital technologies that revolutionized the way we shop for and buy products and services. Despite this historic transformation, the automotive industry managed to resist change –making only slow, incremental progress toward reinventing its sales and distribution model that has been in place for more than a century.
The traditional Road-To-The-Sale process fueled distrust and anxiety, giving consumers a feeling of intimidation when visiting a dealership and coming face-to-face with an automotive sales professional. The inherent lack of transparency in this outdated model made it difficult to build a relationship with car shoppers, leaving car buyers with the feeling as though the dealership somehow took advantage of them or hid unnecessary costs in the transaction. To make matters worse, the in-store process was long and painful, resulting in low customer satisfaction ratings and employee turnover in the dealership.
A transparent, frictionless, & streamlined experience
Any new automotive retailing model must, first, have a much higher level of transparency than the traditional model. Today, consumers expect total transparency – they want answers to their questions the first time they ask them, they expect information upfront, and when they ultimately decide to come into the dealership – they want the experience to be consistent.
Car shoppers expect a smooth transition and a streamlined transaction that gets them in and out of the dealership with the final paperwork and their vehicle within a reasonable timeframe that’s convenient for them.
And this is where digital portfolios come into play…
What is a digital portfolio?
A digital portfolio is a fully mobile and flexible digital container that contains all the information shoppers want to know about the vehicle they are interested in, the dealership, the OEM, and their financial options.
They are fully customizable and branded for the dealership and salesperson – enabling a completely transparent remote or in-store presentation of all the decision-making facts and information necessary to helping a car shopper move through the purchase funnel – smoothly and quickly.
Digital portfolios contain:
- OEM window stickers
- Factory ebrochures
- Dealership reconditioning records
- Inspection reports
- OEM technology videos
- Dealership videos
- Customer reviews
- Service history reports
- And so much more!
When utilized by salespeople and BDC agents, dealerships can deliver consistent sales presentations every time – online or remotely.
Transparency & knowledge builds trust & rapport
VelocityEngage digital portfolios enable dealerships to transform the Road-To-The-Sales process and fully embrace digital technologies that create an atmosphere of trust online – while empowering salespeople to build rapport by demonstrating deep product knowledge.
OEM window stickers displayed on each used vehicle, for example, arm salespeople with product information – even if they are not familiar with the specific make and model.
Reconditioning records allow salespeople to build value in the safety and quality of each used vehicle – and justify pricing by openly discussing the dealership’s recon investment in the vehicle.
Factory-produced ebrochures and product videos enable salespeople to give high-quality, informative sales presentations either at their desk, over the phone, or Zoom meeting.
An extraordinary digital sales presentation tool designed specifically for salespeople & BDC agents
VelocityEngage digital portfolios were specifically designed to help salespeople train away from the antiquated Road-To-The-Sales process – to the Digital-Road-To-The-Sales process – with full disclosure of information upfront so that a relationship can easily be built with each car shopper.
More importantly, when all salespeople and BDC agents in the dealership take the same approach in each sales presentation – it makes the transition from online to in-store – seamless, smooth, and easy for all the dealership’s online car shoppers
To learn more about VelocityEngage digital portfolios, visit www.VelocityAutomotiveSolutions.com and request a demo to see digital portfolios live on dealer websites.
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