Summary:
- Disconnected systems create delays, duplicate work and costly inefficiencies throughout the deal process.
- Customers feel that friction through repeated questions, longer wait times and a more complicated buying experience.
- Prioritize technology that connects workflows, keeps data aligned and delivers measurable results.
The modern dealership has no shortage of technology. From digital retailing tools to CRM platforms and AI-powered solutions, dealers have more options than ever. Yet one challenge continues to slow deals: disconnected workflows.
In a recent Automotive News Up to Speed interview, Noah Lee, Director of Product Consulting for Cox Automotive shared why the most important question dealers should be asking isn’t what a technology can do, but how well it works with everything else in the deal process.
“We’re jumping into the AI realm. 69% of dealers expect AI to drive sales and revenue growth. But only 22% have actually seen it,” explains Lee. As dealerships evaluate new tools and AI investments, the dealers seeing the strongest results are often focused on a simpler goal: creating connected workflows that eliminate friction for employees, improve the customer experience, and keep deals moving.
The Core Problem Still Plaguing Your Business
Dealerships rely on multiple systems to support the deal process, from digital retailing and CRM platforms to desking and contracting solutions. “The problem really isn’t that there’s multiple systems working on a particular deal,” Lee explains. “It’s really those systems not sharing information across each step of the deal-making process.”
Take a look at your processes. Is deal information being entered multiple times as it moves from sales to desking to contracting? Every manual handoff creates opportunities for delays, duplicate work, and avoidable mistakes. What starts as a small inefficiency can quickly compound across the deal process wasting time, money, and customer patience. “It’s literally money going out the door in inefficiencies,” Lee states.
“It’s literally money going out the door in inefficiencies.”
– Noah Lee, Director of Product Consulting for Cox Automotive
Ultimately, Your Customer Feels the Friction
Disconnected workflows don’t just impact your dealership operations. They directly affect the customer experience.
Customers don’t think about the technology powering the deal process, nor should they have to. They simply expect a smooth, seamless buying experience, whether they begin online, over the phone, or in the showroom. Lee points out, “The customer doesn’t see your dealership systems. But they feel the effects of it.”
Those effects often show up in small but frustrating ways. A customer submits information online, only to be asked for it again in-store. A deal takes longer than expected because information must be manually transferred from one system to another. What feels like a minor workflow issue behind the scenes becomes a more complicated buying experience for the customer.
Over time, these moments add up. Delays, duplicate questions, and disconnected processes can create friction that affects customer satisfaction and makes the path to purchase feel more difficult than it should. That’s why connected workflows aren’t just an operational advantage. They’re a customer experience advantage, too.
“The customer doesn’t see your dealership systems. But they feel the effects of it.”
– Noah Lee, Director of Product Consulting Cox Automotive
Focus on the Fundamentals: What Dealers Should Look For
With new technologies and AI-powered tools entering the market every day, it can be tempting to focus on feature lists and product demonstrations. But according to Noah Lee, dealers should start somewhere simpler: the fundamentals.
When evaluating technology, the goal isn’t simply to add more capabilities. It’s to create a more connected experience for both employees and customers. Dealers should ask whether the tools they’re considering help streamline the deal process or add another layer of complexity. According to Noah Lee, there are a few key areas to focus on:
Focus on the Customer and Employee Experience
Technology should make it easier for teams to work and easier for customers to buy. If a solution creates more manual work, more handoffs, or more duplicate processes, it may be solving one problem while creating another.
Look for a Connected Workflow
The most effective solutions support the entire deal journey, from digital retailing and the in-store experience to contracting and F&I. Information should move seamlessly throughout the process instead of requiring employees to manually transfer it from one system to another.
Prioritize a Single Source of Truth
Dealers should also evaluate whether their systems are sharing and updating the same customer and deal information. Ask your team, “Are these tools all talking to each other and updating a singular deal record or customer record?”
When information is connected across the deal lifecycle, teams spend less time managing data and more time serving customers. The result is a smoother workflow, better visibility, and a stronger overall experience for everyone involved.
In Practice: Proof from McDaniels Auto Group
The benefits of connected workflows aren’t theoretical. Dealers are already seeing real results when key systems work together throughout the deal lifecycle. According to Noah Lee, one example is McDaniels Auto Group, which focused on creating a more connected and streamlined deal process.
By connecting workflows across the dealership, the team was able to reduce friction, improve the customer experience, and gain greater visibility into the deal process from start to finish.
“They felt like they were in more control over the entire deal-making process,” explains Lee. That increased control translated into measurable business outcomes, including positive results in close rates and gross profit per deal.
Show, Don’t Tell
As dealers evaluate new technologies and AI-powered solutions, it’s easy to get distracted by feature lists, product demos, and promises of what’s possible. But as Noah Lee points out, the technologies that drive the strongest outcomes aren’t necessarily the ones with the most features. They’re the ones that help connect people, processes, and data across the deal lifecycle.
“What we want to be focusing on is making it easy for that customer to spend their money.”
– Noah Lee, Director of Product Consulting Cox Automotive
Are your systems working together as seamlessly as your customers expect them to?
