TI: Are team dealers at this point still technophobes?

Lynn Burghardt: Team dealers are slow to adopt new technology because, too often, the technology they’re presented with won’t necessarily improve the efficiency of the business. They’re smart and they work hard. If there’s not a substantial upside, why change what’s already working well?

Just because technology is available doesn’t mean it’s good enough to substantiate changing current processes. Salespeople may switch to a digital ordering system because their customers’ experience will improve, only to find that it makes their job more complicated and time-consuming than those good, old triplicate order forms. Team dealers see what is possible with robust, powerful tech. They’re demanding better analytics and reporting tools and driving change. Some manual systems may still be in place, but it’s not for lack of desire to adopt new technology.

What questions should dealers be asking when exploring tech investments?

What problems are holding the business back today? What current processes are important to consider? Who will be affected by this change? What is the growth opportunity that this change will open up for the business? Will this technology help the business sufficiently scale? By implementing features within this new solution, will we be positioned to consolidate other programs and eliminate tasks? Who will we be partnering with? Is this a beneficial relationship? And finally, what is the technology partner doing to continually develop new features?

What are the big challenges in any tech implementation?

Implementation is a team sport. The best, most successful tech transitions begin with a thorough understanding of the goals, timeline and expected benefits of the process.

An implementation strategy is key. The ability to customize the process to meet the needs of the business and all affected employees works best. Implementation of new technology often faces snags simply due to lack of communication and alignment of common goals.

A few clarifying questions before kicking off the process will help eliminate some of these obstacles. Does the new technology partner have a vested interest in our success? Does the timing of this transition work well for my employees? Will the implementation process disrupt the current workflow, or can this be a running change? Will this new technology increase productivity by smoothing out bottlenecks and automating manual work within an existing process?

By opening the lines of communication regarding change, you’re getting both feedback and buy-in from employees and everyone involved.

What’s your take on the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for the dealer space?

It’s exciting to consider the many ways we can leverage all the data available to us and transform that information into useful technology through AI. We can find human behavior in that data and present the most likely next move for a salesperson or the end consumer.

AI will help us look at everything going on in the world of webstores, what’s being offered, what’s being sold and present smart stores based on this information. Product vendors should be particularly interested in the potential that AI could bring to our industry.

What frustrations do you hear from dealers around technology?

In this industry there are many options, but the most common complaint I see is that each solution is limited and doesn’t consider all aspects of a business’s needs. Team dealers are using multiple technologies to run their business and moving between them is restrictive and time consuming.

Relying on technology is a good thing, but we can’t assume the technology will automatically meet all our business needs. All technology was built by humans. The best chance we have of successfully solving business problems through technology is by keeping an open line of communication, listening to each other  and partnering to understand and solve complex problems.