People still want to work with other people. We want to talk to people. That’s why when we call into a company, we immediately push 0 or we yell “REPRESENTATIVE” as quickly as we can in order to get rid of the bot and get a human being on the line.
But let’s flip that idea on its head for a moment.
Sure, we like human interaction, but what we want even more is processes to be as quick and painless as possible. It’s not that we hate bots per se; it’s just that we hate slow, unhelpful bots.
Think about it from a dealer’s perspective: we shy away from AI because we fear the AI might goof up, but let’s be real, human salespeople say stupid things sometimes too, don’t they?
The beauty of AI is how quickly and accurately we can train it. Can we say the same about our salespeople? No, we’re constantly in training mode! With a chatbot, you set the rules, and it follows them to a T.
Now, where can we put this bad boy to work? Anywhere your sales team needs a hand.
As a manager, I want my crew focused on what they do best: selling cars. I’m not paying them to get bogged down with low impact tasks.
Imagine shooting a quick text to 100 potential buyers asking them: “Are you still considering buying a vehicle?” You’re going to get either a “yes” or “no” Quick replies, quick wins.
Now, imagine having your salespeople calling those 100 prospects to ask the same question. How long will that take? How many people will they reach, and how many of those who they didn’t reach will check their voicemail, and reach back out with an answer?
This is inefficient and ineffective. With automation, I can send those 100 texts messages in a minute. I don’t have to take my salespeople off of the floor to go make those calls. It saves time and gets better results.
This implementation is not only for our salespeople, by the way.
I have started using A.I. to automate BDC tasks so that our top reps could handle the best leads. I have Auto dialers, automated texts per lead source and stage in the sales process, pre-scheduled texts set up, our store’s inventory uploaded to match vehicle interest, and more!
This removes the chance for hiccups in the sales process, and provides us with more time for our sales team and BDC to work on more important tasks that they can excel at. Why have a human glued to a desk when a bot can zip through tasks in seconds?
You know, A.I. might seem like a distant dream for most dealerships, but trust me, it’s a game-changer. It’s as revolutionary for the industry as the Ford assembly line was for manufacturing. Just like how Ford’s innovation allowed companies to do more with less, A.I. empowers dealerships to streamline operations and maximize efficiency.
After all, one of the primary benefits of the assembly line Ford created was to cut the time to produce a car from around 12 hours to 1 hour and 33 minutes. The innovation was largely related to saving time, making an existing process MUCH faster.
Think about it: in the past, dealerships sales volumes were limited by the capacity of their human workforce. There’s only so much that people can handle within a given timeframe, right? But A.I. changes the game entirely. It’s like having an army of tireless, hyper-efficient salespeople who never need a coffee break.
With A.I., dealerships can communicate with a far greater volume of leads while still delivering top-notch, personalized service. This means more opportunities to close deals and make customers happy—all while saving money on overhead costs. It’s a win-win situation that allows dealerships to push past previous productivity limits and reach new heights of success.
And it isn’t a hypothetical or theoretical situation when I say it will make customers happy. At Sky Auto Mall, our SSI scores shot up from 443 to 993. Plus, we had an 82% appointment show rate AND the best overall month in the store’s entire history after implementing AI!
We’re working harder, when we can be working smarter.
The even better news is that it doesn’t take eons to set up. It’s efficient. It’s cost-effective, and it works exactly how you want it to work right out of the box.
When I first implemented this at my store, I was shocked at how fast I was up and running.
By the end of the first day my team was onboard, they were sharing with me how much easier this tool had made their jobs.
So, if you’re still tired of working harder instead of smarter, maybe it’s time to let A.I. lend a hand. Trust me, your team will thank you for it.
