Automating the one thing a salesperson will do

General
1

Was just on a call with @Jeff Kershner and @Jim K talking through some fun stuff. The conversation veered toward work that a salesperson would actually do without a manager slapping them. The one thing we could come up with is filling out the paperwork for a car deal. And this is why dealers need so much automation. Yes, I know we were generalizing here.

The funny part about it is that the one big thing that’s being automated is the paperwork. This is essentially what digital retailing is about: digital paperworking.

As the OEMs continue to push digital retailing solutions, it is just more argument for how little is understood about car dealerships.

Anyway, it was a thought that humored me and I wanted to share it.

2

I see it’s been a while since anyone chimed in, but I’m curious—has anyone found a solid balance between automation and still keeping that authentic, personal touch in follow-ups? I’ve been testing a few tools, but I worry the convenience might come off as robotic if I’m not careful. Would love to hear if anyone’s found a sweet spot or hit any roadblocks lately.

3

What helped me get the team on board with consistent follow-ups was showing how much time they were wasting bouncing between tools. We used jira time tracking just to show how long simple tasks were taking versus automated ones. Once they saw actual numbers next to their own names, things clicked fast. Nobody wants to be the slowest one on the board.