Financing is thought of as the worst part of the car-buying process for many customers. What they don’t know is that they’re far from alone in that thinking: In reality, many dealership employees feel exactly the same way.

Financing will make or break a deal that everyone is happy with. But how can you make sure that the latter won’t be the case and the time you’ve invested will be worthwhile? The key to success is finding a software solution that helps you better manage the financing process on the dealer’s end.

To accomplish that consider these 5 needs:

1) Ease of learning

Any software you choose has to come with a low learning curve. Your staff will need to be able to quickly master its nuances, allowing everyone to more easily take advantage of the benefits it can bring potential car buyers.

Resistance to change is a natural phenomenon, so financing software that is intuitive for your staff to use helps keep the focus on the positive aspects of the platform.

2) Data input automation

Data automation is part of the learning curve, but its benefits go much further. Ideally, your financing software should be able to automate some of the processes that your team used to perform manually. The resulting time savings can be used to improve customer service and other aspects of the selling process to allow your dealership to sell more cars.

3) Intuitive credit reporting

As any car dealership manager knows, credit reporting is a vital but little-loved part of the car buying experience. Both for pre-qualification and the actual credit application, a score needs to be obtained in order to pursue potential loans from relevant financial institutions.

The right software, as a result, can make a significant impact in turning applicants into buyers. The more easily it can integrate and pull data from a variety of sources, the better it can perform in convincing potential car buyers to pull the final trigger.

4) CRM integration

How do you capture the data from potential car buyers, even if they don’t take the final step and buy? Most dealerships now use customer relationship management software that allows for more efficient post-sale and post-visit follow ups. Capturing that data, of course, can be a labor-intensive manual process.

Some financing software can alleviate that process. Thanks again to the automated processes mentioned above, you can pull data from one system into the other automatically. The result is a more intuitive process on all ends that enables data transfer without manual entry.

5) Real-time, tangible results

Finally, of course, it makes sense to look at the tangible impact that a financing software can make on your dealership. If the benefits compared to your existing processes are negligible, the resources involved in making the switch may not be well-spent. On the other hand, software that allows you to drastically change the way your customers buy cars (and your team processes these transactions) is well worth the investment.

Look for software that has a proven track record of improving close rate, as well as customer satisfaction. The more customer-oriented these results are, the better.

To learn more about a software solution that allows you to integrate all of the above into your existing sales processes and maximize your efficiency and sales success, contact us.