Imagine a seamlessly executed auto sale that eliminates walk away points, caters to each customer’s specific loan requirements, and accelerates the closing process. Then imagine at the same time matching even the most challenging loan requests at the same time, dramatically increasing acceptance rates, and your bottom line. This is quickly becoming a reality for many dealers.

A dismal forecast
Credit turmoil, rising fuel costs, and a softening economy all add up to a gloomy forecast for automobile dealers. It is imperative that dealers maximize sales opportunities by offering relevant and timely offers. This is often the critical to solidifying a deal or watching a potential buyer walk out the door. Delivering the right product at the right time is key in any market, but even more so today. Automated negotiation and instant credit decisions are innovative, yet proven, strategies designed to help dealers provide the best financing offers to a shrinking customer-base.

Automated negotiation and instant approvals
Making smart lending decisions involves much more than just mitigating risk. In today’s market, dealers must partner with lenders to make personalized offers based on what is most important to the customer: interest rate, loan term, trade-in value, and payment amount. Automated negotiation empowers dealers to quickly personalize offers and avoid walk-away points. Dealers currently working with lenders that have an automated negotiation system in place have a significant competitive advantage—immediate access to accurate and timely loan information resulting in increased acceptance rates.

Making the right offer is just half the battle. In these competitive situations, having the right offer, at the right time, is critical. Prescreen-of-one allows dealers to instantly approve customers with a simple swipe of a driver’s license. A prescreen solution enables a dealer to prepare a prioritized list of financing options, literally in seconds. When the potential buyer returns from the test drive, they can be taken immediately from the lot to the financing office without delay and provided with their personalized options.
Automated negotiation and prescreen-of-one significantly increase acceptance rates and solidify offers for dealers. Combined, they give dealers the tools needed to attract and book customers.
Tom Johnson has 19 years of experience in designing, implementing, and managing technology solutions in banking and education for Zoot. As vice president of product development he is the chief idea generator and develops new product concepts. Tom can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .