CHARLOTTE, N.C. -

It very well might be the site that makes some dealership general managers cringe most — a customer leaving the showroom without making a purchase.

As Sonic Automotive continues to implement its True Price sales strategy, executive vice president of operations Jeff Dyke is OK with letting that customer leave without keys and a contract for a new ride as long as the store is adhering to what the dealer group has spent nearly four years to plan and orchestrate.

“We’ve trained the American consumer to go negotiate how to buy a car,” Dyke said about the retail vehicle market on Tuesday during a conference call when Sonic reported its second-quarter performance, which Auto Remarketing first recapped here.

“When they say, ‘No, I need $500 off this number,’ we don’t have the room to negotiate $500 anymore. I’ve still got stores that are doing it, but we’re training and working to teach them how to overcome that,” Dyke said. “It’s OK to have a customer leave the showroom in order for you to stick to your strategy. We’ve got stores right now that are doing that and doing a great job of having the growth and margin that we need.”

Although Sonic appears to be having some growing pains while implementing the True Price strategy, Dyke reiterated numerous times while being peppered with questions about the concept from Wall Street analysts that Sonic is going to gain two valuable items: trust and transparency with consumers.

“That’s something in our industry — I don’t care who you talk to — it just doesn’t exist,” Dyke said. “It’s very difficult to find a place where people point to and say, ‘I trust them, and they’re very transparent in how they handle their business.’

“But we’re making that come to life here at this company, but it is not easy to do. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. We’re another six or seven months away from feeling really comfortable with where we are and getting a few of our guys who are still learning on board,” he went on to say.

Earlier during Tuesday’s call, Sonic executives responded to comparisons of the company’s new sales strategy to ones implemented by Saturn and Oldsmobile, two brands no longer manufactured by General Motors that tried no-haggle pricing.

“The biggest difference between Oldsmobile and Saturn and today’s world is the digital age. Pricing information is so transparent, and that didn’t exist when they attempted that strategy,” Sonic chief financial officer Heath Byrd said.

With potential buyers accessing a treasure trove of information rather easily thanks to devices such as smartphones, Dyke explained how the True Price strategy is part of how Sonic is reinventing its entire customer experience.

Rather than having customers go from station to station throughout the dealership to complete a process that can take three hours or longer, Sonic stores are gearing up to have sales associates complete the purchase, financing and any other back-end transactions with an iPad in 45 minutes or less.

“Talk to anyone walking in and out of the store, they might love the individual that they’re working with, but the entire overall process is not something the consumer base is in love with in our industry. At Sonic, it’s going to change,” Dyke said.

And if that “up” leaves without making that purchase because the Sonic associate wouldn’t lower the price by $500 or more, Dyke is confident that same individual will be back at the store ready to make a deal.

“If you cannot price your car right the first time, the process won’t work. The customer experience process is not going to work because you’re going to have all of this back-and-forth negotiation. There’s too much information in the consumers’ hands today, and it’s going to be even more five years from now.” Dyke said.

“That’s data you’ve got to be able to use to your advantage. I’m not saying we have to be the lowest price, but I’m also telling you we have to have a fair price,” he continued.

“When you couple that with a great experience, we all know a great experience allows for a higher margin,” Dyke went on to say.

Dyke acknowledged that some veteran sales associates are struggling to adapt to this dramatic pricing shift, but he reiterated on Tuesday that Sonic gradually moved toward this implementation, advising managers and other personnel about how the strategy would be applied. Dyke used descriptive words such as “methodically” to describe the Sonic’s plan it’s now executing.

Since Sonic is placing so many resources into this endeavor, investment analysts inquired about how the company plans to promote it to potential buyers. Dyke indicated that Sonic is looking to roll out a nationwide branding campaign during the second half of next year when the True Price strategy is being executing at a high level at all stores through the group’s network.

Dyke described the potentially damaging results that could come if Sonic promotes itself and only a portion of the group stores in a particular market are operating as planned.

“If you’re not executing properly, it’s a bad scenario. I don’t want to go advertise something that we’re not good at yet. We’re getting better and better as we move along, but boy it’s been a challenge,” Dyke said.

No matter the depth of the challenge, Dyke is confident Sonic’s plan will flourish where Saturn and Oldsmobile faltered, pointing to how CarMax is enjoying success with a similar strategy.

“I think if you look at one of the most successful companies out there, CarMax is just a huge company and they’re all one price. Maybe one high price, but they’re one price,” Dyke said.

He added later in Tuesday’s call, “We’ve got some stores that haven’t quite caught on yet. They will. They’ll come to the party, and we’ll sell more cars because of it and we’ll make higher than traditional margins.”

Nick Zulovich can be reached at nzulovich@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.