Roadster is aiming to make the communication process between salespeople and desk managers more efficient at car dealerships.

And simultaneously free up desking managers while also making the process more efficient for the end consumer.

Roadster plans to do so through Monday’s launch of its new Express Desking tool, which will let sales personnel message desk managers to take care of tasks like getting deal term approval and customizing payment options, while remaining with their customers.

Express Desking is powered by Marketscan and is integrated into a dealer’s existing Express Storefront platform.

By using this solution, the sales person can stand next to his or her customer while they work through and customize finance or lease terms and options, once that shopper has reached the point in the process to discuss financing, and message the terms to the sales manager.

The sales manager is able to review the terms, unlock codes, override the deal if necessary and grant approval.

So, how much quicker can this potentially make the F&I process for a dealer?

“We know anecdotally that sales managers and agents are spending, on average, 30-60 minutes after the demo going and back and forth before getting to a ‘yes,’” Roadster chief executive officer Andy Moss said in an emailed Q&A.

“While we do not have data yet on how much time will be saved, we believe it will be significant.  Express Desking allows sales agents to provide dozens of lease or finance payment options in seconds right in front of the customer (no printouts), without having to draft a new pencil for every adjustment,” he said.

“All custom payments, non-standard terms, rate overrides or bonus discount additions can be approved by desk managers remotely while the sales agent remains with the guest. Sales managers and agents can easily toggle between deals created for different vehicles or terms, making it extremely efficient during customer follow up,” Moss said. “There are also features like ‘roll to a payment’ that will supply the customer with the rates and terms they are looking for without starting from scratch.”

Greg Nalewaja, vice president and managing partner of Midlands Honda, said dealers who work in the digital space need to make things “seamless, easy and simple,” for customers.

“With Express Desking, the financing is transparent to the consumer.  It also provides other options to the consumer that are designed to maximize the dealers position in the deal,” Nalewaja said in an emailed Q&A. “The ability for a traditional desk manager to analyze the deal structure to this level is not realistic.  Express Desking provides the traditional desk manager with the efficient tool they need to optimize every dollar and give a stress-free experience to the consumers."

It also aims to free up desk managers to be able to take care of other tasks. Moss shared a few of those.

“At the end of the day, desk managers are responsible for ensuring profitability on each and every sale. With solutions like Express Desking, their visibility into what is happening on the showroom floor is significantly enhanced. Having it all at their fingertips on a mobile device means they are no longer glued to their desks for approvals,” Moss said.

“This will provide sales managers with the opportunity to observe their sales agents interacting with customers from the get go and help them find coachable moments and training needs to elevate their store’s overall profitability. Express Desking also allows managers to structure profitability rules within the tool so they can be confident their gross won’t be affected while they focus on coaching their teams.”