I recently wrote an article about the difficulty of searching for a new technology vendor. I realized many dealerships might not be ready for an overhaul, they would rather just replace their CRM tool or various service solutions.

But, how do you make sure you have the perfect provider for your business? ‘That’s the way we’ve always done it’ can be costly words.

Making sure you and your provider are on the same page is vital to your business. Make it easy. Start with simple criteria like this:

• Ensure the provider’s vision aligns with your dealership’s vision. 

Often dealerships find themselves in contracts with providers who don’t share their vision. If the provider you choose doesn’t understand your future goals, how will it help you achieve them? Ask your provider, or possible future providers, what their vision is. If the visions align, it will be easy to work together versus pulling one another in opposite directions.

• Research the longevity and stability of the provider.

After the economic downturn in 2008, who wants to put their business in the hands of a provider who is unstable? You want your business to maintain profitability while growing. Research your provider choices to guarantee you’re going to have stability and longevity. Safeguard yourself against an unknown future.

• Confirm the provider can deliver a complete system. 

The whole is greater than individual pieces. Make sure your provider can deliver everything you need as a complete system, rather than attempt to wire individual pieces together. Your system should easily move information back and forth within itself, helping you work more efficiently and effectively.

A dealer we spoke to commented on having multiple parts, “they have nice little combinations. All that stuff is cute, but it has to interact with your solutions.” – Dave Cannon, General Manger, CrossRoads Nissan

It might look pretty, but if it doesn’t do anything you won’t be able to use it.

Compare the Results

I recommend taking the above criteria along with your own and compare your current provider to others in the market. Score all criteria on a 1-10 scale. Then, add up the totals per provider to see who has the highest score.

The numbers won’t lie.

If your current provider scores the highest, you have the perfect match. If the total favors another provider, it might be a good opportunity to learn more about them.

Need some help finding the right criteria to score providers on? Check out our downloadable scorecard.

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