Three Things Baseball Can Remind Us About Funding a Deal

As we head into summer, there are many things to look forward to, like children laughing in the park and ice cream trucks spreading familiar tunes through neighborhoods. And arguably, nothing is more synonymous with summertime than baseball.

But this year, summer also marks the approach of new eContracting requirements from lenders. As you watch your favorite team take the field and prepare for the new processes in your store, consider these three points America’s favorite pastime can remind us about the deal funding process:

Precision is everything.

Baseball is a game of accuracy. Whether you’re a pitcher aiming for a shutout or a batter attempting to pinpoint the perfect pitch for a hit, precision is a key component in keeping the game moving in your team’s favor. This is no different in the funding process. Keeping a focus on accuracy ensures everything is quick and painless from the time the deal is signed to the time it gets funded. Checking for signatures on one form while you mark another as complete can quickly put a damper on this, especially if you’re unable to do it all in one place. When you have to shift back and forth between different screens, you run the risk of missing something in the transition. Having a workflow built directly into your system that helps minimize the need to navigate multiple windows when finalizing a deal is a good start to keep precision high and CIT time low.

Errors are costly.

Fielders are always on their toes in order to prevent each opposing at-bat from becoming a scoring run. One minor error could turn a would-be perfect play sideways in a heartbeat. This is true for eContracting as well… taking in all the considerations, such as signatures, required forms, and overall compliance, you want to guarantee nothing is overlooked before you send the contract to the lender. One small mistake could be the difference between getting funded tomorrow and getting funded a week from now, or being hit with some hefty legal fees in your future. What if you had a way to not only automatically check for errors before the deal is sent, but also track the deal in real time as it goes to and from the lender? Having a process that hits these marks leads to accuracy for funding the first time, every time.

Regulation doesn’t equal sacrificing culture.

The league has a set of strict rules it expects each of its teams to follow. These rules are needed in order to provide the best environment for both the players and their fans. It helps keep uniformity across the entire league, no matter who’s playing. However, these rules haven’t taken away the ability to build culture. Each team still has the ability to incorporate traditions and create a brand unique to their specific franchise. Similarly, just because lenders are requiring new eContracting practices doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice your dealership’s culture. Having an adaptive process in place you’re happy with, will naturally lead to a process your customers are happy with. When your setup allows for customized user experiences while still remaining compliant with your lenders, it’s a win-win for everyone involved.

As you’re rooting for your team in the next game and as you prepare for the new eContracting requirements approaching, ask yourself, “is my current process setting me up for success?” If the answer is anything short of “yes”, then it may be time to make a call to the bullpen.

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