Start with the outcomes you care about

• How many rooftops does your group operate? Options: Single rooftop, 2-5 rooftops, 6-20 rooftops, More than 20 rooftops
• Tell me about your revenue or margin targets for online-originated deals this year, and how they differ from showroom-originated deals
• Name the metrics that will make this pilot a success for you Options: Unique digital leads, Digital-to-showroom conversion rate, Average time-in-store reduction, F&I penetration on digital deals, Per-deal gross profit, Customer satisfaction score, Other
• Approximately how many digitally-started leads do you expect from a single rooftop in a typical month? Options: 0-10, 11-30, 31-75, 76-150, 150+
• If the pilot delivered your target conversion and profitability within 60 days, who would have the final authority to approve rollout across other rooftops? Options: Dealer principal/owner, General manager, Group COO/operations leader, CFO/finance, Board or ownership committee, Other

Where the current customer journey breaks and why it matters

• When a shopper starts online and then walks in, which step most often causes the sale to stall? Options: Trade-in discrepancy, Different monthly payment shown in-store, Missing lender approval, Sales team re-pricing, F&I offer mismatch, Other
• Walk me through a recent digitally-started deal that failed, what happened, and why it stuck with you
• How often do price or terms shown online differ from what a customer sees in-store? Options: Almost always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never
• Who on your team currently owns follow up for online shoppers at the rooftop? Options: BDC/internet sales, Lot sales staff, General sales manager, F&I manager, No single owner, Other
• Identify the pricing or process mismatch that would make you stop a pilot immediately

How leadership will decide, and what would make them say yes

• What specific decision criteria will your owner or general manager use to say yes or no after the pilot? Options: Leads per month, Close rate on digital starts, Per-deal gross profit, Reduced time-in-store, F&I penetration, Other
• Who must be involved in the approval chain for budget, legal, and operations? Options: Dealer principal/owner, General manager, IT/technical lead, Finance/CFO, Legal/compliance, BDC manager, Other
• Who typically signs pilot statements of work and who approves ongoing budget? Options: Dealer principal/owner, General manager, Group operations lead, CFO/finance, Procurement
• What budget threshold or internal ROI hurdle would block moving forward? Options: No up-front cost allowed, Up-front cost < $5k, Up-front cost $5k-$20k, Up-front cost > $20k, Need explicit payback < 6 months, Other
• If the pilot hits the conversion and margin targets you set, what internal obstacle could still prevent rollout?

Integration realities that will make or break the project

• List the systems that must be connected for the platform to perform core functions for your team Options: Primary DMS, Inventory feed/website, CRM/lead tool, Lender portals, F&I menu provider, Payment gateway, None of the above
• Do you have API access, a middleware layer, or only file exports for those systems? Options: APIs with documentation, APIs without documentation, Middleware/ESB available, Scheduled file exports only, No external access, Unsure
• Who in your organization controls credentials and can approve access to test environments? Options: IT manager, Third-party integrator, DMS vendor contact, General manager, No clear owner, Other
• How long will IT estimate to provide API credentials and sandbox access once requested? Options: Under 1 week, 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, More than 4 weeks, Unsure
• Identify a single integration gap that would make the pilot infeasible for your rooftop

Who's going to run this and whether your operation is ready

• When pilots stumble at other rooftops, unclear ownership is usually the cause, who will be the day to day owner at your rooftop for pilot operations and issue triage? Options: General manager, Internet sales manager/BDC, Operations or regional manager, IT lead, No one assigned yet, Other
• Do you have a named data owner who can deliver inventory, pricing, and customer feeds on the pilot timeline? Options: Yes, named and available, Yes, but limited availability, No, will need to assign, Unsure
• Walk me through your current inventory feed, how accurate are stock levels day to day, and who fixes exceptions
• How many people from sales, BDC, and F&I can participate in training and the pilot at a single rooftop? Options: 1-3 people, 4-7 people, 8-15 people, More than 15
• What resource shortage or single staffing gap would stop the pilot from starting on your timeline

Regulatory, lender, and contractual gates to watch

• Name the compliance checks or lender approvals that must be completed before we can run credit or lender flows Options: Legal review, State licensing review, Lender onboarding/approval, Privacy/consent review, None, Unsure
• Have you previously allowed soft credit pulls by third parties and what limits applied? Options: Yes, standard soft pulls allowed, Yes, but with strict limits, No, never allowed, Unsure
• Are there state regulations, privacy or consent requirements that would change how we present finance or trade offers to your customers? Options: Yes, several states, Yes, one or two states, No, Unsure
• Identify any contract or regulatory issue that would kill the pilot if unresolved

What alternatives are you weighing and what would keep you where you are

• Who else are you actively evaluating to solve online retailing and desking? Options: Another vendor, Incumbent tool we already use, Build internally, Do nothing, Other
• Which option do you view as the incumbent or default approach today? Options: Current website/storefront, Existing dealer tools, Manual in-store process, Internal build plan, Other
• Has anyone on your team proposed building this capability internally rather than buying it? Options: Yes, actively pursuing build, Yes, discussed but not committed, No, not proposed
• What would have to be true about your current approach for you to keep it instead of switching to a new platform?
• If we cannot meet your top integration or metric target, which alternative would you choose? Options: Stay with current tools, Switch to a competitor, Build internally, Pause the initiative, Other

Pilot acceptance criteria that would make the decision obvious

• If you had to name one measurable pilot outcome that would make you sign for rollout that week, what would it be?
• Which pilot length feels reasonable to you, 60 or 90 days? Options: 60 days, 75 days, 90 days, Other
• List the metrics that must be reviewed daily, weekly, and monthly during the pilot Options: Unique lead volume, Digital-to-showroom conversion, Average time-in-store, F&I penetration on digital deals, Per-deal gross profit, Customer satisfaction, Other
• Who will chair the weekly performance review and who can authorize changes to pilot scope? Options: General manager, Internet sales manager/BDC, Operations lead, IT lead, Seller's success manager, Other
• What exit triggers or remediation steps should we plan for if targets are missed at mid pilot?

Concrete next steps, timeline, and the information we need now

• What is the earliest date your team can commit to providing API credentials and a test environment? Options: Within 3 business days, Within 1 week, 1-2 weeks, More than 2 weeks, Not available
• List the signed documents or approvals required before integration work can begin Options: NDA, Statement of work, IT access form, Lender agreements, Vendor onboarding form, None
• What meeting cadence and attendee list would make governance efficient during the pilot?
• If we provided a deployment plan in three business days, who would be responsible for reviewing it? Options: IT manager, General manager, Internet sales manager/BDC, Operations lead, CFO/finance, Other
• What would make your leadership want to accelerate a decision after the pilot completes Options: Clear uplift in conversion, Improved per-deal margin, Significant time-in-store reduction, Positive customer feedback, Cost savings identified, Other

• Solution Experience — Shortening Showroom Visits and Structuring Deals Online

• Confirm the current state and cost
• You confirm the demonstrated workflow shortens showroom visits and maintains or improves F&I penetration compared with current walk-in deals.
• Provide API access details, DMS/CRM connector documentation, and a sample of the last 30 digitally-started or comparable deals.
• Run the sample pilot projection using the provided deals and deliver estimated deltas for lead volume, conversion rate, average time-in-store, and F&I penetration before the follow-up session.
• Map your integration constraints
• You agree that the proposed integration approach fits within your stated IT constraints or identify the remaining technical blockers to resolve.
• Run a real deal scenario end-to-end
• You agree on the pilot metrics, success thresholds, and the next steps to run a 60–90 day rooftop pilot on a single store.
• Draft the pilot measurement dashboard and propose a pilot kickoff date within two weeks of validated access.
• Demonstrate showroom visit reduction and F&I outcome
• Validate pilot metrics and acceptance criteria
• Forced validation, confirm this maps to your needs

• Solution Experience — Shortening Showroom Visits and Structuring Deals Online
• Solution Experience Deck
• Solution Brief

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Connect DMS and sync inventory
• Integrate CRM and route digital leads
• Integrate lender portals for real-time rates
• Configure real-time payment calculator
• Integrate trade-in valuation engine
• Deploy online credit application (soft-pull)
• Map F&I product menu and presentation
• Enable deal desking and summary generation
• Configure pricing rules and incentives
• Train sales and BDC on digital workflows
• Run 60–90 day rooftop pilot deployment
• Provide monthly performance analytics and A/B testing

Connect DMS and sync inventory

• Do you have API credentials for your DMS to enable VIN-level inventory sync? Options: Yes - API key available, No - credentials needed, Partial access (read-only)
• What acceptance criteria will validate inventory sync accuracy (VIN match rate threshold, image availability, and inventory latency in minutes)?
• Which inventory fields must be synchronized (e.g., VIN, mileage, MSRP, dealer price, vehicle condition, images)? Options: VIN, Mileage, MSRP, Dealer sale price, Condition, Images, Other
• Who within your team owns the DMS connection and can provide test accounts or sandbox access?
• How often should the inventory feed update during business hours (e.g., real-time webhook, 5-minute, 15-minute)? Options: Real-time/webhook, Every 5 minutes, Every 15 minutes, Hourly, Daily

Integrate CRM and route digital leads

• When a digital lead is generated from the platform, which fields from the lead (e.g., shopper contact, VIN, offer, credit pre-qualification) must be pushed to the source CRM?
• Confirm whether your CRM accepts leads via API, SFTP, or email, and provide the preferred endpoint type. Options: API, SFTP, Email/SMTP, Other
• Provide the routing rules for digital leads (e.g., assign to internet sales manager, BDC pool, store ID based on ZIP) and any lead-scoring thresholds.
• List the lead status values your CRM uses that should map to the platform (e.g., New, Contacted, Appointment Set, Sold).
• Specify SLA expectations for lead handoff (e.g., contact within 15 minutes) and any SLA-based automation you require. Options: Contact within 15 minutes, Contact within 1 hour, Same business day, Custom

Integrate lender portals for real-time rates

• Identify which lender rate feeds or endpoints you currently use (rate sheet API, XML, portal CSV) and whether credentials are available. Options: API rate feed, CSV/XML feed, Portal scraping, No current feed
• Estimate the acceptance thresholds that will validate lender rate integration (lookup latency in seconds, APR variance in basis points, success rate).
• Describe how lender decision attributes should be mapped into the platform (APR, term, monthly payment, decision code) and whether any lender-specific flags must appear on the deal summary.
• Indicate which lenders require additional consent or a redirect to their portal before a soft credit inquiry and provide their list.
• Assign who will coordinate lender sandbox access and test credentials during integration.

Configure real-time payment calculator

• Select which inputs your pricing model requires for the payment calculator (MSRP, sale price, taxes, fees, trade value, down payment). Options: MSRP, Dealer sale price, Taxes/fees, Trade value, Down payment, Trade payoff
• State the dealer reserves or hold amounts that must be applied to payment calculations (e.g., dealer reserve percentage, flat fee per deal).
• Are there state-level tax or documentation rules we must encode for payment accuracy and which states have special rules? Options: Yes, No
• Outline how manufacturer incentives and dealer discounts should be applied — stackable, expired dates, VIN-level eligibility source (incentive feed vs manual).
• Measure which payment breakdowns are required on the front-end and the printed deal summary (monthly payment, term, APR, total due at signing). Options: Monthly payment, APR and term, Total due at signing, Itemized fees, All of the above

Integrate trade-in valuation engine

• Name the trade appraisal sources you want to use (your in-house appraiser, third-party valuation API, dealer-provided manual valuation). Options: Third-party valuation API, In-house appraiser, Manual dealer valuation, OEM valuation feed
• Explain the required data flow for trade payoffs and liens — will you provide payoff amounts, or should the platform call a payoff service? Options: Dealer provides payoff info, Platform should request payoff, Not applicable
• Share your acceptable tolerance between valuation estimate and final appraised trade-in amount (dollar amount or percentage). Options: $0-$500, $500-$1,500, 1-5%, >5%, Custom
• Flag any dealer policies that affect trade offers (inspection required, conditional offers, appointment required) that should be enforced in the online flow.
• Note the VIN-level data elements required by the valuation engine (VIN, mileage, condition flags, optional photos) and whether photos will be uploaded by customers. Options: VIN, Mileage, Condition flags, Customer photos, Service history

Deploy online credit application (soft-pull)

• Choose which data fields are required on the online credit application before soft-pull consent (SSN last 4, full SSN, DOB, address). Options: SSN last 4, Full SSN, Date of birth, Address
• Record your preferred consent language for the soft-pull and whether you have an existing consent form that must be used.
• Pinpoint the credit bureau soft-pull endpoint type your dealer compliance requires (full credit report prohibited, soft inquiry only) and any state-specific disclosure requirements.
• Schedule how credit pre-qualification results should be delivered to the BDC or internet sales team (instant push, daily report) and any redaction requirements for sensitive data. Options: Instant push via API, Daily batch, Email, Portal only
• Upload or indicate the compliance documents (FCRA disclosures, privacy policy) we must reference during application flow and who will provide them.

Map F&I product menu and presentation

• Do you have a machine-readable F&I product catalog (CSV, API) with price, term, and product codes we can map? Options: Yes - API/CSV available, No - catalog to be provided manually, Partial
• What presentation order and default upsell tiers do you prefer for F&I products on the product menu (e.g., service contract first, GAP second)?
• Which F&I attributes must be shown on the online menu to match your paper menu (monthly price, single-pay, coverage highlights)? Options: Monthly price, Single-pay price, Coverage bullets, Manufacturer exclusions
• Who will approve the final F&I menu copy and pricing before go-live, and what is their approval SLA?
• How should F&I opt-in/opt-out choices appear on the deal summary and printed contracts for compliance audits?

Enable deal desking and summary generation

• When generating a deal summary, which documents must be included (deal worksheet, customer offer, credit pre-qual, F&I selections)? Options: Deal worksheet, Customer offer, Credit pre-qualification, F&I selections, All of the above
• Confirm the desking rules we should enforce (minimum gross, holdback handling, reserve caps) and provide the calculation examples.
• Provide the required fields to populate the printed buyer summary and retail installment contract (buyer name, VIN, sale price, taxes, APR, term).
• List who on your team signs off on final printed summaries and the signature flow (e-signature, in-person sign). Options: E-signature, In-person signature, Manager approval required
• Specify the format(s) required for exported deal summaries for your DMS (PDF, XML, CSV) and any field ordering constraints. Options: PDF, XML, CSV, API payload

Configure pricing rules and incentives

• Identify the pricing inputs we should use for rule calculations (floor price, MSRP, advertised price, market adjustment).
• Estimate the frequency of incentive updates and whether you have an incentives feed we can subscribe to (daily, weekly, manual). Options: Daily feed, Weekly feed, Manual updates, No feed
• Describe how dealer-specific repricing should apply (store-level overrides, group-level floors, time-limited discounts).
• Indicate any thresholds for automatic price overrides (e.g., approval required if discount exceeds $1,000 or %). Options: $500, $1,000, $2,500, Custom
• Assign who will own pricing rule changes during the pilot and their escalation path for exceptions.

Train sales and BDC on digital workflows

• Select which roles should attend training sessions (internet sales manager, BDC agents, sales consultants, F&I manager). Options: Internet sales manager, BDC agents, Sales consultants, F&I manager
• State preferred training formats and cadence (live workshop, recorded modules, roleplay sessions). Options: Live workshop, Recorded modules, Roleplay, Train-the-trainer
• Are there existing scripts or BDC templates you want us to incorporate into the online lead handoff? Options: Yes - provide scripts, No - need templates developed
• Outline KPI targets for trained staff during the pilot (contact rate, show rate, digital-to-sale conversion) and the reporting cadence.
• Measure readiness by listing the criteria that confirm staff can handle digitally-started deals (number of practice deals completed, certification). Options: 1-5 practice deals, 6-10 practice deals, Team certification required

Run 60–90 day rooftop pilot deployment

• Name the rooftop store for the pilot and confirm the single-store scope and any multi-dealer exceptions.
• Explain the target pilot population and traffic sources (organic website visitors, paid channels, CRM retargeting).
• Share the pilot timeline milestones you require (integration complete, staff training, soft launch, full pilot start).
• Flag any operational constraints that could pause the pilot (holiday sales events, inventory shortages, vendor audits).
• Note the measurable acceptance criteria for pilot success (unique digital leads generated, digital-to-showroom conversion uplift %, average minutes reduced in-store) and the exact thresholds that define success.

Provide monthly performance analytics and A/B testing

• Choose which KPIs you want in the monthly analytics package (unique leads, conversion rate, average deal gross, F&I penetration). Options: Unique leads, Conversion rate, Average gross, F&I penetration, Time-in-store reduction
• Record how you prefer A/B tests to be run (variant percentage split, duration, metric to evaluate). Options: 50/50 split, 30/70 split, Custom split
• Pinpoint the access level for analytics dashboards (store-level, group-level, read-only). Options: Store-level, Group-level, Read-only, Admin
• Schedule the monthly analytics delivery method and meeting cadence (automated report + review call, dashboard access only). Options: Automated report + review call, Dashboard access only, Ad-hoc reports
• Upload or identify the financial fields needed to calculate per-deal profitability in reports (adjusted gross, holdback, incentives applied).

• Subscription Agreement (Order Form)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Pilot Metrics & Acceptance Addendum
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• Integration & Connector Addendum
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Change Order Agreement

• Go-Live Health Check (weeks 1-4)
• First Measurement Review (weeks 4-10)
• Pilot Acceptance Gate (around day 90)
• Quarterly Success Review (ongoing)

• Schedule targeted refresher training sessions for roles where adoption or handling of digitally-started deals is weak.
• Secure a documented acceptance decision or a conditional acceptance plan with explicit remediation timelines.
• Capture any defects or enhancement requests discovered during audit for prioritization in the ongoing cadence.
• Publish the acceptance determination and the supporting evidence package to the shared workspace.
• Create remediation tickets for any failed criteria with clear success tests and resolution target dates.
• Compile an enhancement request list surfaced during acceptance for prioritization in the quarterly review.
• Performance trend review
• Confirm whether digital-to-showroom conversion rate and F&I penetration are sustaining at or above Solution Scope targets.
• Ensure all high-priority defects and conditional remediations are progressing toward closure with realistic timelines.
• Agree a prioritized set of operational and configuration changes for the next quarter.
• Publish the quarterly performance summary with metric calculations and any data anomalies noted.
• Create prioritized work items for the top enhancement requests and schedule configuration windows as needed.
• Reconfirm success criteria and owners
• Confirm technical integrations are live and stable enough to collect meaningful pilot data.
• Identify and assign remediation actions for any blockers preventing basic platform use.
• Confirm training gaps and schedule any follow-up sessions required before the first measurement window.
• Document and publish the list of open technical defects with reproduction steps and desired resolution dates.
• Collect and share a baseline export of initial usage logs and incomplete checkout counts for trend analysis.
• Schedule follow-up hands-on training for identified user cohorts and record completion status.
• Present first-window metrics and data sources
• Establish whether unique leads generated and digital-to-showroom conversion rate are moving toward the Solution Scope targets.
• Agree a concrete remediation plan with timelines to close the largest gaps before day 90.
• Confirm the dataset and reporting cadence that will be used at the acceptance gate to avoid disputes.
• Produce a validated metric dashboard export that defines each metric calculation and its source systems for acceptance review.
• Implement prioritized configuration or integration fixes identified in the meeting and record completion dates.
• Prepare a sample set of digitally-started deals to be used as audit evidence at the acceptance gate.
• Restate acceptance criteria and evidence package
• Produce a clear pass or fail determination for each acceptance metric recorded in Solution Scope.
• Deployment and integration validation
• Present outcome data per criterion
• Gap analysis and root-cause diagnosis
• Open issues burn-down
• Agree corrective actions and timelines
• User onboarding and role access check
• Enhancement request prioritization
• Document acceptance decisions
• Operational improvements and training refresh
• Agree remediation and conditional acceptance items
• Confirm readiness criteria for acceptance gate
• Early usage signals and error triage