CARMEL, Ind. -

The remarketing industry’s digital shift has presented dealers with new opportunities to streamline their business and increase their profits.

But some dealers —maybe even you — still have concerns and are reluctant to embrace the shift. However, when you look at the in-lane experience versus the digital experience, they really aren’t that different.

In a nutshell, you don’t need to be physically present to bid and, now, cars aren’t lined up and driving through the lanes on sale day. This small tweak in the auction flow results in major advantages for you, the buyer.

It allows you to place bids on tens of thousands of vehicles offered daily with a click rather than a wave and do it from anywhere. You can track more auctions, work more efficiently, and focus on other aspects of your business.

But now that you’ve made the jump to digital, here are three keys to help you unlock the full potential of digital auctions and ensure your success.

Use the tools created to simplify your experience

Digital auctions are designed to streamline your efforts and, by extension, make your life simple, but it’s up to you to leverage them.

For instance, most digital auctions have customizable filters that allow you to see only the vehicles you’re interested in. There are also settings that will e-mail, text or send a notification alerting you when a vehicle you’ve been searching for becomes available.

You’d be surprised how many dealers I meet who either say they don’t know how to use these tools or don’t have time to set them up. In reality, it takes just a few moments to configure them; so instead of continually searching or refreshing every five minutes, you can work more efficiently and still never miss a vehicle.

But no tool saves you more time than presetting automatic bids — a feature available on most platforms. Instead of sitting in front of your screen and upping your bid every few seconds, this tool allows you to set it, forget it and focus on the rest of your business.

Automatic bids let you stop chasing vehicles by allowing you to set the maximum amount you’re willing to pay and automatically out-bid other buyers up to the final sale price or your bid limit. And if you’re really set on that vehicle, most platforms will send a notification once your limit has been out-bid, so you can hop back into the auction and continue bidding.

Unlock the power of the data at your fingertips

It’s no longer enough for dealers to make decisions on instinct alone. In an age of information, it’s your responsibility to yourself and your business to leverage the data in front of you. I’ve heard a lot of dealers say things like “it doesn’t work for me,” “I don’t have the time,” or “it’s too confusing.”

But that’s the same thing people said when online auctions launched, and now our company alone has over 150,000 digital buyers.

Understanding and applying data to your business has been simplified with a variety of tools. As a starting point, plenty of digital resources offer vehicle pricing and evaluation information. Most leverage a variety of books to ensure you’re buying vehicles for the market value.

But for those who really want to take their business to the next level, there are tools that can help you easily leverage data and personalize it to your business. For instance, KAR Global’s website features free, data-driven dashboards that are updated with new data weekly to help you easily understand trends at a national and state level.

Within a few minutes, you can drill into wholesale buyer activity and view how competitive the market is currently versus prior weeks or even months. You can also look at retail activity to better understand how quickly vehicles are turning off dealers’ lots, and current lot inventory levels by vehicle age and model year.

No matter which ones you choose, these tools make it easier than ever to leverage data. They won’t just give you confidence in your buying decisions; they’ll also give you an edge over your competition.

Leverage other markets than yours

One of the biggest advantages of digital auctions is the fact you aren’t limited to your closest auction, city or even state. You can check out the inventory at multiple locations in a day, even every few hours, creating more opportunities to find the best deal in a shorter timeframe than ever before.

You may even find that the vehicles you’re seeking are cheaper outside your local market, even after shipping costs. For example, 4-wheel-drive pickup trucks may sell for lower wholesale prices in Texas than they do in your local market of, say, Arizona. You wouldn’t want to drive from Arizona to Texas to bid in person, but you can buy inventory from another state or region easily through digital auctions, arrange transport and other post-sale services when you check out and reap all the benefits.

By moving outside your locality, you can not only find great deals, but also finish buying a day’s worth of vehicles in less time than it would take to drive to and from any auction.

 

Steve Dudash is vice president of dealer sales at KAR Global