F&I and Showroom, January 2018

www fi magazine com 14 F I and Showroom January 2018 SHOWROOM Tom Murray and Steve Zabawa are in no hurry when it comes to their digital retailing platform Even as other ecommerce startups have made national headlines the creators of WebBuy have remained methodical about the way theyve rolled out the capabilities of their end toend online car buying experience Remaining in stealth mode since they began developing their Amazonlike checkout solution in 2014 the two co founders soft launched WebBuy to a select group of dealers finance sources and OEMs during the 2017 NADA Show last January Since the convention Murray and Zabawa have been flying around the country showcasing their creation to the automotive retail world We flew under the radar purposely because we believed we had crafted the correct digital selling solution and wanted to retain our proprietary value drivers says Murray WebBuys CEO Weve had the approach validated as other entrants into the space who began their life as a for example lending app or lead gen app are now trying to play catch up to create what weve spent the last five years developing One thing thats interesting is everyone weve interacted with who has vetted our solution says the same thing Youre the only ones whove truly figured it out he adds What they figured out is a platform that fully connects consumers lenders and dealerships through a single app That description might sound familiar but there is plenty that distinguishes WebBuy from the sea of startups looking to transform the automotive retail landscape For one the system is free to both consumers and dealers Its called freemium Zabawa says We get paid when loans go through the system and when car dealers are successfully selling cars and accessories The same will be true for F I products when WebBuys online F I menu goes live Its now in beta in a few rooftops currently using the platform In fact the finance portion of WebBuy wont be fully unleashed until the first quarter of 2018 when a newly forged relationship with RouteOne takes effect Murray notes however that the step bystep rollout is just part of plan Its important for people to understand that when online retailing becomes a reality it will still only comprise a nominal percentage of the marketplace Murray says Our solution is geared toward the internet department or BDC to not only improve conversion rates on web inquiries but allow them to finally facilitate a true 360 degree online sale Its also a lead generation tool designed to convert more people who dont complete the checkout process DEALER CREATED DEALER FUNDED WebBuys creators arent Silicon Valley techies Murray is the former president and COO of Resource Automotive Zabawa is the co owner of the five store seven brand Billings Mont based Rimrock Automotive Group Their goal was not to solve consumer complaints about the car buying process it was to provide relief to dealer pain points in the Digital Age What weve created is in essence a digital 10 steps to the sale Murray says Were car people and we wanted a solution that was completely dealer centric while maintaining a terrific consumer T BY GREGORY ARROYO AND STEPHANIE FORSHEE WebBuy isnt just another digital retailing system Its a dealer funded dealer centric platform its creators say will solve F Is biggest headaches CLICK to Buy