I think he's missing the point completely. First of all, we can't assume that every customer is sold on doing business at your dealership when they arrive (or buying your car over your competitor's), and secondly, a big part of the road to the sale is to build value, take control, and guide them in the right direction.
I apologize that I'm just getting to respond to these now. I wasn't aware Jessica had reposted this as a discussion in the forums, but I'll willingly throw myself into the ring on this.
Sean mentioned that I am saying sales professionals should be order takers. That isn't exactly the case. I'm not saying an automotive salesperson is akin to a McDonald's worker, but I will use the order taker analogy with McDonald's. When you walk up to the counter at a McDonald's, or when you pull up into the drive-thru - don't you pretty much know what you're ordering? Of course you do. You don't need a rundown of HOW they make their sandwiches. Your previous experiences have led you there. But in all other ways, no. Dealers aren't like McDonald's order takers. As you yourself stated, a salesperson can help influence the gross profit. Do you really think they're doing that with their infinitesimal selling skills and objection techniques? Not solely, no way. Gross profit is more typically influenced by consumer demand vs. supply, as well as the quality of experience and customer expectation. You simply get a better experience at a Ruth's Chris than you do a McDonald's. The food is better, as is the atmosphere, and service. Do they not both have order takers?
But let's look past order taking and any assumptions where you believe the salesperson knows what is better for the customer than the actual customer. Let's get back to the point of the blog. The Road to the Sale wasn't created (some say in 1930) to give a better experience for the customer. It was created to hold the salespeople accountable to a process. Designed for different end users in mind, IMO.
I believe you mistook the point of the article, Sean and Alex. The Road to the Sale (which some have come to know and love so adamantly) now takes place PRIOR to the shopper's visit to the dealership. The meet and greet sales consultants through website bios and video introductions, they perform needs assessments with BDC agents, or through endless forums of research, they select the vehicle after 4 months of shopping online, they receive video walk-arounds debuting the vehicle (though admittedly all clients still need a test drive - not that test drives can only happen on a dealer lot, but I digress). They can acquire financing from the dealership by filling out an online credit app, they have their vehicle appraised through countless sites or AutoTrader TIM - which gives them an ACV. The Road to the Sale at dealerships has been truncated because of what the customer has achieved in advance of their arrival. That is the point of the blog. The traditional RTS must be tailored to EACH client based on what they've accomplished prior to their visit.
Road to the Sale elements are subjective for each client. It was only designed to manage the salespeople, and not for the benefit of the shopper. Salespeople today should be nothing more than product experts who educate, and not implement a process designed to "sell" the guest on something they've likely already decided upon. Well crafted digital assets (in-store with technology and online in advance of arrival) can influence shoppers better than the words from a sales consultant's mouth.
And while I'm ranting, I'd like to "throw shade" at this number flippantly tossed around (that we've all used) that 70% of customers who inquire buy a different vehicle than initially intended. There is virtually no way for anyone to have truly quantified this number, but moreover, it is cloudy. If 70% of all car sales were pre-driven, then of course a greater majority of used car shoppers are more flexible on their end vehicle. I would say new car shoppers are so much more drilled-down on their vehicle of choice, the % of new car shopping consumers that switch to a different vehicle than initially inquired is WAY lower than 70% (probably under 25% at best) because people want what they want. When new car consumers switch to a different vehicle, it is likely based upon the dealer's availability and the customer's budget, not based on what a salesperson suggests during the road to the sale. So the salesperson's job isn't just to delightfully switch customers. We need to train showroom consultants today to be educators and not salespeople.