As in most dealerships, the salespeople at Motor City were primarily responsible for keeping track of their customers. To look for customer information, they would refer to the customer database. Yet, the search was cumbersome and yielded only basic name, address, and phone number data. They had no easy access to the prospect's previous purchases at the dealership, service history, or a record of visits. Without that information, the salesperson and the dealership were flying blind. Because they relied on an archaic system of messy yellow tablets or notes scribbled on the back of business cards to record hot prospects, those visits were not always recorded in the dealership database.

As they dug into the process, several distinct problem areas began to emerge.

• By approaching prospects without background information, Motor City's salespeople were spending a great deal of time determining whether they were speaking with an existing or new customer, and if existing, whether they usually leased or purchased.
• The sales team generally waited for customers to come in to the dealership rather than actively looking for customers.
• Customer relationships were built and maintained solely on the personal relationship between the customer and salesperson. As a result, customers were loyal to specific salespeople, but not necessarily to the dealership as a whole.
• Management oversight of sales activities was very difficult and, if the process did not change, would require hiring more managers.