Chapter 27 — Quiz: Digital Retailing
Answer each question, then check the hidden answer. Aim for 70% or better before moving to Chapter 28. Reminder: company and tool names are described as of this writing and change over time.
Multiple Choice
1. According to the chapter, online retailing primarily:
- A) Replaced the salesperson with a "Buy Now" button
- B) Moved the salesperson's job earlier and made it more human
- C) Eliminated the need for a test drive
- D) Made price the only thing that matters
Answer
**B.** The clerical 80% (pricing, trade estimate, credit app, products, paperwork) moved online; the human 20% (test drive, trade honored in person, judgment, trust, relationship) became the salesperson's whole job — a concentration of value, not a replacement.2. A trade-in "instant offer" generated online is best described as:
- A) A final, guaranteed price the dealer must pay no matter what
- B) A meaningless number that means nothing in person
- C) A real estimate that is pending inspection
- D) Always lower than the car is actually worth
Answer
**C.** It's a real, usable estimate, but conditional on a physical inspection. If the car is as the customer described, the professional **honors** it; the number changes only for genuine, *shown* condition differences.3. The "cardinal sin" of the online-to-in-store handoff is:
- A) Letting the customer test drive the car
- B) Making the customer start over in person
- C) Honoring the online trade offer
- D) Sending a personalized video
Answer
**B.** Re-asking, re-quoting, and re-appraising what the customer already did online tells them their online work was fake and replaces convenience with the old four-hour grind.4. Which of these still genuinely requires an in-person human in a hybrid deal?
- A) Viewing the price
- B) Selecting an F&I product from the menu
- C) The test drive
- D) Building a payment scenario
Answer
**C.** Pricing, product selection, and payment scenarios all happen online. The test drive (and the trade's final confirmation, and the trust) is the human part.5. The chapter's "honest scorecard" says pure-online players like Carvana genuinely excel at all of the following EXCEPT:
- A) No-haggle, no-pressure pricing
- B) Couch convenience and home delivery
- C) Letting you test drive the exact car before you commit to buying
- D) A large national inventory
Answer
**C.** Their model is buy-first, drive-later (with a return policy as the safety net). Letting the customer drive the specific car *before* committing is the local store's advantage.6. Why did Grace correctly decline GAP in her online deal?
- A) GAP is always a ripoff
- B) She had positive equity, so there was little or no gap to cover
- C) The online tool doesn't offer GAP
- D) Her credit was too good for GAP
Answer
**B.** GAP covers the difference between what you owe and the car's value if it's totaled. With positive equity (trade worth more than owed, plus money down), there's little gap to cover. The online menu let her make a smarter product call than a pressured desk often produces.7. In the handoff, "Move 1" is to:
- A) Run the credit application again
- B) Greet the customer by acknowledging the online work they already did
- C) Re-appraise the trade
- D) Present the F&I menu
Answer
**B.** You pull up the deal and name it back — proving they're finishing, not starting over.8. The dealer's role in financing — even when the credit app is submitted online — is:
- A) The lender
- B) A broker (the spread between buy and sell rate is the dealer reserve)
- C) An insurance company
- D) Irrelevant once the app is online
Answer
**B.** The online tool just brokers faster. The dealer is still a broker (Chapter 22's threshold concept), and the reserve is the spread between buy rate and sell rate.9. A personalized walk-around video sent to a lead accomplishes all of the following EXCEPT:
- A) Proving the specific car actually exists
- B) Putting a human face on the response
- C) Differentiating you from stores that sent only a price
- D) Replacing the need for the customer to ever visit
Answer
**D.** The video builds trust and differentiates you, but it doesn't replace the visit — the test drive and human handoff still happen in person.10. The right professional response to a customer mentioning Carvana is to:
- A) Badmouth Carvana to scare the customer off it
- B) Acknowledge what they do well, then position your added value
- C) Match Carvana's price no matter what
- D) Refuse to discuss competitors
Answer
**B.** Badmouthing makes you look scared and small. Acknowledge the legit strengths (no-pressure, convenience), then show what only a local human can add. Move into the *overlap* circle.11. The chapter says most car buyers want to:
- A) Do the entire purchase online with no human contact
- B) Do the entire purchase the old in-person way
- C) Do a blend — some online, some in person
- D) Avoid buying cars entirely
Answer
**C.** The directional finding is rock-solid: the overwhelming majority want a hybrid blend. Few want all-online or all-in-person.12. Regarding your personal online presence, the chapter argues you're mainly competing against:
- A) Professional influencers with big followings
- B) Silence — the many salespeople with no online presence at all
- C) The dealership's marketing department
- D) Other industries
Answer
**B.** Most salespeople do none of this, so a small, genuine presence (reviews by name, a clean profile, a quick video) stands out immediately.True / False (give a one-line justification)
13. A customer who completes 80% of a deal online is usually less profitable than one who walks in cold.
Answer
**False.** They're often *more* profitable: ready, committed, faster to finish, and far more likely to refer. The front end was often thin anyway; F&I still carries the deal. Confusing "informed" with "unprofitable" is the Chapter 4 error in new clothes.14. If a trade comes in exactly as the customer described it online, the salesperson should honor the online offer.
Answer
**True.** The online number was a promise in the customer's mind. Honor it when the car matches; adjust only for genuine, shown condition differences.15. Buying fake online reviews is a smart shortcut to build your reputation fast.
Answer
**False.** Fake reviews get detected and purged (and can penalize the dealership), and a fake presence collapses the moment the customer meets the real you. Reputation can only be earned, then made visible.16. The online credit application's hard pull can be run anytime without the customer's permission.
Answer
**False.** The soft pull (pre-qualification) doesn't ding the score; the hard pull does and requires the customer's permission — a Chapter 25 compliance point.17. The pure-online car retailers have proven that selling cars online at scale is easily and reliably profitable.
Answer
**False.** It has proven genuinely hard — these companies have had violent financial ups and downs (and some, like Vroom's used-vehicle operation, wound down). "The future is all-online" was oversold.Short Answer
18. State the four moves of the online-to-in-store handoff, in order.
Answer
(1) Greet by **acknowledging** the online work — name the deal back. (2) Name **what's left** and make it small. (3) Run the **test drive** (the human part). (4) **Honor** the online trade number (adjust only for shown condition differences). Cardinal sin throughout: never make them start over.19. Explain the "overlap circle" idea from the honest scorecard. What belongs in the overlap, and why must your store move into it?
Answer
One circle is what pure-online players do well (no-haggle, convenience, inventory, returns); the other is what a local store + good salesperson does well (test drive before buying, messy-deal solving, see-it-today, local relationship/service). The **overlap** is transparent pricing, clear photos, easy online steps, and fast response — things that used to belong only to the online players. Your store must occupy the overlap so the customer gets the online players' transparency *plus* what only a local human can do — beating Carvana instead of losing to it.20. Why is the "online appraisal bait-and-switch" both unethical and bad business?
Answer
Unethical: the online number was a promise; dropping it on a committed customer for no real reason breaks that promise. Bad business: it produces one-star reviews ("lowballed my trade after I drove in"), a customer who tells everyone, and zero referrals — torching the long-game income that actually pays in this career (theme #3). The legitimate gap is for real, shown condition differences only.21. Describe what a personalized walk-around video is and the three things it accomplishes at once.
Answer
A short (≈60-second) phone video of *the specific car a specific customer asked about*, addressed to them by name. It does three things at once: (1) **proves the car actually exists** — huge for online trust; (2) **puts a human face on the response** — you become a real person, not a faceless lead-handler; (3) **differentiates you** from the other stores that sent only a price. It's speed-to-lead with a face on it. Done beats perfect — no fancy lighting or script needed.22. A customer did everything online and wants to skip the test drive — "just deliver it." Should you still encourage a drive? Give one reason for honoring their choice and one reason for gently encouraging the drive.
Answer
**Honor their choice:** it's their purchase and their time, the return policy is a real safety net, and forcing a drive can feel like the old pressure. **Encourage the drive (gently):** the drive is where abstract online choices become felt decisions, where you catch a poor fit (the seat, a feature, a need they mentioned), and where buyer's remorse gets prevented before it starts. Best move: make the drive *easy and optional* — "I'll have it ready to drive when you come sign, takes five minutes, totally up to you" — so they can confirm without feeling pushed.Applied Scenario
23. The handoff under pressure. A customer, Marcus, built a deal online: vehicle chosen, instant trade offer $7,600 (pending inspection), credit app submitted, ESC declined, GAP declined, $1,500 down, 72 months. He arrives tired after work, visibly braced for a long ordeal, and says flatly: "I did all this online already. Please tell me I don't have to do it all again." His trade comes in exactly as described — clean, right mileage, no accidents. Your desk manager texts you: "Try him on the ESC and re-look that trade, we've got room."
Write how you handle the next five minutes: your opening words (Move 1), how you shrink the work (Move 2), how you respond to the manager on the trade, and how you decide whether to mention the ESC. Name the cardinal sin you must avoid.
Answer (one strong approach)
**Cardinal sin to avoid:** making Marcus start over. He just told you that's his fear — honor it. **Move 1 (opening):** "Marcus, you're done with the hard part — I've got your whole deal right here. The [vehicle], your trade's the [car], $1,500 down, 72 months. You don't redo a thing. We just finish what you couldn't do from home." (You named it back; he exhales.) **Move 2 (shrink it):** "Honestly there are only two things left: drive it to make sure it's right, and sign. Could be twenty minutes if it feels good to you." **The trade / manager:** The car is as described, so you **honor the $7,600** — out loud: "Your online number holds, $7,600, because it's exactly as you said." You do *not* re-look it for "room"; that's the bait-and-switch, and it would detonate Marcus's already-fragile trust into a one-star review. If you want, push back to the desk: "Trade's as described — we're honoring the online number, it's the right call for the long game." Adjust *only* if the inspection had revealed a real, showable difference (it didn't). **The ESC:** He declined it online. You don't *re-pitch* a tired, braced customer to hit a number — that's exactly the friction this chapter warns against. The honest move: if his structure genuinely warrants a protective mention, you make it *once*, low-key, as information ("You skipped the service contract — totally fine; the only thing I'd flag is [genuine reason]. Want the number or are you set?"), then respect his answer instantly. If there's no genuine reason beyond "we've got room," you let it go. Serving him well here is worth more than one ESC — it's the referral and the repeat.Scoring Guide
Count one point per question (23 total).
- 20–23 (≈87%+): Excellent. You understand the modern showroom and the handoff. Move to Chapter 28.
- 16–19 (≈70–86%): Solid pass. Re-skim any section behind a missed question, then proceed.
- 12–15 (≈52–69%): Re-read §27.4 (the hybrid threshold concept) and §27.5 (the handoff), then retake.
- Below 12: Re-read the chapter, especially the hook and §27.1–27.5, and rework the exercises before retaking.
Threshold check: If you missed Q1, Q4, or the handoff questions (Q3, Q7, Q18, Q23), go back to §27.4 — the reframe that you are the human who makes the online tool work is the gateway idea for all of Part V.