[IN PROGRESS] FAQs for Dealers in General
This page provides an overview of how Ekho works with dealers and answers to common questoins
Who is Ekho:
Ekho is a dealer-connected online vehicle checkout platform that integrates with an OEM’s corporate website. It allows customers to complete the entire purchase process online while ensuring dealers earn full margin and F&I revenue. Ekho handles all the back-office work (titling, registration, taxes, fees, etc.) while dealers fulfill the order and maintain the customer relationship.
Dealership Benefits:
Ekho helps your dealership by
- Capitalizing on sizable Royal Enfield website traffic (185,850 Americans ****visit the Royal Enfield website each month)
- Converting online leads that might otherwise be lost
- Processing sales with minimal effort on your part
- Driving incremental sales volume (up to 50% sales increases in some cases)
- Allowing you to earn full margin and F&I revenue
- Capturing younger buyers and those who prefer online purchasing (52% of all buyers plan to place their next vehicle order online - Mckinsey)
- Handling paperwork and regulatory compliance
Dealer FAQs
Inventory & Sales Process
Q: How does Ekho connect to my inventory?
A: For v1 of the program, Ekho pulls inventory directly from Lightspeed DMS. For dealers not using Lightspeed, inventory will be pulled from the OEM warehouse inventory
Q: What happens if a customer wants a model I don’t have in stock?
A: If a customer in your area wants a model not in your inventory, the OEM will backstop with warehouse inventory and will deliver the unit to your dealership. You’ll still earn full margin and F&I revenue on the sale.
Q: How do you prevent double-selling inventory that’s in progress but not yet a finalized dealer in the DMS?
A: As soon as a deal is created in your DMS (even before it’s capped), Ekho will recognize it as an in-progress deal and won’t attempt to sell it online.
Q: How do customers get assigned to my dealership?
A: Customers are assigned to the nearest dealership based on their registration address. Ekho calculates which dealer the lead belongs to, taking into account Retail Market Areas (RMAs).
Q: Will accessories by sold through Ekho as well?
A: To limit complexity, Royal Enfield has opted to offer 3 possible accessory add-ons per bike. These accessories will be the most popular for each model.
Q: What if I don’t have an accessory in stock needed for an online sale?
A: If you don’t have an accessory in stock needed for a sale, then you’ll need to order the part through your DMS. These parts will ship directly to you from the Royal Enfield Dallas warehouse.
Q: What are the steps I must take to complete a sale? A: We will share a detailed document outlining the exact steps needed to complete a sale. In short, this will include e-signing some documents, PDI’ing and assembling the bike, and coordinating with the buyer to complete the bike fulfillment.
Dealer Compensation & Fees
Q: How do I get paid?
Ekho will be using Stripe Connected accounts to send payouts per order. View XXX page for how to set up your Connected account to receive payouts.
Q: When do I get paid?
Payouts will be sent to your Stripe Connected account as soon as the unit has been given to the buyer.
Q: How does payment reconciliation work?
Depending on your needs, you can configure how often (i.e. daily) Stripe will transfer the Stripe balance to your business bank account. In your Stripe account, you will see each order that is included in the transfer.
Q: What do I earn on online sales through Ekho?
A: TBD
Q: Can I set my own fees?
A: YTBD
Q: Can I configure my own delivery options?
A: Yes, you can define your own delivery capabilities, including whether you want to offer delivery (or only pickup), how far you’re willing to deliver, and your fee.
Financing & Backend Products
Q: How does financing work through Ekho?
A: Ekho handles the entire financing process, including application, document signing, and funding. When the customer is ready for delivery, all paperwork will be complete. Dealers will earn dealer reserve on financed deals.
Q: Will I still be able to sell F&I products?
A: Yes. Ekho will embed the sale of F&I products in the online checkout, and profits will be passed to you as the dealer. For v1, Ekho will surface backend F&I products from providers we have relationships with (who may be different from your current backend product providers), but you’ll still receive profits from these products being sold.
Risk & Liability
Q: Who carries the liability if there’s fraud?
A: While the dealer technically retains liability, Ekho implements advanced fraud detection systems to mitigate fraudulent buyers through:
- State-of-the-art fraud detection models (same models used by CarMax and others)
- ACH payments collected cannot be disputed (vendor-guaranteed)
- Identity verification and documentation collection with validation against national registries
- All customer documentation (ID, etc.) will be provided to dealers before delivery
If you would like more information on fraud detection practices employed by Ekho, please reach out. Additionally, we encourage any dealers not satisfied with Ekho’s fraud practices to supplement our efforts with your own due diligence at time of fulfillment. You will have access to all customer documentation in the Ekho platform.
Technical Integration
Q: Which DMS systems does Ekho currently support?
A: For v1 of the program, Ekho pulls inventory directly from Lightspeed DMS. For dealers not using Lightspeed, inventory will be pulled from the OEM warehouse inventory
Q: How will inventory be updated when a sale occurs?
A: When orders take place online, Ekho will write those orders back to your DMS automatically.
Customer Experience
Q: What pricing will customers see online?
A: To keep things transparent and consistent, units will have a floor of MSRP.
Q: What if a customer starts the process online but wants to visit the dealership and/or prefers to negotiate over price?
A: Ekho will still collect and pass those leads to your dealership. This includes customers who are rejected for financing through Ekho’s financing partners.
Q: Who will handle customer support during the purchase process?
A: Up until the time of coordinating and executing on vehicle fulfillment, Ekho will handle all customer support during the lifecycle of the sale. We have staff on hand to handle all buyer questions regarding financing, sales processing, titling and registration, identity verification, insurance, and technical support. You - the dealer - will own the support and communication around the fulfillment part of the order lifecycle. We will notify you when you need to do this!