Dealership Development, LLC Blog

Throughout 2016 we found BIG improvements amongst our clients who are keeping up with the ever growing list of strict government regulations that are put on car dealers today.  From installing safeguarding policies to regular auditing and training, these dealers are finding that not only are they keeping themselves and consumers’ safe from thieves looking to steal their confidential private information, they are turning a profit by enforcing compliance in their finance department, one example of this is through proper menu use, presenting the menu to every customer, 100% of the time.

Considering dealerships often differ only marginally from one another your employees are the biggest factor that determines whether you're ahead of the competition. This has become a major issue as it is estimated that inexperienced and untrained employees cost dealerships billions of dollars every year.

As stated in this recent article by Automotive News, hiring is one of the biggest struggles that all dealerships face, whether they are big or small. The article further indicates that this goes beyond simply finding a new candidate. Retention is an integral part of hiring that dealerships have traditionally overlooked and as a result a great deal of money is being lost annually on "wasted search and training expenses; inexperienced sales staff; lack of continuity with customers; and, ultimately, lost vehicle sales."

Are you focusing on ALL of the important components that make your dealership truely successful?

If you think running a dealership is only about selling cars, you may be over looking some of the many factors that go into making a dealership successful, and you could be loosing money.

In the ever-changing world of automotive sales, keeping your F&I department truly profitable is a constant struggle. Recently, F&I Magazine published a great article by Rick McCormick that points out some of the common errors your sales team might make. They follow it up with some great suggestions on how to become a problem solver rather than a product pusher. Let’s take a look at the relevant points of the article.

The ability to use creativity to identify the customer’s problems and solve them, is the key. You need to be asking the pertinent questions and listening closely, before taking any action. You need to be able to see the problem from the customer’s point of view. This will create the opportunity to communicate the problem to the customer in such an urgent manner, that they will pay you to solve it.

In the game of life, enthusiasm can make the difference between winning and losing. Enthusiasm is contagious; it is an emotion that can be communicated more easily than words. It is a force that springs from person to person like an electrical spark. It is almost impossible to be exposed to enthusiasm for any length of time without acquiring some of it.

Almost all aspects of life require some skill in persuading or motivating people, and there is no characteristic that will help you, more than enthusiasm.

There's the story of a salesman named Harry, who broke every rule in selling that was ever written. But before the sales meetings, his sales manager would tell him, "Now, Harry, I am going to teach the other salesman how to sell. I want you to sit at the back of the room and ignore everything I'm saying. You keep on making the same mistakes that you have been making.“

A good sales strategy always stresses the importance of customer retention. When sales are down, this component takes on even greater significance. Sales staff should strive to maintain an engaging relationship with customers after the sale. When the market experiences a decline, competition gets stiff. You want existing customers to already feel appreciated and confident in how your brand stands out compared to competitors.

The FTC recently approved a round of final changes to the Used Car Rule that all used car dealers should be aware of and familiar with. This rule, formerly known as the Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule says that all car dealers must have a window sticker on any used car offered for sale.

Most people are somewhat familiar with the calculators on various websites (for repaying loans, savings, interest, and the like). However, it may come as a surprise to many that when they enter an annual percentage rate (APR) and term length, they very well could be getting misleading information. This isn't to say there is something fundamentally wrong with the calculator -- but the data entered. Read on to see how calculators can steer auto customers wrong:

As the year 2016 draws near to closing, it is useful to take a look at some trends and statistics from this year -- and also how some of the loan tendencies compare to 2015. Let's take a 2016 automobile loan statistics look at some.