F&I and Showroom, April 2018

www fi magazine com 30 F I and Showroom April 2018 FINANCE INSURANCE 6 Workers have no impact on quality thats what inspectors are for 7 Consumer environmental and other social concerns are not important to the U S public 8 Government is the enemy and should be fought against all the way 9 Strict financial controls are the secret to financial success 10 Managers should always be developed from the inside Recently departed physicist Stephen Hawking is quoted as saying Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change GM clearly failed to do that It began a downward spiral which eventually led to then Chairman Rick Wagoner begging Congress for bailout money in 2008 Had the company adapted to the new market in the 1970s its possible the automaker could still be one of the most successful companies in the world SIGN OF THE TIMES In October the National Consumer Law Center NCLC submitted a report to Congress Titled Auto Add Ons Add Up How Dealer Discretion Drives Excessive Arbitrary and Discriminatory Pricing the report explores the possibility of discriminatory F I product pricing and makes a case for requiring dealerships to move to set pricing Its findings were based on an analysis of 18 million transactions that resulted in the sale of almost three million add on products between September 2009 and June 2015 The NCLCs conclusion Inconstant pricing for the same add ons leads to pricing discrimination Events like finance sources changing reserve income limits and Congress contemplating the regulation of F I pricing models are indicators of a change in our culture The good news is no one is trying to prevent you from making a profit not even customers But they do want to be treated fairly If your dealership takes notice of this and works toward that goal you will earn more profit I recently discussed a car purchase with a customer who said I understand making a profit I just dont want you to make all of it on me I chuckled knowing most people myself included feel the same way Just like any business dealers must be profitable and people get it really The problem comes from salespeople and F I managers who try to conceal information Once that happens say goodbye to a profitable and positive sales experience for all parties This is when our customers begin building resistance and resistance costs money CHANGE HAPPENS Nobody likes change We seem to be programmed to reject it Have you ever noticed how many people still listen to the same music they listened to in high school Thats an appropriate soundtrack for the F I box because most of todays F I training was designed in the 80s and 90s also known as the boom years among veteran business managers We enjoyed robust financial growth and relatively contained military engagements The culture of America is different than it was in the 90s People are different They are sick of the status quo just like they were in the 70s The F I training from the 80s and 90s has become ineffective and obsolete in many ways Getting six No s before closing your customer is a problem In fact just trying to overcome objections is a problem We need to behave in a manner that does not create objections in the first place Almost every time someone outside the auto industry asks me what I do the response I get when I tell them seems to include a horror story about buying or not buying a car somewhere This week it was about a Mazda purchase and three different managers doing TOs to try to close a vehicle service contract sale They GETTYIMAGES COM KZENON GETTYIMAGES COM ANTONIOGUILLEM