September 2009

Have you ever felt like you were mak-ing little mistakes that are costing you tons of money at your dealership? Do you feel like there are hidden pro ts in your dealership that are just waiting to be uncovered? If you are like most dealers, the honest answer is, YES, Absolutely!

It’s a shame for YOU not to make more money, when these dealers do it so easily…

Just one thing that Mark showed us made us over $200,000 in prof-its in 90 days

Franklin Greene, GM Montgomery Ford LM

Our grosses went up 30% on the front end, and we added almost 50% in the back end. The best part of that is that our sales also increased over 25% and continue to increase.

Gary Minneman Jr, GMSunshine Toyota

Working with Tewart Enterprises is different from other consultants and trainers. We are getting results with very satisfi ed customers. In addition, Tewart Enterprises Inc is helping us to make our entire business more sound. With years of successful ex-perience, this team is innovative and up-to-date presenting fresh ideas to keep up with our ever-changing business. I would recommend Tew-art Enterprises Inc. to anyone who wants to improve their business.

– Doug MathersRusswood Auto Center, Lincoln, NE

My name is Mark Tewart and I am the President of Tewart Enterprises Inc. For almost two decades I have been helping dealers nd hidden pro ts and correct-ing little mistakes that were costing those dealers hundreds of thousands of dollars. These almost-magical solutions turn little mistakes into instant cash machines of bot-tom-line pro t.

Because I have not met you and do not know anything about your dealer-ship, I can’t say how much money is being left unrealized at your dealership. How-ever, I can say FOR CERTAIN that the number of dollars is substantial and would shock you, if you knew.

There are a few things that every dealer should be doing to make money, especially in this economy. The Great News is that I have identi- ed those little mistakes and have big

solutions for them. NO BS, just real measurable results that start happening immediately and I guarantee those results.

• Sell more vehicles without spending $1 more on advertising• Increase your gross pro ts any-where from $300 to $800 a vehicle

• Make an extra $100,000 or more in your service pro ts in 90 days or less• Double and even triple your sales and service customer retention• Double your appointments and sales conversion from Internet leads, Web site leads, third party leads

• Increase your F&I Product pen-etrations by 25% immediately• Discover the one secret that will make your dealer-ship an additional million dollars or more over the next ve years — We

have several clients who have already experienced this

and it will make the hair stand up on your neck when you hear this.

Call 888 2 Tewart (888 283-9278) or e-mail info@tewart.com to schedule a private and con dential interview.

***We will share candid and speci c information that will prove to you without a doubt what I am saying is true. You will see real dealer examples that support these results. Because of time constraints, there will only be a limited amount of dealers accepted into this program.

P.S.: Please, only Dealers or General Managers may respond.

I can’t say how much money is being left unrealized at your

dealership. However, I can say FOR CERTAIN

that the number of dollars is substantial and would shock you,

if you knew.

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marketing solution

sales & training solution

leadership solution

feature solutionSeptember 2009

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An Interview By SusanGivens

AlBabbington 26 KEY STEPS TO MAXIMIZING THE BENEFITS OF LEGISLATIVE CHANGES

MattBaker 32 BUSTING STAFF EVENT MYTHS, PART 2

CREDIT CARD PROCESSING TODAY - WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

EricSelby 24

DEALER GROUP STRATEGIES: SAFETYIN NUMBERS

ChuckPatton 16SusanGivens 20 U.S. AUTOMOTIVE RETAILERS CREATE A NEW

AUTO STIMULUS PLAN TO REPLACECASH FOR CLUNKERS

THE HANSEL AND GRETEL MANEUVERSteveBrazill 10

DATA COLLABORATION IS KEY TO SUCCESSSeanStapleton 30

WHAT SHOULD MY CONTROLLER BE DOING?PART 2

ScottNorman 28

IMPROVING PVR AND CSI WITH BIWEEKLY PAYMENTS

DavidEngelman 34

HOW TO INCREASE INTERNET LEADS WITHOUT SPENDING MORE MONEY

DalePollak 08

ToddSmith 22 CHAT YOUR WAY TO AUTOMOTIVE SUCCESSWITH FIVE EASY STEPS

AVOIDING THE TRAPS TO BHPH SUCCESSJeffAnderson 18

www.autosuccessonline.com

08

DalePollak

HOW TO INCREASEINTERNET LEADS WITHOUT SPENDING MORE MONEY

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tion

I’ve spent the past six months studying the

online merchandising and marketing of used vehicle inventories to better understand what drives consumer interest and attention.

To do this, I compiled metrics from a variety of dealers and used vehicle managers with whom I’ve developed personal and professional relationships. Their incentive to share comes from sharing my desire to get a fi rmer grasp on what makes consumers “click” on some listings more than others.

After pouring over this data and digging for meaningful trends, I came away with two key understandings — one that is already fairly well understood and the other that offers an opportunity to increase lead potential without spending additional money for positioning and other advertising on third-party inventory sites.

1. Size MattersEvery dealer and used vehicle manager knows that a larger inventory means a greater variety of choices to attract potential consumers. This has been true with physical lot inventories, and it’s true for online inventory listings. The more vehicles a dealership posts online, the greater the chances that a consumer will land on a vehicle that appeals to their tastes, lifestyle and budget. The potential to attract additional consumers translates into a potential for an increase in leads.

2. Timing MattersI’ve learned that it’s not uncommon for dealerships to see a fi ve to seven day delay in the time that it takes to get a vehicle to their store after they’ve purchased it at auction. From there, it often takes an additional seven to 10 days to recondition the vehicle, take pictures and post the “pixel” presentation of these vehicles online.

By contrast, many of the dealers and used

vehicle managers in my study group are able to complete this same process in three days or less — with some using technology and tools to post units the same day they purchase them, even at auctions.

The difference in these turnaround times has profound implications for generating interest and leads from online shoppers. The stores that are able to purchase and post their vehicles on a same-day basis have 14 extra days of online exposure. Likewise, the dealers who manage the online presentation turnaround in three days or less have a 10-day advantage. In comparative terms, these stores have roughly 30 percent more online exposure for their inventory — added time that gives them additional shots at attracting online consumers without spending another dime on additional inventory or premium online placements.

I believe all dealers and used vehicle managers should strive for this level of operational effi ciency. It’s not easy to accomplish and requires some key steps:

Decoupling “Virtual” Merchandising From “Physical” MerchandisingThe stores that achieve the same-day posting of units online made a decision. They recognized that faster online placements translate to more selling opportunities and, if it’s the “right” vehicle, a faster rate of turn on their investment in the vehicle. Once they made this mental shift, they realized that it’s more important to get the vehicle they own in front of customers and then polish up the photos and presentation after detailing and other reconditioning work is complete. In some cases, these stores use stock photos as temporary place-holders.

Creating a Fast-Turn CultureAt some stores, detailers and upholstery crews are waiting for transports to arrive. The dealers and used vehicle managers at

these stores create incentives for effi cient, thorough work to feed their fast-turn timelines. Similarly, freshly acquired vehicles get top priority in service for reconditioning work. The premise here is that the faster technicians complete recon work, the faster they’ll see the next vehicle show up to add incremental hours to their paychecks.

Using Technology to its FullestThe dealerships that post vehicles online the same day they acquire them take advantage of technology that allows real-time dumps of VIN numbers and other documentation into their DMS to feed the fast-turn process. At these stores, accounting offi ce clerks are on standby to ensure the data feeds smoothly. Automated data feeds also mean less duplicative data entry — another time-saver.

Of course, there are a lot of other important factors that drive the number of leads a store generates from its online inventory listings — the quality of photos, the compelling nature of vehicle descriptions, price, etc. But, as we all know, time is money in our business and my initial review of data from a variety of dealers and used vehicle managers suggests that many stores lose valuable time on the front end of a used vehicle’s inventory life cycle.

One of the dealers in my study achieves same-day posting of his vehicles online and sells 300-plus units a month. He puts the time-sensitive nature of online merchandising this way: “If a vehicle’s not online, it’s not for sale.”

Dale Pollak is an author and the founder of vAuto. He can be contacted at 866.867.9620, or by e-mail atdpollak@autosuccessonline.com.

www.autosuccessonline.com

10

SteveBrazill

THE HANSEL AND GRETEL MANEUVERThe past year has been fatal for many in the

business. If you and your dealership have survived, have you stopped to ask a simple question: What made you different?

Was it a better mix of franchises? High fi xed coverage? An expense structure you could control?

Simple responses such as those don’t really get to the root causes. Sure, some franchises fared better than others, but all mainstream brands took a severe beating. And anyone with high fi xed coverage knows that condition didn’t happen by merely wishing it so. The same goes with a manageable expense structure. More likely you made many key decisions at critical times, then executed repeatedly.

So, what were those decisions? Now is the time, while memories are fresh, to make a record, in rough chronological order, of what you did, at what time, and why. Take advantage of hindsight to recognize which

moves worked as planned and which didn’t, which you would repeat and which you would handle differently, and what information was useful and what was missing.

Try making a fi rst draft from memory, while at home or some other place away from the dealership. In your fi rst effort, just capture the big picture. Later, you can add detail to your notes while walking through the store (or your department), letting the sights and sounds remind you of pieces you skipped over on the fi rst pass. Have other managers make their own records, then compare.

You now have a trail of bread crumbs. The next time the business cycle fl ips from boom to bust, you will have a familiar path to take through the woods. Imagine if you’d had a trail to follow this time, left by someone who’d already been there and done that.

Experience is the best teacher, and the most relevant experiences are your own. You probably paid a high price for lessons during the past year. What a shame it would be to let

them disappear, as bread crumbs will. Record them now, fi le them away. Keep them safe.

Want to make this exercise even more potent? Ask yourself and your fellow managers another simple question: “What could we have started doing fi ve years ago that would have made the past year a smoother ride?” Once you answer that question, you may conclude there is no time better than the present to convert those thoughts into action. It’s been said that the best managers don’t solve problems; they anticipate and avoid them. This is surely a cyclical business and it is appropriate to plan for the upturn that lies ahead. But there will always be a next downturn and as important as it is to maximize profi t in the good years it is also important to survive the diffi cult spells. Now is the time to plan ahead.

Steve Brazill is the chair of automotive marketing for Northwood University, Texas Campus. He can be contacted at 866.861.1515, or by e-mail atsbrazill@autosuccessonline.com.

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16

marketing

solu

tion ChuckPatton

DEALER GROUP STRATEGIES: SAFETY IN NUMBERSRecently I had a “perfect storm”

conversation with a general manager of a dealership group. This dealership not only had their GM store pulled, but also their Dodge store. The stores were turning a profi t, had great customer loyalty and were moving cars. Overall, there were about 17,000 customers in the database who were affected. The dealership was devastated.

The silver lining was that this dealership had been investing its marketing efforts into a group strategy. Even though they had gone from eight dealerships to six and lost two of their strongest stores, the dealership had its own brand value to fall back on. This value helped retain employees, provide their community with long-term solutions and avoided putting a family-owned operation of 40 years out of business. The lesson that dealer groups like this have learned is that there is safety in numbers when marketing your stores as a group.

Where Are the Opportunities? How can we fi nd safety in multi-point numbers? How can I take advantage of the power of my dealership group to achieve more than I would as a single point?

Opportunities Unique to Group Dealers Fall Into Three Categories: Volume — Sheer amount of dollars of product/services purchased. Each dealership is a different manufacturer’s point, but they purchase relatively the same advertising services. This volume is attractive to business partners, but the true value is communication opportunities for a unifi ed message across that invested volume.

Money — Each store is spending money to drive in traffi c, but is there any duplication in strategy amongst the dollars they spend? Audit your group twice a year and throw out any wasteful marketing. If you have 10 stores, and they each spend $50,000 in advertising a month, what percent of those budgets are targeted and conveying a message about your dealer group

advantages? Get all of the stores on the same page and you will grow responses exponentially as you strengthen the value of your own brand. Sometimes individual marketing initiatives become stale programs that can be cut.

Brand — The dealer group benefi ts from more prospect loyalty when the overall dealer brand is viewed as having more value than one store. Branding your dealer group is also a key advantage when you are rewarding loyal customers. Consider programs for loaner cars, free car washes, free service clinics, massive oil change discounts or exclusive parties every year. Everyone likes like to feel they are special.

What Hurdles Must You Overcome?The average mindset — You can monitor marketing effectiveness month-to-month, but do not plan it that way. Proactive long-term planning is a must. You must have a written plan that covers the group and work that plan. This is not a short-term fi x to help what is going on right now.

Assess the dealership — It’s a lot of work to accumulate the standard practices of each store and cross-reference them with manufacturers’ programs. Make a thorough audit to see what each franchise is doing to market their store, as well as an analysis of the results.

Provider capabilities — After the assessment you need to fi nd people who can market the dealership group effectively. This is defi ned as a company that knows what works at the dealership that can recommend and automate a plan so you are not spending all of your time managing the marketing.

Smart results management — Look at the results of each store and the group, then measure deeper than just the sales numbers. You need the plan to be measured against an ROI so you can get an idea of what to do next. Don’t go old school and only look at the sales numbers. Today’s technology allows you to manage much more cause and effect.

Where Do I Start?The backend is typically the easiest place to start because of the uniformity of strategies that the franchises most likely share. Direct marketing typically makes up about 80 percent of the total advertising expenses of most service departments and falls into three main categories – reminders, conquest mailers and e-mail.

Go to each store and ask a series of simple questions: “What are you doing and how effective is it?” “How do you measure it?” “Why do you think it is working?” Ask for documentation to back up their numbers. Just because they say they were swamped or had a great month doesn’t mean the marketing strategy caused it. Sometimes a service department handles large numbers of recalls.

Start interviewing marketing partners. Ask them what makes them different and how they can work with your dealerships as a group versus individually. How much will each store save by streamlining advertising and avoiding duplication of advertising dollars toward the same customers? Find a vendor who can effectively implement a strategy for the dealer group for all categories that focuses on results! Challenge them to make you more money, not just cut costs. The message will be consistent, will promote your brand value and the total participation or gross dollars will be effective enough for you to get a better price or added services.

In summary, marketing as a group allows you more control to infl uence results and impact and to monitor and reduce expenses. It gives you more control to secure a better future by elevating your dealership brand to a level that is distinguishable from the competition and not hostage to the ups and downs of the manufacturer.

Chuck Patton is the founder and CEO of Traffi c Builders Inc. He can be contacted at 866.859.8520, or by e-mail atpatton@autosuccessonline.com.

a message about your dealer group you to manage much more cause and effect.

www.autosuccessonline.com

18

JeffAnderson

AVOIDING THE TRAPS TO BHPH SUCCESS

leadership

solu

tion

The buy-here, pay-here (BHPH) business

is notorious for its high-risk, high-reward nature. Every dealer seems to know someone who has been successful at it, and also someone who failed. Today, market forces and unprecedented change in the industry are causing almost every dealer to wonder if BHPH should be in their future. Many are already confi dently moving in that direction. I’ve learned approach is everything, and that there are a few subtle red fl ags that can help to predict success. Not to stereotype, but this is especially true for new car dealers. See if any of these attitudes sound familiar:

I Got the Guy “I know this guy who used to work for me in F&I. He would be perfect to run this.” He may just be the right guy, but don’t put too much weight on that. For numerous reasons, he could be gone tomorrow. More importantly, this business needs to be bigger than one person. When it is done right, it is about the systems, procedures and processes you put in place, and how well you adhere to them. How do you monitor changes in the business if it is driven by one person’s opinion? Do you have the reporting you need to provide proper oversight? Do you know what to monitor, or are you going to let this person tell you what they think is important? You need structure more than you need personality.

How Hard Can it Be?You are right in that every little piece is not diffi cult. You may already know how to buy cars, sell cars and service cars. You may even know a little something about fi nancing cars because you work with lenders every day. But don’t be fooled into thinking that this is just a simple extension of what you are doing now. Each simple step impacts the next, and the entire process gets complex. Compare it

to a golf swing. Each step is simple: grip, stance, backswing, follow through, etc. But if you have played the game, you know that if any one of these things is wrong, it is very easy to slice it

into the woods. A small error can leave you very far from the intended target. That is why even the pros have swing coaches. They recognize they need help keeping it all in balance. BHPH is no different.

These are Easy SalesMost dealers never met a sale they didn’t like, and they owe much of their success to their ability to drive sales. In the BHPH business, there is not a surer way to get your organization out of balance. It is the equivalent of swinging too hard in golf. Too much volume can stress the limits of your people and your facility. People make poor choices, corners are cut in underwriting, service bays get backed up, customer service suffers and it all combines to hurt the performance of your portfolio. Pretty soon, what looked like a booming business turns into a time bomb exploding with charge-offs. Never forget that you are entering a long-term relationship with that customer, and how you live up to the promises you made at the time of sale is more important to your success than the number of sales.

What is a Balance Sheet?New car dealers are just not used to looking at their balance sheet. They manage their income statement and that is how they keep score. The problem is that it is easy to show profi t at the expense of the balance sheet in BHPH. You can easily be tempted to set aside too little reserve against future losses and show a larger profi t. But that will catch up with you. It is also very easy to underestimate your initial capital needs and fi nd yourself over-leveraged a few years down the road when your portfolio plateaus and a wave of charge-offs hits you, or if you expand too fast. This is especially true if you have been taking money out of the business through things like infl ated rent payments and management fees. Measure progress by your balance sheet and take the time to understand your true leverage position.

I Can Do This by MyselfWhy pay royalties to a franchisor or fees

to consultants when you can do it cheaper by yourself? Well, are you going to be able to stay on top of the numerous and ever changing legal compliance issues by yourself? When you combine lending and auto sales and service there is a lot to think about. Can you maximize your performance and stay informed of best practices without attending 20 group meetings? Are you going to be able to make the right calls as market conditions change without the benefi t of trusted peers and advisors? You are faced with questions every day such as, do you want SUVs in your portfolio if gas prices get back to $4 per gallon, or do you need to make changes in your underwriting due to the prevalence of mortgage foreclosures? Experience can be much more expensive than you anticipate. Do yourself a favor and learn from others mistakes.

My topic here has been failure, but I do want everyone to know that there is hope. Some of the best performing franchisees are also new car dealers. The ones that do it best are humble enough to realize what they do not know, and respectful enough to become students of the business. They also benefi t from a thorough and integrated computer system, proven operations manuals, 20 group meetings with some of the best BHPH dealers in the country (some new car dealers, some not), consultants with years of experience and the ability to learn from the mistakes and successes of other franchisees. The ones that rely on those resources the least tend to not do as well. But in the words of Vince Lombardi, “There is only one way to succeed at anything, and that is to give it everything.” The stakes are too high for anything less than a full commitment, and as long as you understand that, your future in BHPH is bright.

Jeff Anderson is the vice president, franchise fi nance for J.D. Byrider Franchising. He can be contacted at866.631.3037, or by e-mail atjanderson@autosuccessonline.com.

www.autosuccessonline.com

20

the #1 sales-improvement magazine for the automotive professional

21

SusanGivens

U.S. AUTOMOTIVE RETAILERS CREATE A NEW AUTO STIMULUS PLAN TO REPLACE CASH FOR CLUNKERS

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The Car Allowance Rebate Program

(C.A.R.S), also known as “Cash for Clunkers,” is over, and sales have decreased a lot. The government program ended before anyone expected, and there’s still a lot of demand from consumers who want to take advantage of an automotive stimulus programs to purchase a newer vehicle. As a result, some of the top U.S. automotive retailers launched a new auto stimulus plan to build on the positive results of C.A.R.S. The results have been better than the government’s program for many dealers. The new Automotive Stimulus Plan gives consumers up to $4,500 of additional trade-in value towards the purchase or lease of a new or used vehicle with improved fuel economy. The program has fewer rules and no minimum MPG requirements for trade-ins. Automotive News reported that a group of 73 dealerships are participating so far, and the majority of them are larger stores and dealer groups. While sales have decreased for most dealers the retailers who are participating in the new Stimulus Plan have sustained and built on the momentum that the government program created.

“The government jump-started our industry,

and now the industry has jump-started the economy,” said Brian Benstock, GM and vice president of Paragon Automotive in New York. “They did their job getting the industry going, and we need to do our job keeping it going.” Paragon joined other top U.S. automotive retailers and is participating in the new Automotive Stimulus Plan, which helps consumers who didn’t qualify for the government’s plan. More than 90 percent of consumers were not eligible for the government’s program, and this left a lot of consumers unsatisfi ed. Now many of the largest retailers in the country are participating in the new stimulus plan to help consumers left behind, and to sustain their increased sales volume. “The public sector did a great job getting us back on the road, but the private sector needs to drive America forward,” Benstock told Automotive News, adding that his stores “are doing three deals under the new Automotive Stimulus Plan for every one traditional Clunker deal.” He expects to sell about 1,200 additional vehicles under the autostimulusplan.com program. “We sold more cars than ever before in our history because the new stimulus plan helped us sell more new and used vehicles while most stores have been focusing on new vehicles only.”

The new stimulus plan has fi xed many of the problems with the government program, and is more inclusive because all trade-ins older than 2007 are eligible, regardless of their current MPG. Consumers can choose to either purchase or lease any new or used vehicle with an improved fuel economy of 2 MPG. The government program appealed to less than 10 percent of the market because it excluded trade-ins with

more than 18 MPG, prohibited the sale of used cars and most vehicles needed to get at least 4 MPG

improvement to qualify. Benstock told the New York Times that the new stimulus plan “fi lls the gaps left by C.A.R.S.,” referring to the program guidelines to allow the purchase of used cars and short-term leasing.

“The new stimulus plan helped our new car business, but it had an enormous impact on used vehicle sales,” said Benstock. After Paragon implemented the new stimulus plan, they had their best used vehicle sales month in the history of their dealership, and became the No. 1 certifi ed pre-owned Honda and Acura dealer in the world, which in turn helped them become the No. 1 Honda dealer in the world, with more new and used vehicle sales than any other dealer.

John Malishenko, director of operations for Germain Automotive, another participating dealer in the Automotive Stimulus Plan, reported that sales have dramatically increased as a result of the new program. “We had our best weekend of the year. We’ve seen a dramatic increase in unit sales versus last month, and we are currently pacing well over $45,000,000 of sales for the month. While other dealers’ business has been falling off, our business has been setting records because we are helping customers who want to benefi t from the new stimulus plan.”

The program was diffi cult to create because of the complicated web of national and state laws designed to regulate automotive advertising. Actually, the government’s program violated a lot of these laws that prohibit any reference to a non-manufacturer rebate or any inference that a customer could receive a guaranteed trade-in value or incentive. To navigate the many minefi elds of federal and state law, the top dealers hired one of the most respected automotive attorneys, Marc Bonanni, former senior legal counsel for AutoByTel, to help them build the program regulations. “Due to the way the law is written, it is very easy for a dealer to

get into trouble if they don’t pay attention to the details,” Bonanni said. “It took almost a month to get it right, but with input from some of the top attorneys in the industry, we fi nally fi gured it out.”

“We needed to do something to help out all our customers already driving older imports, who were upset that they could not participate in the government program because their vehicles already got more than 18 MPG ” said Rick Case, owner of Rick Case Automotive Group in Florida, Georgia and Ohio. “This stimulus plan is also helping our used vehicle sales signifi cantly.”

The new stimulus plan helps retailers increase their new and used vehicle sales. Used vehicle inventories shrank because the clunkers had to be destroyed. “We have to buy more used cars at auctions for higher prices,” said John Malishenko, director of operations for the Germain Automotive Group, who owns dealerships in Ohio, Arizona, Florida and Arkansas. “I would prefer to give customers additional value for their trade-in in order to earn their business rather than paying more to Manheim Auction.”

“Letting consumers buy a used vehicle or lease a new vehicle makes it affordable for a lot of people who could not participate otherwise,” said Scott Gruwell from Courtesy Auto Group in California and Arizona, one of GM’s largest dealers and a participating dealer. “The used car provision is important since used car dealers, die-hard environmentalists and The Atlantic magazine had legitimate complaints about the government program’s exclusion of used cars and the requirement that clunkers be scrapped and not resold,” said Ashley Rindsberg from The Huffi ngton Post. “Environmentalists complained that the

government program creates a layer of waste since it requires the old clunkers be destroyed. Many said the old cars still run and that we don’t need to cut down more rain forests in order to harvest steel — or whatever. Well, someone was listening: The private sector plan doesn’t call for the old cars to be destroyed.”

“The other upshot of the dealer-funded Auto Stimulus Plan is that it costs tax payers nothing,” said Rindsberg. “There is no $3 billion bill and no expensive, rapid bloating of a government department trying to keep up with paperwork.” The Automobile Stimulus Plan is a private sector program promoted by many of the top U.S. retailers to help consumers, the economy and the environment at the same time.

The program has received a lot of publicity from The New York Times, Washington Post, ABC, CBS, NBC, Yahoo!, AOL, MSN, FOX, CNN, FORBES, MSNBC and CNBC, amongst others. So far, the new stimulus plan has helped participating dealers sustain the positive growth that Cash for Clunkers created over the last month while most dealers sales have dramatically decreased. The “Clunker chaos” brought the car business back to life, and customers and dealers don’t want it to end. Since the clunker program ended, there has been a big vacuum in the market that the dealer stimulus has fi lled. “Our numbers have gone up after the government program ended because we are now speaking to the majority of the buyers who didn’t qualify for it, but who want to take advantage of the new stimulus plan,” said Benstock.

If we think back six or eight months, many of us recall claims that America was shattered, tattered and in a million little pieces. Now,

before the year’s end, it seems the country is being put back together again. With the auto industry showing national gains from a single government program (even one that had fl aws) — and further gains from a creatively conceived, privately funded plan — the country, with the help of the auto industry, might have fi nally found a good way to drive forward.

For more information aboutthe Automotive Stimulus Program, visitwww.AutoStimulusPlan.com.

ToddSmith

CHAT YOUR WAY TOAUTOMOTIVE SUCCESSWITH FIVE EASY STEPS

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As the automotive industry continues

to move through dramatic changes, one thing is certain. Shoppers are continuing to move from the showroom to the Internet. Today’s dealership sales success increasingly depends on the ability to convert more Internet shoppers to in-store sales opportunities. Every Web site visitor is a potential sale. The question is: How do you reach through your Web site and connect with them?

Live chat is not a new technology; it has been around for nearly a decade. What has changed are technological advancements that now allow you to use chat as an interactive sales tool, rather than just an instant messaging system. Delivering an interactive and informative experience for shoppers on your Web site sets the stage for a great fi rst impression. Statistically, we also know that shoppers are less likely to continue to visit multiple Web sites once they have engaged in a live conversation online. Offering the dynamic, real-time interaction keeps them at your site longer.

Here are fi ve steps to leverage chat on your existing Web site for more sales opportunities.

Use a proactive invitation to ask shoppers to chat during key points in their visit on your Web site. Using chat when shoppers reach your Web site is a great start, but you can also use chat to try to capture people before they abandon your Web site by placing chat on the pages where shoppers most often leave your site. Just ask your Web site provider to give you the top fi ve exit pages. This is a great start to ensure you reach out to engage your shoppers at the right time.

Incorporate chat in all your online marketing and social media. By placing chat on outgoing e-mails, eNewsletters and online social media platforms like Facebook, you can enable shoppers to connect with you anywhere for instant dialogue. Giving your shoppers the power of instant access to information, instead of having to wait for an e-mail reply or change media to pick up the phone to call, gives you a competitive edge.

Building rapport might sound easy, but in the age of the online skeptic, it can be hard. Try to set the tone and fl ow of the conversation early by using quality questions that will keep your shoppers engaged. Similar to a typical phone up, if you give out all the vehicle information right off the bat, you have a high probability of losing them without getting much customer information. The opposite is also a potential issue. Give up too little or offer very limited help or value, and you can drive shoppers away as well. This takes some trial and error to perfect for each store, but always be conscious of it.

Speed of engagement is critical. A response in fi ve seconds or less should be your benchmark. The longer you wait to engage shoppers, the less likely they will still be there. Even waiting 10 seconds can yield a drop rate of 15 percent for people who attempted to chat. We live in a world of the “instant” and the “now,” and 10 seconds online can feel like an eternity.

Placement of the chat icon on your Web site is extremely important. Through testing, we have found that placement in the top-right header works best. Having the chat button consistently available in the same location, on every page helps shoppers expect and embrace the option. When chat is available on only a page or two, chat conversations drop enormously. There is power in repetition and having your shoppers consistently see the same image throughout your Web site increases engagement.

Leveraging live chat on your dealership Web site can have a profound impact on lead generation and sales. Here is a basic formula that you can plug your Web site numbers into to get an estimate of increased leads.

__________Number of Unique Visitors X 3% = __________Number of Additional Leads

If you took even a basic Web site that had 2,000 visitors per month, you could easily expect to generate an average of 60 more leads per month. With the average Internet closing ratio hovering around 10 percent, six additional sales per month adds up fast.

Todd Smith is the co-founder of ActivEngage. He can be contacted at866.387.9061, or by e-mail attsmith@autosuccessonline.com.

www.autosuccessonline.com

24

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CREDIT CARD PROCESSING TODAY - WHAT IS RIGHTFOR YOU?

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Today’s marketplace is extremely diffi cult

to compete in when you consider the uncertain market conditions faced by all business owners. To maintain the viability and profi tability of one’s business, owners must thoroughly review all aspects of their company. More specifi cally, business owners must review all vendor partnerships and fi nancial aspects of their company, at levels not required in the past.

The small businesses and auto dealerships that will continue to grow in today’s business environment are ones that will continually review their operations for potential expense control, better operating procedures and improved vendor partnerships. An area that is often overlooked and not fully understood is that of credit cards and payment processing. With the increased use of credit and debit cards as a primary source of payment, it is imperative that all merchants have a strong partnership with their processor, both in terms of cost and ancillary services. Credit card processing today is far more than “the lowest rate,” as there are many options available for the merchant to help maximize the processing function. It is diffi cult enough to sell our product or service in the marketplace at a profi table level; don’t compound it by not having the best processing partnership in place that you can.

The difference between just having a processor and maximizing your processing partnership is simply understanding your options. Far too many times, merchants are “sold” solely on rate alone, and not what is best for their individual scenario. The following list attempts to provide information on the types of processing structures available — and the related items to take into account — when considering who will be your processing partner.

Processing Options AvailableThere are two basic types of pricing structures available: tiered pricing and interchange-plus pricing.

The tiered pricing model is based on a three to fi ve tiered structure that typically includes qualifi ed, mid-qualifi ed and non-qualifi ed tiers. The qualifi ed tier is typically the lowest transaction rate available in this structure, and typically can range from 1.5 percent to 2 percent. This rate is the rate many processors reference when quoting and comparing rates. The mid-qualifi ed rate may range from 2.25

percent to 3 percent and the non-qualifi ed rate is the highest rate in this structure and typically ranges from 3 percent to 3.80 percent. Each transaction is processed at one of these tiers based on a variety of factors, including card type, business type (retail, ecommerce, etc.), acceptance method (swiped, Internet) and timeliness of settlement or batch. This price structure also is subject to surcharges, which are in addition to the processing costs and fees.

The interchange-plus pricing model is the most transparent and typically the least costly structure for the merchant. The interchange pricing model is based on the wholesale rate established by MasterCard and Visa. This pricing structure is the closest attempt to provide a single “all-in-one” rate to each transaction, thus removing the tiered-rate scenario. You will fi nd that the majority of processors will only offer the tiered rate-pricing model because it is the most profi table for them — not you, the merchant. Except in rare instances, potential merchants will fi nd the interchange-plus pricing model works best for them. Along with being the most transparent pricing model, interchange-plus pricing also stops the typically bi-annual rate padding the processors charge every April and October. As Visa and MasterCard adjust interchange every April and October, many processors that use tiered pricing will increase the rates in these months.

What Pricing Model Is Best For Me?This decision should not be based on just one factor. The majority of prospective processors will offer the tiered-rate model and will focus primarily on the qualifi ed rate, which is the cheapest rate to process a transaction in an attempt to sell their services. But ask yourself this question: What if the majority of your transactions are processed at a mid-qualifi ed or non-qualifi ed rate? One of the greatest examples of this would be reward cards, which represent nearly a third of all transactions, and typically are processed at a mid or non-qualifi ed rate.

Let us use an example in which Merchant A is processing on a tiered-rate model and the rate tiers are as follows:

Tier 1: Qualifi ed - 1.7 percentTier 2: Mid-qualifi ed - 2.7 percentTier 3: Non-qualifi ed - 3.5 percent

Let’s assume that the total monthly volume of Merchant A is $100,000, broken down

as follows: Qualifi ed rate is $15,000 Mid-qualifi ed rate is $45,000 Non-qualifi ed rate is $40,000

Conversely, Merchant B processes the same monthly volume of $100,000, but is on an interchange pricing model based at an overall cost 2.10 percent (which includes the Visa and MasterCard pass-through interchange fees and assessments, along with the processors mark up.)

As you can see, although Merchant A has a qualifi ed rate of 1.7 percent, the total effective rate for the processing month is 2.87 percent, based on the tiers at which the transactions were processed.

Conversely, Merchant B will have a total effective rate of approximately 2.10 percent, based on the interchange pricing model. As you can see, the interchange pricing model is clearly the best model for this scenario, with savings of approximately $700 per month. Typically, the only time that a tiered-pricing model is benefi cial for the merchant is when all or nearly all transactions are processed at a qualifi ed rate, which is not the norm, not to mention the tiered rates will increase with a bi-annual padding effect.

Other Areas to ConsiderThere are other options to consider when choosing your processing partner such as:

• What is the quality of your customer service support?

• Does your processor provide supplies free of charge?

• Do you need other equipment, such as check imagers, PIN pads, Internet software, etc?

• Is online access provided free of charge?• Has your processor explained the fi nancial benefi ts of converting credit transactions to PIN-based debit transactions?

To be a successful and profi table dealership in this diffi cult business environment is to be one that is open to alternatives that allow your dealership to grow and increase profi tability. There are constant changes in your industry and accordingly you must constantly make changes to improve your dealership and vendor partnerships.

Eric Selby is with the Northeast Merchant Group. He can be contacted at 866.407.3104, or by e-mail ateselby@autosuccessonline.com.

www.autosuccessonline.com

26

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KEY STEPS TO MAXIMIZINGTHE BENEFITS OFLEGISLATIVE CHANGESSeptember 1, 2009 marked the date

that new amendments to the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule took effect. More than just an offi cial date for legislative change, September 1 brought about some signifi cant and benefi cial changes for consumers and retailers alike. That’s because the new regulations help to cut down the noise and clutter of unwanted, solicitous telemarketing calls, opening up this once overused communication channel to more relevant and welcome messaging from businesses that respect its positioning in the overall communication mix.

In addition to ensuring compliance, dealers must take action in order to leverage the tremendous opportunity that the new rules afford. Consider the following steps this month as you review your approach to customer and prospect communications. Whether you complete these with the help of a vendor or on your own, I can assure you, you’ll be glad you took the time.

Audit All Customer and Prospect Communications to Assure That You’re Neither Under Communicating Nor Over CommunicatingFinding the right communication mix can be a challenge, but it is possible to craft communications that offer timely, relevant and professional information throughout the ownership life cycle. It may help to start from the top. Consider a prospect who reaches out to your dealership or responds to an outreach of your own. What are the possible points of entry and what kind of follow up should you deliver? Ideally, the message should be different depending on how they arrived on your lot, in your service drive, on the phone or on your Web site. Then, plot out the different stages of the customer life cycle and decide what communications are essential and what channel you’ll use to deliver them.

Control Your Messaging and Protect Your BrandYour dealership’s brand is refl ected in every customer interaction — be it in person, through traditional advertising or direct communications. It can be diffi cult to control how others perceive your brand, but controlling the messages you deliver can have a signifi cant and positive impact. Do you have solutions implemented that help you to monitor your staff when it comes to customer relations? Agreeing on the right mix of communications, including when and how you’ll deliver, them can help to increase message consistency.

Automate Informational Sales and Service CommunicationsWhenever possible, communications should be automated and should come from a person of authority in the dealership to help ensure the integrity, consistency and professionalism of every message. A customer who’s had work performed in your service drive should receive a thank you from the service manager; a customer who has made an inquiry through your Web site should receive follow up from your Internet manager; a customer with a lease that is nearing its expiration should receive notifi cation of options from the general or sales manager, and so on. Automated communications ensure that no customer or prospect falls through the cracks — and delivering that level of follow up and support through the channels preferred by your customer will lead to signifi cant increases in satisfaction and loyalty.

Establish a Process for Collecting Communication PreferencesFrom CustomersConsumers today demand choices more than ever before. Being able to dictate how they want to communicate with your dealership is no exception. Not only will it help to keep your communications compliant, but offering multi-channel options will also

help to keep your customers engaged and responsive. You must have a system in place to allow for the collection of communication preferences. You must have a way to track what messages your customers want to receive and through what channel, and then be able to execute respecting those expressed preferences. My suggestion is to use this as an opportunity to drive them back through your site to a portal where they are able to manage these choices.

Help Your Customers to “Go Green” Finally, join the “green” movement and help your customers feel good about how doing business with you can carry forward sustainability initiatives they are passionate about. This doesn’t have to mean delivering hybrid technology — it can be as simple as offering the delivery of digital communications instead of those that require resource consumption like direct mail. E-mail is an ideal, environmentally-friendly alternative that is widely accepted and much less costly. Small adjustments like this one can infl uence communication response and show a great deal of respect for the customer.

The most essential element for success in light of these recent legislative changes will be customer empowerment. Each of the steps detailed here point to the need for your customers to have a voice — from the way they choose to be communicated with to the messaging that holds value to them. Focus on listening to and respecting the choices they make and any concern about the new legislation can be eliminated.

Al Babbington is the chief executive offi cer of OneCommand. He can be contacted at 866.408.3305, or by e-mail at ababbington@autosuccessonline.com.

www.autosuccessonline.com

28

ScottNorman

WHAT SHOULD MY CONTROLLER BE DOING? PART 2

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One of the questions that arises frequently

in 20 Group discussions is “What should my controller be doing?” The fi rst and most important answer to that question is “monthly reconciliation of your balance sheet accounts.” The following is the second half of a checklist we began last month of current assets and liabilities that should be corroborated at the end of the month.

Vehicle InventoriesAre both new and pre-owned inventories verifi ed by physically touching each vehicle? No cheating by handing the manager a list. They should start with a blank sheet of paper and list each stock number as they come to the vehicle. Also, this is the perfect time to verify that all proper labels are affi xed. Do you verify for each vehicle on the inventory schedule that you either have a MSO/CSO for new inventory, or for pre-owned inventory a title or copy of a current payoff check? Are dealer exchanges/trades in inventory fl oored?

Sublet Inventory The schedule should be compared to your open repair order report. Any discrepancy should be handled immediately. If you have credit balances, determine why you are not receiving or posting the vendor’s invoices on a timely basis.

Work-In-Process This account can either be scheduled and compared to the open repair order report, with variances being researched and adjusted, or a simple reconciliation form can be completed and variances researched and written off, with the manager’s approval. The service open repair order list should be reviewed weekly, with no repair order over three days without explanation, none over fi ve days without “family history”; in the body shop, no repair order over fi ve days without explanation, none over two weeks without “family history.” A work-in-process schedule is recommended if you frequently have to write off large balances and it cannot be determined what is causing the

discrepancy.

Body Shop Materials A physical inventory of the body shop materials should be done on a monthly basis by the manager. Estimate the material used on open repair orders, add that to the physical balance and reconcile the number to the general ledger balance.

Prepaid Expenses Documentation should always be available to corroborate the balance in these accounts. Only those expenses where the benefi t extends more than one month should be set up here.

Fixed AssetsAnnually, you

should physically inventory your capital assets to verify the equipment/furniture is still in use and is accounted for.

Accounts PayableAll debit balances on this schedule should be researched. One useful way of monitoring this schedule is not to post current month’s invoices until you’ve paid most vendors. When the schedule only has a few balances from the previous month, it is easy to spot irregularities.

Floorplan Notes PayableThis account should be on a side-by-side schedule with the appropriate inventory. Any time there is a balance in one column and not the other, the discrepancy must be researched. Either you have unfl oored inventory or a fl oorplan payoff has been missed.

Miscellaneous PayablesTag, vehicle payoffs, service contracts, etc. should be scheduled, current and verifi able.

TaxesAll taxes should be suffi cient to cover the liabilities and paid in a timely manner. Verify by comparing any return or payments to the month-end balance.

Accrued PayrollThis account should refl ect payroll due for unpaid time at the end of the month and is usually reversed at the beginning of the next month. Accruals for monthly commissions should have documentation to confi rm the appropriate amount is being accrued.

Verifying all balance sheet accounts involves cooperation from all departments and should be taken seriously every month. Dealers and managers often do not grasp the signifi cance of the balances in these accounts. The question we should be asking ourselves when we see a balance in an account is: “is that a reasonable number?”

One last thing: Does your CFO prepare a cash fl ow statement for you each month? In accounting classes this goes by several names, such as “sources and uses of cash.” It is a report that verifi es the change in your cash balance for a period by showing where cash was used or was generated, as it displays the changes in the balances of the accounts on your balance sheet.

Scott Norman is an executive conference moderator at NCM Associates, Inc. He can be contacted at 866.747.0868, or by e-mail at snorman@autosuccessonline.com.

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SeanStapleton

DATA COLLABORATION IS KEY TO SUCCESS

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solu

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the #1 sales-improvement magazine for the automotive professional

31

Data integration, in its simplest form,

is the capture and movement of data from one database or fl at-fi le on a source system to another database or fl at-fi le on a target system. Most dealerships today are already performing some type of data integration, whether it is backing up network servers, performing mirroring for high availability, or replicating key databases to business intelligence applications.

The million-dollar question: Are your current solutions designed to provide you a collaborative data advantage?

In the new automotive economy, we all know data drives all business. Not having a dynamic database for real-time pricing and inventory management, for example, is no longer an option. Your data is precious for your sales team, service team, and F&I employees to do their job successfully in

today’s real-time market place.

Good data integration will provide you improved interdepartmental communications while delivering total accountability.

In other words, you need to understand how to get all of your data working together to maximize your opportunities, receive the largest possible amount of your customers’ “wallet share,” and retain your customers for life.

Does your DMS integrate with your inventory module? Does your inventory module integrate with your CRM? Does your Web site, inventory module, ILM and CRM integrate seamlessly with your desking solution? Why not? You need to make sure that your dealership is capable of managing and analyzing all your data to help them achieve a competitive advantage and better customer insight.

As the automotive business continues to change and become more competitive, you need all the advantages possible. I feel only organizations that can effectively manage, integrate, distribute and utilize their data assets will survive and continue to prosper. We must require from our service providers the ability to manage all the data in the dealership no matter where it resides — whether on Web servers, legacy and operational systems, diverse data stores or third-party applications. Companies must build an effective data integration infrastructure that ensures data is in the right place at the right time, and in the right format for business intelligence to work at the speed of the customer.

Let me give you some examples to test your dealership to see if you have a data collaborative issue: Does your prospect or customer have to give the same information more than once? Do your sales departments

and service departments market to the same customer at the same time with different offers? Do you send the same household the same offer, multiple times? Do your marketing messages and marketing channels work in a collaborative, customer-centric approach specifi c to their specifi c needs, or do they just take into account your needs? Or are you just carpet bombing your DMS, leads, service customers and sales prospects with the same message the same way, hoping for a different response than last month?

The challenge is how to access, manage and manipulate the mountains of customer and business data collected by each department under the automotive roof every day. According to some sources, the world has generated more data in the last 30 years than it has in the preceding 5,000 years.

But, with the sheer number of automotive services required to run your dealership today, employee turnover, and changing regulatory compliances, choosing and managing an effective solution can be diffi cult, if not impossible, without the proper vendor and product selections.

Good data collaboration will help facilitate

interactions with customers through all possible channels and dramatically increase your success rate. It is a concept that brings people, processes and data together, allowing dealerships to better serve and retain their customers. The data and subsequent activities driven from the data are some of the best profi t-generator money you have. Collaborative forecasting and mass customization are integrated into one holistic approach with a view towards jointly developing customer bonding and loyalty.

Collaborative data facilitates interactions with customers through all channels, from all departments in a harmonious relationship. Does your dealership send the same customers a sales and service offer in the same month? Does your inventory integrate to your F&I offi ce? So, when you sell a new car posted on your Web site, does your desking solution automatically remove the unit from the Web? Collaborative data fl ow from all possible sources in your dealership is one key to success and future successes.

Please keep in mind, it’s critical that the data fl ow must be customizable and extremely fl exible to support any size department, from multiple rooftops to a national footprint.

If you agree with this article, then you can safely assume collaborative data integration will improve your ability to attract, satisfy, sell and retain your customers more profi tably.

Sean Stapleton is the executive vice president of VinSolutions. He can be contacted at 866.587.7629, or by e-mail atsstapleton@autosuccessonline.com.

“Does your prospect or customer have to give the same information more than once? Do your sales departments and service departments market to the same customer at the same time with different offers? Do you send the same household the same offer, multiple times?”

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BUSTING STAFF EVENT MYTHS, PART 2

marketing

solu

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As we began to explore in last month’s

issue of AutoSuccess, misconceptions are no stranger to the world of automotive event marketing. With countless assumptions surrounding everything from advertising compliancy to event team responsibility, it can be easy to see why so many may be turned off by the idea of hosting a promotional sale.

However, in adopting these assumptions as truths, many dealers often make costly mistakes when it comes to choosing a promotional event program that’s right for their dealership. This month we’ll dig deeper into some more of the popular “myths” surrounding staffed events, to help you make promotional event decisions that will reap the benefi ts your dealership deserves.

“Staffed events used to work. Now they don’t.” — Much of this assumption is rooted in the belief that direct mail no longer works. When direct mail fi rst came out, sales reps understood that customers came in for their gift but fi gured they were there to buy. Today, however, sales reps have become so used to seeing gift seekers that they often give up on the opportunity to engage with these customers. Event sales teams are another story. By developing specialized techniques to turn “gift seekers” into shoppers and shoppers into buyers, event teams can help dealership sales staff learn unique ways to overcome their assumptions and re-engage with these customers.

In addition, so many staffed event companies have entered the industry looking for ways to become more effi cient. As a result, many have done away with training, set-up days, meetings and building proper sales team synergy. Because of this, events offered by some companies differ very little from an ordinary day at the dealership.

“Event sales people aren’t hirable by dealerships, which is why they’re on the road.” —Let’s say you’re a talented

automotive sales professional faced with two career options. First, you have the opportunity to make a good amount of money traveling from sale to sale three weeks a month, with one week each month devoted to personal vacation. Or you could plant yourself in one place, working for one store six days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. where you are constantly dealing with the same inventory, needy vendors, service complaints and concerns about whether or not your colleagues will be showing up to work. Which option would you choose?

The fact is many of the people who choose to work for staffed event companies as a part of event sales teams do so because they want to, not because they need to. These talented individuals have the fl exibility in their lives to travel, and have taken advantage of that opportunity by seeking out openings with reputable event companies.

“My inventory isn’t suitable for a staffed event.” — Have excess aged inventory? You’re not alone. Unfortunately, many dealership salespeople lose interest in selling specifi c units if they’ve been on the lot for an extended amount of time. However, to an event sales team, every dealer’s inventory is fresh, regardless of the number of days it has sat on the dealer’s lot. The ability for a staffed event to move aged inventory effectively is one of the top reasons why many dealers decide to do a staffed event.

“Staffed event sales teams have nothing new to teach my staff.” — How many times do we as sales people get caught up in the daily routine and forget to do a step or use a technique that at one time worked well? While many staffed event companies may take pride in exposing their event sales teams to the latest sales techniques, sometimes it just comes down to basic principles. Even if the event company’s sales staff doesn’t teach your sales team something new, you can rest assured that your staff will be pushed back on track by being reminded of basic sales principles they used to practice.

“All staffed event companies are here today, gone tomorrow, leaving me no support after the event.” — Let’s say you hire someone to paint your house white. They “accidently” paint your house pink. You’re angry and want the issue fi xed. You call the paint company only to fi nd that they are no longer in business, leaving you with no way to hold them accountable for their mistake. Now how do you feel?

When you are relying on someone to provide a service, accountability can never be overrated. While most staffed event companies strive to have as few issues as possible, in some instances problems will arise. To combat accountability concerns with the staffed event company you choose, ask that they put their accountability promises in writing. Look for them to explain how they will handle issues and ensure that their solutions aren’t jeopardizing the reputation of you or your dealership.

In the end, these myths create and promote false impressions that can have damaging effects to a dealer’s marketing plan. By uncovering the reality behind these assumptions, dealers are presented with opportunity to connect with potential event marketing partners on a new and more honest platform. The key to getting the most out of these new found insights into the world of staffed events is to use it fi rst hand. Be assertive, ask questions, and ensure the event marketing partner you choose is aligned with your best interests.

Just like mom always said, don’t believe everything you hear. Sometimes you might be missing out on that valuable solution you’ve been searching for.

Matt Baker is the vice president of sales for G&A Marketing. He can be contacted at 866.618.8248, or by e-mail atmbaker@autosuccessonline.com.

www.autosuccessonline.com

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DavidEngelman

IMPROVING PVR AND CSI WITH BIWEEKLY PAYMENTS

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Leading dealerships are using bi-weekly

payments to close more deals. At the same time, they are increasing PVR and CSI. In fact, fi ve of the top 10 dealer groups are now offering bi-weekly payments. The reasons are obvious. First, bi-weekly payments help customers afford the vehicles and products they want. Second, bi-weekly payments give fi nance managers a very effective tool to quickly close deals. If you aren’t offering bi-weekly payments, you are missing an easy opportunity to close more deals and increase PVR and CSI.

Using bi-weekly payments to close more deals is easy. After greeting a customer in the fi nance offi ce, quickly interview the customer to determine what products they’ve previously used and what other products provide value: tire and wheel protection, windshield protectants, etc. After you’ve

determined the products your customer wants, you are ready to close the deal.

To quickly and effectively close a deal, fi rst present the customer with his monthly payment on only the vehicle (“We can get you into the car for $400 per month”). Then, include the additional products (“To protect your investment with the warranty, tire and windshield protection, your payment will be $430 a month”).

Now, close the deal with a bi-weekly payment option (“Or, if you prefer — as most of my customers do — we can set you up with automated payments of $205 every two weeks, which includes the warranty, tire and windshield protection”). If your customer asks how that can happen, simply explain that you’ll stretch the loan six extra months with the lender, but by automating the payments every two weeks, they will pay

off the loan six months sooner.

This is an easy and effective way to increase your service contract penetration and quickly close more deals. Finance managers who use this presentation achieve PVR’s of more than $1,400. More importantly, they have satisfi ed customers. If your PVR isn’t above $1,400, try using this presentation and watch your PVR and CSI grow. Everybody wins with bi-weekly payments — dealers sell more cars and products, fi nance managers earn more money and close deals more quickly and customers get the products they want, easy payment terms and less time in the fi nance offi ce.

David Engelman is the president of Smart Payment Plan. He can be contacted at 866.455.3027, or by e-mail atdengelman@autosuccessonline.com.

THE CIRCLE OF LIFEScottDreisbach

I have numerous conversationsevery day with

Dealership managers across the country about the benefits of precise vehicle inventory management. The most common problem I hear over and over again is “where do I get the vehicles that your system tells me I need”? Aside from the obvious answers like trades and auctions, my default answer is, “from the owners in your market area”. The fact is,that at any given time, a finite per-centage of the owners of the vehicles in your market area are consideringselling their vehicle. There is awhole list of reasons why they are considering selling their vehicle and in this economy there are more opportunities than ever. The Valuinsight system helps you determine exactly what vehicles you need. Another part of our system locates the owners of those exact vehicles. With these two key variables out of the way, the next step is to give the owners of thosevehicles a good reason to come to your store. The Valuinsight system does all of this and more for you. One of the most revealing facts that I have come across recently, as it relates to acquiring the correct inven-tory, comes from the Car Max annual report. Did you know that over 52% of the vehicles Car Max acquired, and sold at retail, came from “off the street” purchases directly from customers? There is no reason why you cannot do the same thing.

Once you have determined what you need, have located where those vehi-cles are and have gotten the customer to your store to buy or trade for their vehicle, the next step is to expose the customer to your evaluation process. The Valuinsight eValuator is thetool for that job. You simply plug in the VIN and the evaluation tool does the rest. Your customer is then shown the actual cash value of what you are willing to pay for that vehicle right now. eValuator takes into consid-eration data from all of the various guidebooks, real time auction data as well as local market data. The entire process of vehicle acquisition is real and most importantly, credible in the eyes of the customer.

After you have acquired the specific vehicles you need, the final step then is to retail that vehicle for the most amount of money in the least amount of time. You guessed it, Valuinsight has a tool that does just that. We call it iTurn.

iTurn is a revolutionary, automated Internet pay-per-click strategy, optimized for maximum ROI using Google, Yahoo, MSN, Etc. iTurn is designed to drive potential customers from search engines directly to the vehicle on your website at the exact moment they are looking for avehicle that is in your inventory. iTurn generates at least 3 search ads per vehicle in your inventory and generates deep keyword search terms for each ad group. The ads will only be shown to potential customers

within a selected geographic radius who are requesting information on the makes and models that your dealership has available. No wasted clicks on people out of your area.

Imagine a prospect (in your market area) is sitting at his/her computer and they type in Google (or MSN, Yahoo, Etc.) the specific used vehicle they are interested in. (ex. 2005 BMW 325) Now, also imagine your store owns the very vehicle that the customer is searching for and your vehicle comes up on their screen in one of the first 3 positions. (prefer-ably first) This is exactly what our newest tool, iTurn will do for you. You only pay per click on vehicles that are actually clicked on byprospects in your area. You are not paying to list your vehicles on some vehicle listing service where theyget “lost” and have little or noaccountability. You simply select a monthly budget and we do the rest. Why continue to pay for listingservices and not know for sure how they are performing for you? If you want to take the proactivestep to talk about how Valuinsight can help you improve the “Circleof Life” at your store, simply give me a call or drop me an email.Nobody does what we do for only $450.00 per Month.

Scott DreisbachVice President - Valuinsight, Inc.Direct Line: 561-404-8450Email: sdrize@valuinsight.comWebsite: www.valuinsight.com

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