Pub. 14 2015-2016 Issue 2

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 13 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G When the sales personnel gather information on the trade, do they ask the customer if they purchased a service contract with the vehicle that is being traded in? Do they ask the customer about protective coatings, or extra security systems on the trade in prior to obtaining the market value? By asking these simple questions the sales person creates value in the ancillary products and establishes a basis for the true market value of the vehicle. Either the vehicle is worth that much because it had the ancillary items, or it is worth that little because it did not have the ancillary items. The sales department should realize monetary rewards from the efforts of the sales business office. Individuals in sales get up, dress up, and show up to do one thing, and that is to create a paycheck for ourselves! No matter howmuch a sales person is paid, they are paid on commission. So the more they make, the more the dealer- ship makes. If your sales team is paid a salary, then perhaps you can create a bonus program based upon the ancillary items sold in the sales businesss office. Service advisors can help promote the value of pre-paid mainte- nance and service contracts after delivery. When the vehicle comes in to the shop for service, the service advisor should ask the cus- tomer if they have a service agreement. If not, find out if they still qualify for a service agreement. If they do, then a sales opportunity has presented itself. In addition to customer pay labor hours, the advisors should also be tracked on how many service agreements they sell on the drive. As with any sales, the service advisor should be compensated for all their sales including service agreements. PLACE What does your sales business office look like? It should have a professional appearance, staffed with a professionally-dressed person, proficient in using technology. Use the Internet to sub- mit credit applications in addition to registering the products sold. Many F&I professionals are using electronic menus on iPads. Many of these platforms will push and pull information with your current computer system. Remember any platform that uses single entry of data saves time and helps minimize errors on the documentation. The value of an electronic menu is that the customer is en- gaged in the process. Most customers already have a tablet or smart phone of some kind and are familiar with apps. This technology is almost expected of modern business these days. The electronic menus also provide reports on who opened a menu and how long they stayed. The value of using technology is that you can easily verify if the sales business manager is actively promoting the “400% rule”— 100% presentation, of 100% of the products and services, to 100% of the customers, 100% of the time. No exceptions! PROCESS It is vital that the sales business office interacts with every customer at the point of commitment to purchase a vehicle. The sales man- ager should be crossed trained with your sales business manager. If your business is seasonal, or you have certain busy days, you might want to hire a billing clerk to aid in the paperwork area. This is a salary position, part time and they can follow-up on stipulations from the lenders. They can also follow up and secure proof of insurance and obtain accurate pay-offs for the trade-in units. The billing clerk can do the busy work and free up the sales producers to work with the customers. In defining a successful F&I process, focus on consistency in pricing of products, and in finance reserve mark-up. It saves time, SELL MORE  continued on page 14