Author: efgmarketing

Documenting Processes: More than Just Compliance

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date March 28, 2018

Contributing Author:
Steve Roennau
Vice President
Compliance
EFG Companies

Over the past few years, you’ve probably heard a lot about the importance of documenting your processes. Even with the changes at the CFPB, this importance is not diminished. Remember, the CFPB does not have jurisdiction over most dealerships (except Buy Here Pay Here). State Attorney Generals, the DOJ, and the FTC do. And, these government bodies haven’t undergone significant changes.

Therefore, if you haven’t already begun the process of documenting your processes, it’s time to get that project started. I’ve spoken with a lot of dealers who thought documenting processes would take an investment of thousands of dollars and a legal team. This does not have to be the case. It simply starts with taking a process that your team completes every day and writing down the steps.

Of course, with the numerous, ongoing processes in a dealership, not everyone knows where to begin. This is especially true for those processes that are simply just part of the routine. Many dealers haven’t even conceptualized how to define them beyond, “just do it”.

Just like with any big project, think about tackling this project one bite at a time. Start with the checklist on your deal jackets. Define and write down the process behind each item on the list. Each process should consist of three components:

What you do
Why you do it
How you do it

Tags CFPB, Compliance, DOJ, FTC

Featured

EFG Companies’ National Consumer Research Reveals Keys to Increasing eLead Conversions

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date March 20, 2018

Online Reviews, Pricing, & Quality of Vehicle Inquiry Responses Can Make or Break a Sale

EFG Companies, the innovator behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, announced today the results of its second national consumer research study revealing the critical role of a dealership’s online presence in making a sale. According to the 1,457 respondents, their buying research process goes well beyond simply narrowing down their vehicle selection, and the smallest mistake can eliminate a dealership from consideration. The softening market coupled with a growing Millennial/Gen Z consumer, demands an increased focus on the dealership’s digital eLead process to increase conversions. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2GGG93K.

The research revealed seven key data points on the average consumer’s first point of contact with a dealership:

50 percent of customers check a dealer’s online customer reviews prior to considering them for a potential vehicle purchase.
71 percent compare dealership website prices before deciding which dealership to visit.
83 percent expect a response from the dealership within 24 hours of sending an online vehicle inquiry, and 16 percent want information immediately or within the hour.
43 percent say the more information you can provide online, the more apt they are to visit the dealership.
45 percent rank poor spelling, grammar and punctuation as a top three reason to eliminate a dealership from consideration.
Only 9 percent want a phone call from the dealership after they’ve submitted an online request.

Dealership Training

How to Qualify Customers on the Sales Floor

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date March 14, 2018

Contributing Author: Eric Fifield Chief Revenue Officer, EFG Companies

Are your sales and F&I teams at odds with each other?

Do you often hear sales team members complain of getting their front-end margin slashed when customers go to finance?

Or, do you hear finance managers’ despair over having limited back-end flexibility for F&I products?

When sales people go through our F&I training, their feedback is often that all sales people should go through this training, as it would completely change the way they approach sales. Many sales professionals have no idea what goes on in the finance office, or how their efforts at securing a sale impact F&I.

So, what does go on in the finance office?

Any F&I manager will tell you that their job consists of securing financing that will cover both the cost of the vehicle and the sale of F&I products. They take customer information, submit loan applications, review lender bids, select a lender that meets the needs of both the dealership and the customer, and present the financing options and available F&I products to the consumer. While much of their time is spent on paperwork, the majority of their effort is spent on selling F&I products to increase the dealer’s back-end profit.

What effect does the sales process have on F&I?

The answer to this question is everything. Think about it like this. A sales person lands a customer on a $35,000 vehicle. When the finance manager pulls the customer’s credit and runs the numbers, they see that they will not be able to get a loan for more than $35,000. This makes it almost impossible to sell F&I products, which significantly reduces the dealership’s overall ability to maximize profit on the sale.