Category: Dealership Training

Preparing for a Different Kind of Sales Season

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date September 30, 2021

It’s officially fall which brings football, cooler temperatures, and 2022 vehicle models. We can predict that at least two of those things are happening this year. New vehicle production challenges continue to linger. Chip shortages, supply chain disruptions and factory shutdowns still plague our need for new inventory.

According to Cox Automotive, only 1.2 million new vehicles were ready to roll onto lots as of July 19th, compared with the average inventory of 3 million. In August, dealers reported just under 1 million new cars on lots, 72 percent lower than August 2019. The major manufacturers have projected production reductions well into the fall, making the new inventory forecast even gloomier.

Tags automotive industry, Cox Automotive, EFG Companies, J.D. Power

Dealership Training Economy

A Glimmer of Hope

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date May 27, 2020

Contributing Author:
Steve Roennau
Vice President
EFG Companies

There were a couple of surprising bright spots in April, as retail automotive dealers continued to deal with the impact of COVID-19. According to Autodata Corp, sales of the highly lucrative pickup segment dominated cars in the U.S., for the first time, by more than 17,000 — 186,417 pickups vs. 169,234 cars. In addition, with sales for April and early May coming in stronger than expected, automakers are already starting to rehire people and open up operations. While these are only two data points, they do provide a bit of good news in the dismal daily drumbeat.

The fact remains, however, that we are in uncharted waters. The good news is that not all steps forward are countered by a step back. Consider these data points:

Step Forward: Affordability – Interest rates are at an all-time low, making financing a vehicle pretty attractive.

Step Backward: Job Market – In April, the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7% with 23.1 million people unemployed, but some industries are experiencing tremendous demand.

Tags Cox Automotive, dealership training, EFG training, online car dealerships, online car sales, selling cars online

Dealership Training

Selling WHY – Not What

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date January 10, 2019

Contributing Author: Eric Fifield Chief Revenue Officer, EFG Companies

When presenting F&I products, are your F&I managers focusing too much on the product details? How’s that working for you? Are you happy with those product penetration rates?

Think about when you review long lists of information, you start to tune out, right? The same thing happens when F&I managers approach a product presentation from the standpoint of selling what the product does. Tallying off coverage levels, terms, systems, and parts is the fastest way to disengage from the customer and get them watching the clock instead of listening to the presentation.

At EFG, we teach professionals to approach the F&I product presentation from the standpoint of WHY. Why should a customer purchase a certain product? How does it benefit them? You could say that the product benefits customers by listing off everything it covers, but once again, that long list isn’t directly relatable to most customers.