Category: EFG Companies

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Agency Services EFG Companies

3 Tips to Insulate Your Agency from Dealership Consolidation

Contributing Author: Paul RobersOver the past three years, market consolidation in the retail automotive space has been a trend that has continued to gain momentum.  For example, in 2011, Penske Automotive owned 166 franchises in the U.S. and today, that number has grown to 173. Large, privately-held dealership groups have rapidly acquired rooftops across the country throughout 2012 and 2013. As the economy continues to recover and people return to purchasing cars, it stands to reason that dealership consolidation will continue to escalate.

As a dealership agent, you are probably focused on what this means for you. You have probably felt the sting, or know someone who has, when one of your dealership clients gets bought out by one of the large dealership groups. Unless, that dealership group uses your services, you automatically lose that business.

It might be tempting to fall prey to the idea that there’s nothing you can do about this. You have no control over dealership consolidation. But, there is something you can do. In fact, there are three definitive actions that can make a difference.

Diversification

While it’s true you have no control over which dealerships groups like AutoNation, Penske or any of the other large dealership group take over. You do have control over your own business. So how do you insulate your business from consolidation? It’s simple. Always be diversifying.

When business is soaring, it’s easy to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. However, it’s better to always assume this time will end all too quickly. Don’t get tied down with simply servicing your clients. Every client has a lifespan. While servicing your clients and maintaining relationships is important, it’s equally important to always work to expand your business.

Network

You’ve secured a client and established relationships with the top brass. However, while the dealer principal and GM are important, lower-level employees could provide inroads to future business. While servicing that client, you also need to fortify relationships with other sales managers, F&I directors, and general employees. You never know when lower level employees will become decision-makers and you want to have positive relationships built up by the time they reach the top. In addition, it’s important to maintain contacts when employees leave their current dealership for those same reasons.

Be a Problem Solver

You do this every day for your current clients. Why not do it for prospects? When researching prospective clients, do your due diligence in identifying areas where they can improve operations and incorporate them into your presentation. Mystery shop their store. Review their website. Submit an online inquiry and evaluate their follow-up practices. Look at their online reviews. Determine the strength of their social media presence. When you call them, use your research and ideas to have something interesting to say. The dealership personnel will be more intrigued to see what you have to offer and how you can make them more successful.

Dealership consolidation will only continue to grow. The best way to fortify your business is to focus on your expansion opportunities, as well. At EFG Companies, we have over 36 years of experience servicing agents and dealerships across the U.S.  With our industry insight and client engagement, our agent clients receive valuable tools, insights and strategies to face their unique challenges. Unleash your growth potential with EFG. Contact us today.

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EFG Companies

Product Administration can Make or Break Your Repeat Business

Contributing Author: Barry CarterCongratulations! Your VSC penetration is up and so is your F&I income. Your F&I department is rocking on upselling consumer protection products with your vehicles. You can’t believe the success you are having with sales and F&I. Your customers are happy all the way until they leave the dealership and drive home. But guess what, their experience with you hasn’t ended.

Because your customers choose your F&I products, their experience with those products will reflect back on you. You can have the greatest closing numbers in the world, but if your F&I products don’t reflect the service you provide in the dealership, your customers will most likely not return for their next purchase.

Good experience with an F&I product goes beyond claims paid to the customer service provided to both your customers and your service center. Think on your own experience with call centers. The ones you hate are the ones that keep you on hold too long, don’t address your questions, or keep transferring you between departments. Good customer service includes answering phone calls immediately, listening to customer concerns, and answering all questions politely. This experience is often even more important than monetary matters. When looking at your product administrator, look beyond the number of claims paid and average amount paid to the customer experience. Ask yourself:

  • How quickly are calls answered?
    • Anything over 60 seconds is unacceptable.
  • What is the average call time?
    • There is an art to a good service call. It shouldn’t end too quickly, leaving the caller more confused, and it shouldn’t linger. Good adjusters or customer service representatives move the conversation along efficiently and end the call between 3 minutes and 5 and a half minutes.
  • How often are calls abandoned?
    • If more than 5% of callers hang up, there’s a problem.
  • What is the average availability of a service representative or a claims adjuster?
    • This affects everything else. Without at least 75% availability, calls will not be answered promptly, therefore more will be abandoned.
  • Is it easy for my customers to get answers to frequently asked questions, such as policy coverage or claim status?
    • These should be available in a number of places, such as online, within the administrators automated phone system, and in print form.

It’s pretty easy to tell whether your customers are having a good experience with your F&I products by just walking into your service center. If your team members are complaining about never getting through to the administrator to initiate a claim, get a status, or get payment, it’s likely that your customer is having the same poor experience. One conversation you never want to hear is:

Service Advisor: “We couldn’t process your claim with your product administrator.”

Your Customer: “I bought the car through you, what do you mean you can’t process my claim?”

Service Advisor: “It’s not us, it’s the product administrator.”

Your Customer: “I can’t believe this service! I’m never bringing my car here again and you can be sure I won’t buy from you again either!”

The best way to avoid the scenario above is to ensure a good customer experience from the day they purchase their car. With over 36 years in innovating and administering consumer protection products, EFG knows the importance of customer service and that our efforts reflect back on our clients. That’s why we perform monthly audits based on daily results to ensure that your customers and service advisors always have the best experience. We continuously strive to keep abandon rates below 5 percent, answer every call within 60 seconds and to provide answers or process a claim as quickly and efficiently as possible.

At EFG, your reputation is our business. Contact us today to find out more about our commitment to your success through product administration.

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EFG Companies F&I

The Importance of Product Knowledge

dealHave you ever had a finance manager or loan officer complain about being burned out?

We all know that dealerships and lending institutions alike are trying to find ways to lessen the burden  when it comes to selling consumer protection products. After rapid expansion of menu’s, F&I managers and loan officers are struggling to comply with the 100%-100%-100% rule and keep their penetration numbers up.

Whether your menu is large or small, product knowledge is the most obvious yet least recognized key to keep managers from being overwhelmed and generate success. In addition, it helps managers craft questions for the beginning of the process to better understand which products best fit their consumer’s needs. When based on product knowledge, these questions are the key to creating logic hooks that turn “no’s” into “yes’s.”

Furthermore, product knowledge:

  • Increases comfort level with the product presentation process
  • Makes it easier to present different angles or benefits based on the consumer’s needs
  • Hastens recovery from curve balls

Consider your product penetration rate in your dealership or lending institution. According to Auto Finance Magazine, the average penetration rate for consumer protection products sold in the United States is approximately 40%. What would you do to increase your rate?

With over 35 years in consumer finance, the experts at The Transcend Group, a division of EFG Companies, know how to train your team to consistently meet and/or exceed performance goals by focusing on filling consumer needs in order to sign more loans, increase margins and foster consumer loyalty.

We provide management consulting and advisory services in the areas of corporate growth strategy, innovation and growth processes, organizational transformation, and talent management and development strategies.