ADI & CCI Unveils Real-Time Online Training
Scottsdale, AZ – January 26, 2009: In response to financial difficulties facing the automotive industry, the Automotive Dealership Institute and Chernek Consulting, Inc. announced a new cost-effective, fully interactive training service for dealerships. Utilizing an innovative audio-visual online program, dealership personnel will be able to train one-on-one with renowned dealership consultant Becky Chernek. The sessions are presented in a one-hour format, and are tailored according to the needs of the individual dealership.
“These sessions are as close as you can get to in person, private tutoring,” says ADI Executive Director Alan Algan, “Participants can see and hear the instructor, and vice-versa.” According to Mr. Algan, this allows employees to rehearse presentations and ask questions for immediate feedback. “This takes the idea of a virtual classroom to a whole new level,” adds Algan, “The quality and depth of training is just as thorough as it ever was, you just don’t have to waste money on travel expenses.”
The need to balance savings with quality was of the utmost importance, according to Algan. “Dealerships are facing challenging market conditions, so the need for effective employees is increasing at the same time that dealers are trying to cut costs.”
Becky Chernek, President of Chernek Consulting, Inc. concurs. “In recessionary times, we need to make better use of all the tools available to us,” Ms. Chernek reports. “We can’t stick our heads in the sand and wait for a miracle to happen.”
“It has been proven that actively engaged personnel learn faster and retain at a higher degree,” Ms. Chernek continues. “[These] sessions are designed to save the dealers considerable travel expenses to regional workshops and still provide them with the individual attention they need and want.”
For more information, call 404-276-4026 or email chernekconsulting@earthlink.net.
About Automotive Dealership Institute
ADI is a Scottsdale, AZ-based automotive management training facility that specializes in educating the next generation of Finance and Insurance managers and service advisors. ADI is approved by the State of Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education. For more information, call (877) 998-7200 or visit www.autodealerinstitute.com.
About Chernek Consulting, Inc.
As a nationally renowned consultant and trainer, Becky Chernek has assisted hundreds of car, RV, and marine dealerships throughout the United States and Canada in streamlining their processes and closing techniques that significantly raise their bottom profit line. For more information, visit www.chernekconsulting.com or contact Becky at 404-276-4026 or chernekconsulting@earthlink.net.
Robert P. Mancuso, Senior Vice President, Corporate Relations and Investor Relations Officer of The Warranty Group was honored with its Lifetime Achievement Award for 2008 by The Center for International Retail Automotive Standards (CIRAS) at the F&I Conference in Las Vegas on September 17.
In recognizing Mancuso, CIRAS President and CEO Dr. Robert W. Serum, noted that “Rob epitomizes the highest standards of this industry.” Serum noted that Mancuso was a third generation dealer following his grandfather’s launch of Mancuso Motors in upstate New York in 1918 and his father, Jim Mancuso’s, launch of Mancuso Chevrolet in Chicago in 1953.
For the first time, industry leaders from across the international automotive marketplace have joined together in a single, collaborative organization dedicated to the promotion of a higher, universal standard for their industry. This organization, known as CIRAS, the Center for International Retail Automotive Standards, has developed a series of web-based certification reviews for numerous performance areas, all of which are designed by specialists in each respective area. These experts hail from around the globe, bringing decades of experience to their subject.
The first of these workshops, the F&I and CSI certifications, will premiere during the 5th annual F&I Management and Technology Conference on Tuesday, September 16th, at the Paris Hotel. Conference attendees will save $275, and both workshops are expected to sell out quickly.
As with all CIRAS certifications, these workshops are tailored to address the most important issues facing professionals in the automotive industry. The F&I certification will discuss successful objection handling, and a special emphasis will be placed on the new Red Flag Rule. A section of the certification will be lead by reputed compliance experts Tom Hudson and Emily Beck of Hudson, Cook, LLP. The CSI certification workshop will address methods for increasing product and service acceptance rates through proper use of CSI surveys, using CSI metrics as predictor models, and ways to increase product and dealer loyalty through good CSI practices.
The workshop developers and presenters include iconic leaders of the automotive industry, such as Dr. Robert Serum – President/CEO of CIRAS and retired VP of Education and International Programs at Northwood University, Tom Hudson – partner at Hudson, Cook, LLP and author of CarLaw and the F&I Deskbook,Dr. David Fry – President/CEO Emeritus of Northwood University, and Marguerite Watanabe – Principal of Connections Insights and former VP of Equifax and Nissan Motor Finance USA.
Successful completion of a certification earns participants a professional designation – Certified Finance Professional (CFP) or Customer Service Professional (CSP) – for display on a business card. In addition, the workshop gives participants four free months of unrestricted access to the CIRAS certification training site, a beautiful certificate, a complimentary copy of Tom Hudson’s industry-acclaimed CarLaw, and the participant’s name will appear on CIRAS’s roster of international industry professionals.
F&I professionals wishing to keep pace with the industry’s ever-increasing standards will have the opportunity to download the electronic version of renowned Encyclopedia of Finance & Insurance Management in its entirety. For a limited time, the Automotive Dealership Institute will be offering the entire 772 page volume as an instantly downloadable PDF. This e-book will be available for only $49.95, a fraction of the cost of the book’s sold-out hard cover edition, the first edition of which retailed for $795 followed by more affordable Library Edition released earlier this year at $399.
The Encyclopedia was a collaborative effort from a team of key automotive industry professionals, representing a wide range of topics.
Topics covered in the F&I encyclopedia are:
- Finance and Insurance – Prime and Nonprime
- F&I Menu Presentation Process
- Creation and Management of the Dealership Internet Department
- Retail Installment Sales Contracts
- Consumer Leasing, Lease Agreements
- Collecting, Analyzing and Evaluating Credit Information
- Legal Compliance – Privacy Rule, Safeguards Rule, Cash Purchases, etc.
- Credit Insurance and Related Products
- Ethics for Automotive Financial Professionals
Among the contributors was Dr. Robert W. Serum, CEO of the Center for International Retail Automotive Standards (CIRAS) and former Vice President of Academics and International Programs at Northwood University, Thomas Hudson, senior partner at Hudson Cook, LLC and author of CARLAW, and ADI’s Alan Algan and Arzu Algan.
The e-book edition of the Encyclopedia offers several user-friendly features, including an electronic table of contents and electronic bookmarks for easy navigation. “We wanted to make it accessible to all F&I professionals, not just upper management,” reports Alan Algan, CEO and Executive Director of the Automotive Dealership Institute, “We’ve always believed in the importance of ongoing education – it’s the only way to raise the standards for our industry.”
The e-book will be available August 5, 2008. For details, call (877) 998-7200 or visit http://www.autodealerinstitute.com/finance-insurance/encyclopedia.php
The Automotive Dealership Institute is a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based automotive management school that specializes in educating the next generation of Finance and Insurance managers and service advisors. ADI is licensed by the State of Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education and approved by the Arizona Department of Education. For information, visit www.autodealerinstitute.com, or call (877)998-7200.
Today marked the official launch of CIRAS – The Center for International Retail Automotive Standards in the United States, CIRAS is dedicated to the professionalizing of the international automotive industry, CIRAS will offer a series of web-based certifications in a variety of key positions in the automotive trade.
Under the direction of Northwood University’s retired Vice President of Academics and International Programs, Prof. Robert W. Serum, PhD., CIRAS has assembled a team of respected automotive specialists from around the world. “CIRAS is not the usual training or teaching facility,” stresses Dr. Serum, “We fully recognize the contributions made by the many excellent educational institutions now serving the automotive industry.”