In business, image is everything. Your customers will make assumptions about you based on your image. If you look professional, they will see you as professional. This positive image sets the stage for sales success. Remember: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The same hold true [...]

With the advent of every new year, most of us make new resolutions. Usually, they involve something that might improve our health:  we will lose ten pounds (or more!), or cut out fried foods, or cut down on coffee, or quit smoking, or exercise more. Over the years, unfortunately, we’ve learned [...]

The salespeople are very important to the dealership in general and the finance department in particular. Nothing happens in a dealership until a vehicle is sold. The salesperson has the first opportunity to influence the position of the customer toward the Finance office and all the F&I products. Salespeople must have [...]

There are purely psychological barriers that could inhibit a smooth transition. Salespeople are protective of “their” customer, and are aware that the sale they worked so hard to achieve could conceivably fall apart in the Finance Office. Consequently, their reluctance to introduce their customers to a third party that was not [...]

A Finance Department cannot operate alone. To fully realize its income potential, the Finance Department must have an outstanding working relationship with every other department within the dealership. This is accomplished by fostering a professional work environment among all dealership management and support personnel. This, in turn, helps generate sales.  [...]

A Finance Manager cannot operate alone.  A large part of your success as a Finance Manager is determined by how well you develop professional relationships.  This series of positive relationships extends beyond the dealership and its customers; in finance, in particular, success is dependent on many different service providers, all [...]

Your Special Finance Office now has all the necessary components for success in the non-prime market.  The staff is fully-trained and qualified to handle the challenges of serving special finance customers.   They have established and maintain professional relationships with a network of lenders whose different special finance guidelines will cover a [...]

The process of establishing a viable Special Finance Office began by focusing on the hiring and training of qualified staff.  The next steps in the process were customer-related: using effective marketing strategies to target the special finance demographic, and stocking the dealership with inventory available to the non-prime market.  The next [...]

The Special Finance Department has been fully staffed with qualified personnel, and the dealership has targeted non-prime customers through a well-researched marketing campaign.  Now, the dealership must be able to supply these customers with vehicles which fall within their financial criteria.  Appropriate inventory is essential to any special finance program [...]