Monday, September 17, 2007

Personally Speaking

The problem with some Special Finance Managers is that we tend to wear blinders. More often than not, we view a deal as “now or never”. The philosophy de jure is “If I don’t close them now, someone else will later.” We loose sight of the fact that every customer can’t be closed the first time around. We get caught up in the idea of an immediate sale, and never see future opportunities.

Every lead I get is a potential sale. Successful subprime dealers understand this, and realize that just because you can’t close the deal today it doesn’t mean you might not sell them tomorrow. Customers can’t buy for a variety of reasons – insufficient down payment, insufficient income, new job, new to the area; the list goes on and on. Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure. Whatever is holding them back today is bound to change in the future. Maybe there’s a raise on the horizon. A cosigner suddenly appears. The tax return check comes in the mail. Whatever the obstacle, if you keep in touch with that lead, when he’s able to buy, your dealership will be the first one he calls!