Two Bulls

by David Preston
www.zenfinance.ca

The advertisement says “ One months profit in just four days!” How can any dealer say no to that! Imagine, 4 days to the promised land. Clean, no mess, no hassle just profit! Well if that is the case, its obvious that dealerships have missed the boat for many years then. Imagine, staying open six days a week, all month long! Hell, they could have picked 4 days a month to be open and been done with that annoying nuisance called work, and spent more time on the golf course!

Ok enough with the sarcasm you say. True, these “staffed slammer sales” do quite a bit of volume, and move some older units for the dealerships, but at what cost to your special finance department?

Assuming you have a well run efficient special finance office, you should be able to keep the fallout to a minimum if not zero. The way to do that is by having YOUR special finance manager be kept in the loop on all deals during the event. Remember, at the end of the day, when the big top is taken down and the clowns have left, it is YOUR reputation on the line. Not just the reputation that you hold so highly with your customers, but also with the lenders.

Chances are, if your sub prime department is running as it should be your special finance manager has built a solid reputation with the lenders. The kind of reputation that takes years to develop and only one deal to destroy. Its that reputation that will probably be the reason some of the “tough” deals during the sale were approved and delivered. I'm sure most would agree that damaging that reputation in order to move a few extra units over a one week period is not worth it. I'm not saying all staffed companies are going to jeopardize your store's reputation, but erring on the side of caution in this regard, will always prove to be the correct choice.

Tips to stay safe:

1- Know each and every deal that is being presented. This doesn't mean hover behind the event's finance manager watching every key stroke. But spot check from time to time as the sale goes on.

2-Try and meet each customer to ensure they were satisfied with there experience at “YOUR” store. Ask them question about the transaction and ensure that promises made can be kept. Remember, once the sales company leaves its YOUR promise.

3-Let the sales team know what will not be acceptable when it comes to paper work, deal submissions and promises made.

4- Make sure that you are dealing with a reputable company that has a good track record and consistent repeat business with other dealerships.

5- Remember the story of the two bulls standing on the hill. The little bull looked up at his dad and said “lets run down there and get us one of them cows pa!” The big bull looked down at his son and shook his head. “No son, lets walk down, and get them all!”

...however, this is just my opinion and I could be wrong. After all, I'm just the finance guy.