Profit Drivers Bloghttp://profitdriversblog.comQuick BlogFINISH STRONG!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/08/12/finish-strong.aspxWatch this Movie! 
        It's only 3 minutes...                                            
Wondering how business is at your dealership...there seem to be some grumblings that things are sluggish in auto land these days!  The media is voicing stories of gloom and doom and massive financial losses for the major auto makers!  Nothing like the media raining on your parade to inject fear to the cautious consumer and suppress their spending habits more than ever! 

This quick movie is quite fitting.  It reflects on a select few, the adversity they have faced and the tremendous results achieved by the choices they made to overcome their challenges.  The softened automotive market is an opportunity for you to do something different, to be creative.  It's a time when TEAMWORK is critical and a time to do what others are not prepared to do.  If you want to generate more business, you have some great resources in the business office to help make that happen.  Work together with your sales manager.  Dig up some old deals, customers who bought vehicles 3 to 5 years ago and offer them something special to purchase a vehicle today.  Maybe an extended warranty for FREE!  or a protection package for FREE!  Come to an agreement with the sales department about where the cost for those products will be absorbed.  You will get more cars over the curb and open opportunity to sell additional business office products!  Sub prime customers of approximately 24 months ago are prime candidates to call now and invite back to the dealership to upgrade.  Depending on the circumstances that deemed the customer a sub prime buyer, if they have had a perfect payment record since the inception of the auto loan, a conventional finance institution may consider financing them today with the attractive interest rates and aggressive cash incentives on some new vehicles!  Dare to be different, take one step forward and then another and another and another...more than half a month to go, there's plenty of time to...FINISH STRONG!

 Simple Truths Newsletter
                                               Click on Image to Watch!
 

This Blog is Dedicated to Help You Fast Track Your Career!
]]>Sales Tipsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-08-12T22:30:15ZSTUCK in a RUT!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/07/21/stuck-in-a-rut.aspx     FRAZZLED from WORKING too MANY HOURS?

                Enjoy your Summer, Share your Workload!                                                        
                                                                                                            
              
 

This picture made me howl!  It reminds me so much of the late nights I worked while dedicating my life as a budding, ambitious business manager! Seriously, I worked some nights until midnight, 1 a.m., just to tidy up the paperwork that never seemed to get done during the day while I was madly selling warranties, pro packs and credit insurance to customers or getting tough deals bought.  Years later, I can reflect on those days and laugh...at myself for being so silly!  The message today is... 

                                   If you are Stuck in a Rut, Get out and...

                          ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!  SHARE YOUR WORKLOAD!

Go golfing, go fishing, go boating, hang out with the kids, have a nap in the sun!  Whatever it is that makes you happy, take a break and enjoy your life a little.  I had a bizarre belief that if I hired someone to share the workload my income would suffer as a result.  WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!  Was I ever blind in those days!  From conversations with several seasoned business managers, many of us learned the hard way that a junior business manager will in fact help you earn MORE money!  When you are well rested, you take proper breaks during your work day and you can get away from the dealership fearless of disaster striking in your absence, you are far more effective at this ever demanding job and consequently you will SELL tons more products!  It's a fact.  So learn from those of us who suffered from this fictitious belief and SHARE YOUR WORKLOAD!  Experience speaks volumes. 

If you deliver 40 cars per month per business manager (on an average), you have a manageable portfolio.  If you deliver 50 cars per month, your work is becoming quite demanding and if you are delivering more than that, 60 to 70 cars per month per business manager, you need HELP!!!  There are new business managers completing courses regularly from the various training companies.  Call them, ask for referrals for ideal students and start them off with the basics of paperwork and entering data in the Dealer Management System (DMS), (like PBS, Reynolds and Reynolds), and increase their responsibilities to sales.  You will be amazed at the energy and commitment these new recruits to your career have.  They are like sponges, fast learners with a gift to sell.  The shift in the workforce is attracting people of great caliber, those with extensive life experiences and well developed transferable skills from previous careers!  Treat them with respect, honor the gift of having someone else to share your stresses with and they will reward you with productivity results you never imagined possible.  I've seen this repeatedly.  Granted, there will be hurdles along the way and learning challenges but if you treat each other well, it is a relationship you can both benefit from for years to come.  Research proves that the single most common reason people leave their jobs is not for the money...it's because they don't feel APPRECIATED!  If you are overworked, you will soon feel that you aren't appreciated because while you are staying late to finish paperwork from
that day and that week's deals, evil thoughts will start to haunt you about everyone else at home with their families or friends, laughing and enjoying dinner and Bar-B-Q's together.  Meanwhile you feel like our caricature pal above, cranked with espresso intravenous!


                        HAVE FUN!  ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!  SHARE YOUR WORKLOAD!


This Blog is Dedicated to Help You Fast Track Your Career! 

]]>Practical Tipsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-07-23T11:43:10ZApologies for the Duplicate Entries Delivered to Your Inbox Recently!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/07/21/apologies-for-the-duplicate-entries-delivered-to-your-inbox-recently.aspxWe have had technical challenges with our blog and in efforts to correct those, two posts had to be republished today.  There was no way to prevent the new published entries from being delivered again to your inbox.  It is my intention to bring you valuable information regularly that will help you fast track your career as a business manager.  My apology to you, a subscriber of this blog, for any inconvenience or annoyance these repeat deliveries may have caused you.

As always, feel free to ask any questions or express concerns you may have in your day to day activities of your work day, simply click "Add Comment" below.  I will do everything in my power to bring you well rounded answers that are gathered from various resources.

This blog is Dedicated to Help You Fast Track Your Career!]]>Chit Chatprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-07-21T22:09:08ZTIPS You Need to Know About Sub Prime Financing!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/07/04/the-inside-scoop-on-sub-prime-financing.aspx        
                                        
    ANSWERS to your Sub Prime Finance Questions!  
  
What would it mean to your dealership if you could finance just ONE
more deal a month with Sub Prime Financing?!  How about TWO 
more deals a month?!!!  or THREE...or FOUR?!!!  WOW!  You'd be a Hero!  
                                                       
FINALLY!  Mysteries released about Sub Prime Financing
with Jake Stacey, Area Manager with Scotia Dealer Advantage
  • The differences between Sub Prime Lending and Prime Lending
  • Learn how Loan to Value (LTV) is reflected in the maximum loan advance
  • Debt Service Ratios (DSR)
  • Interest Rate Up Sell
  • Basic Criteria to qualify for Sub Prime Financing
  • Limitations for Warranty and Credit Insurances on a Sub Prime Deal
  • Qualifying Questions on the Sales Floor to better manage a Sub Prime Deal
  • The Structure of a Sub Prime Approval

  Listen to the Pod Cast!  
       
    
This Blog is Dedicated to Help You Fast Track Your Career!

]]>Finance and Leasingprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-07-08T22:01:37ZUPDATE! LEVEL II Advanced Course for Salespeople, coming to VICTORIA!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/06/30/level-ii-recertification-course-for-salespeople-coming-to-victoria-2.aspx

          Motor VEHICLE SALES AUTHORITY of British Columbia

                            LEVEL II Advanced Course

                                    in Victoria, BC

            Please note, this course originally scheduled for July 2008 
                                               has been postponed to:

                       October 16 and October 17, 2008


  If you were certified as a MVSABC (formerly MDC) salesperson
     several years ago when the certification course was initiated,

                             This course is for YOU!

                       for further details and to Register,

              Call CATHY at MVSABC, 604-294-9889, loc 230
                     or e-mail her at cathy@mvsabc.com

                              Hope to see you there!


This Blog is Dedicated to Help You Fast Track Your Career!

]]>Upcoming Eventsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-07-15T15:50:37ZLeasing Protects Consumers from Weakening Used-Car Market!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/06/25/leasing-protects-consumers-from-weakening-usedvehicle-market.aspxTo further comment on Tuesday's podcast about Leasing, the article
referenced at the end of this post sets the stage for a perfect scenario
to outline to undecided lease customers.  As much as this describes
the situation in the U.S., we see evidence of the same events taking
place here in Canada.

While Ford (U.S.) and GM (U.S.) financial arms may need to write down
more than $1 BILLION dollars each due to expected pressure on
U.S. auto credit caused by a weakening used-car market, consumers
who leased their vehicles two, three or four years ago and are nearing
the end of their lease term will not be subjected to
accelerated depreciation values!

What's causing all this havoc?  In part, blame the rising oil prices! 
Higher fuel costs have led consumers toward fuel-efficient vehicles,
ultimately reducing sales in the large SUV and pick-up truck markets.
The traditional supply and demand principal comes into play
and once we have an oversupply of these vehicles that have become
slow movers, the prices start to fall (manufacturer's attempt to drive
sales with generous programs).  It becomes a cascade affect
because once new vehicle prices drop in any vehicle category,
the used car prices of that model line follow the pattern. 

In a nutshell, here are the cause and affect activites:
    *Oil prices rise, increasing gasoline costs

    *Consumers are reluctant to purchase vehicles that are fuel greedy
       and lean towards fuel-efficient autos

    *An oversupply develops in the marketplace placing pressure on auto prices

    *As new vehicle prices fall or manufacturer's programs are sweetened, 
       used-car prices soften

    *At lease end if your vehicle has a buy-out of say $15,000 but the
      market value is less, you have no reason to pay $15,000 for a vehicle
      that's worth less!  If you don't take the brunt for this 
      aggressive depreciation in the value, someone has to and that someone
      is the financial organization that lent you the money to purchase
      the vehicle in the first place.  When a customer returns the 
      keys of a vehicle affected by an accelerated depreciation value
      to their originating dealership, the vehicle will land on the
      doorstep of that financial institution and goes to auction for resell.
      The auction can only get what the market will bear.  And so, the
      losses incurred by the finance organizations at lease end bleed
      their profits and that's why Ford (U.S.) and GM (U.S.) financial arms
      are facing potential massive write downs!

There is a silver lining though!
The pendulum always swings both ways.  Where there is a crisis, an
opportunity will always rise from it.  And so, those Canadian consumers
that leased their large SUV or pick-up truck during the past few years
(provided they were in a closed-end lease) are not responsible for these
price changes.  When their lease expires they need only return their keys
to their originating dealer and walk away. 

The Added Bonus!
If a consumer is driving a vehicle that has an enhanced value compared
to the predetermined lease end value, they still WIN!  Now they can
purchase the vehicle outright and resell it, keeping any difference
over and above the buyout value plus taxes. 

So, the next time you have a customer that hesitates or questions the
benefits of leasing, explain this real-life current day scenario and see if
that influences their decision at all!

For full details of the referenced article go to:
http://www.autonews.com
You will be required to register as a user, the basic subscription is FREE
and if you don't want to receive future news headlines, you can easily
unsubscribe.  Enter "Ford, GM financial arms may incur writedowns"
in the Search box, the first article that shows up in the search list is the
one you are looking for dated June 20, 2008.

What did you think of this post?
We'd like to hear from you...click "Add Comments" below

This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!          

]]>Finance and Leasingprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-06-26T23:36:55ZLEASING Helps Auto Dealers Sell More Cars!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/06/24/leasing-facts.aspx            SELL MORE VEHICLES THROUGH CUSTOMER RETENTION!
        
        SELL MORE VEHICLES THROUGH SHORTER SALES CYCLES 
        with 2, 3 and 4 YEAR LEASES!

        WORK with your USED CAR INVENTORY
                                                                               

 		 Brett Newell, Financialinx Account Manager
for BC and Alberta regions offers plenty
of reasons to lease an automobile from his
wealth of knowledge and experience aquired
from several years in the automotive
financial services industry:
 Listen to the Pod Cast!    
                              
What did you think of this podcast?
We'd like to hear from you...click "Add Comments" below


This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!          ]]>Finance and Leasingprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-07-12T16:05:47ZSeperate the GOOD from the GREAT!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/06/14/the-difference-beween-good-and-great.aspxWhat difference will ONE EXTRA DEGREE make in your life?

DECIDE...WHAT is your ONE EXTRA DEGREE?
          
          ...WHEN will you accomplish it?
          
          ...WHAT will that look like when you get there?
          
          ...WHY is it important to get there?  What is your motivator?
             Your Kids, More Fun, Accomplishment,
             Your Lifestyle OR your desired Lifestyle?                     
          
          ...HOW will YOU get there?

           
           Turn up Your Speakers, CLICK HERE and Enjoy!




What did you think of this movie?
We'd like to hear from you...click "Add Comments" below.

This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!

]]>Sales Tipsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-06-18T13:53:00ZFREE to SUBSCRIBE!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/06/14/free-to-subscribe.aspxReceive Tips and Comments direct to your email inbox!
                            
                            Just subscribe!

It's easy, enter your email address in the box positioned
just above the "Subscribe" button in the upper left side
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will be asked to confirm your subscription and following that,
for security measures, to ensure nobody else tries to enter
your address without your knowing it, you will receive another
confirmation request by email.  Simply respond to verify
you want to receive a subscription to this blog and POOF!
every time a new post (that's blog jargon for article) 
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the web site regularly, you'll know what's new without
taking another step!  Come back to visit the site any time
you want though, there may be new links in the body of the
blog from time to time that interest you!

                               SUBSCRIBE                                                  

                   it's EASY and it's FREE!!!!!

There's some GREAT new posts coming in the next few weeks 
INCLUDING the Official Launch of Profit Drivers amazing new
Training Web Site!  Subscribe now to be the first to get the
NEWS!


This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!

]]>Chit Chatprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-06-14T11:26:03ZFIRST IMPRESSIONS!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/06/09/first-impressions.aspxOOZE PROFESSIONALISM!... 
                ACT PROFESSIONAL... 
                        THINK PROFESSIONAL...
                                MODEL PROFESSIONALS...                                       
                                        SPEAK PROFESSIONAL...
                                                DRESS PROFESSIONAL...

It is absolutely imperative that your customer perceive you as a professional.
Did that message come through clear by any chance?...uh, ok, you heard me.
Great!  A First Impression will be made within the first few seconds of
meeting you (according to my research you only have 3 seconds) and
your customer will already have an opinion of you. 

First your visual appearance is assessed, from your hair right down to your shoes...
and those little accessories you wear, they're picked-up on the radar scan too. 
Your customer processes a bundle of questions in this short few seconds 
and makes a snapcracky assessment based on these..."are you trendy",
"are you old fashioned", "are you well groomed", "are you professional"  then,
your mannerisms and behavior are studied.  They are looking at specific gestures. 
Are you smiling, therefore warm, friendly and inviting, or do your facial expressions
speak frustration from something else that was going on minutes before
this customer entered your office?  Your body language, are your arms crossed
at your waist, sending a closed communication message or is your hand eagerly
presented to greet your customer?  If this customer is back on a return visit
to see you, a gentle gesture with your hand to motion them to sit in a chair
is as inviting as a handshake (coupled with a warm hello and smile, of course).

IMAGE!  In the business manager/F & I manager position, you are
probing into people's personal lives, you are snooping around in their
financial matters.  Some people are very uncomfortable to speak about
their finances to ANYBODY.  For men, wear a suit and tie, be well pressed! 
If you want to add some personality to your wardrobe, play with
shirt colors and ties.  If you are ever unsure of a combination you 
are wearing, ask someone you work with or one of your friends or
family members that you consider well-dressed and who you can trust
to be honest with you.  For ideas, browse through current magazines
and see what is in style.  Women, you have sex appeal whether you
want to or not just because you are a woman, no need to exaggerate it
here.  Keep those dresses and skirts to no more than three inches
above the knee to mid-calf and stay away from bulging or overexposed
cleavage!  If your personal flavor is to have low-cut necklines,
wear something underneath to cover the exposure while you are at work.
You may appeal to the male customer and he may be drooling all over
his elbow perched on your desk but hold on here, when his wife or
significant other shows up, you are done!  If you are getting good
sales averages per unit using sex appeal, you will get amazing
sales averages with professionalism, that's a fact!  Sexual overtones
are to be kept OUTSIDE the professional world!  NO EXCEPTIONS! 
For both men and women, shoes are vital.  Be certain they are
polished, look fresh, no broken threads, and women, keep those
lifts on your heels new!  There is nothing that sounds cheaper
than a woman's clickety-click from a worn heel lift.

Professionalism implies a high caliber of standards.

Be absolutely certain that your first impression is a professional one.
There is no quick cure for reversing this very important first few seconds.
THE FIRST IMPRESSION IS PERMANENT!!!! 

This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!]]>Sales Tipsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-06-14T11:59:27ZINCREASE PROFITS: Add VALUE with RELATIVITY!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/29/does-your-customer-see-the-value-in-your-offerings.aspxTRUST & VALUE
                               Part 2

NO, NO, NO, and by the way, NO Thank You again!  Are you getting
a lot of rejection from your customers, are they declining your
offerings left, right and center?  I have GREAT NEWS for you!!!...

One of the surest ways to increase your sales is to present your
products so the customer sees the VALUE in what you are offering!
Sounds elementary but it is fundamental to increasing profits!
The first and foremost means to achieving that is to show the
RELATIVITY of your product(s) to your customer's needs.  The
ONLY way I know of to create relativity is to know what your
customer needs and the simplest solution to getting that information
is through QUESTIONS.  There's a link referred to in the Blog post
of February 13, 2008, "Ask Questions", filed under category
Sales Tips, that addresses this topic eloquently:  http://nashville.bizjournals.com/extraedge/consultants/at_your_service/2007/12/31/column30.html?market=nashville

The professional, successful salesperson has an incredible
talent to ask questions and gather information without
seeming nosy or annoying.  This takes us back to the
people skills that are critical to our success as a
business manager/F & I manager.  Here's the really
interesting part...as you ask questions, engaging the 
customer in conversation about them, you are building
TRUST...and while you gain the knowledge about your
customer's particular circumstances, you acquire
the information needed to create the VALUE in your
product(s) that is/are relative to your customer's needs!
You see, TRUST and VALUE go hand in hand and work
brilliantly together!

If you are trying to come up with great questions to build trust and
value, go back to the features and benefits of your products and
work backwards.  Here's some examples:
    
    Q:  Mr. Customer, will you be using this car mostly for city 
    driving or are you planning some road trips with it?
    
    A:  Your customer drives a lot for whatever reasons, personal 
    or professional, and tells you that he/she will have many out of
    town trips OR a tremendous amount of local driving over the 
    foreseeable 5 years. 
    
    In conversation you may find out that part of the reason this
    customer is buying this car is to ease some of the stress of
    expensive mechanical repairs during a very busy driving period
    in their life.

    This next step takes place only when you are presenting the 
    product that has RELATIVITY:   
    Mr. Customer, we have an extended warranty program for 
    customers like you.   It will give you Peace of Mind
    driving over the next 5 years and simulate the coverage of those
    moving parts and electrical components that will no longer be 
    covered by the manufacturer after (3) years.   Let me give you
    some more details...and now you move into your warranty
    presentation that emphasizes the 99.9% perfect car, it 
    demonstrates that your 99.9% perfect car will endure repairs
    of approximately $7000 based on today's average repair costs
    and that makes your warranty of say $1600 to $2000 look very 
    inexpensive!

I could give you tons of other examples.  If you have a particular
hurdle you want to overcome with asking questions and creating
relativity with a particular product, just ask me (click
"Add Comments" below) and I will gladly give you suggestions.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is not rocket science, I get that.  It's
a simple and easy method of improving your average sale per
unit sold.  Develop this practice and make it a habit to find
RELATIVITY with your products to your customers.  Anything
you focus on grows and builds.  This practice alone will put more
money in your jeans and make your dealer principal very happy.
Imagine, if auto sales are sluggish, they know they can rely on
you for consistent, strong performance.  When you give, you get!

This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!
]]>Sales Tipsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-29T11:55:07ZVictoria Dealer, One Day Fill-In No Longer Requiredhttp://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/23/victoria-dealer-one-day-fillin-no-longer-required.aspxPlease note this store no longer requires a
Financial Services Manager/Business Manager
for the one day fill-in, Saturday May 31st.
Thank-you to those who expressed an interest!
]]>Positions Availableprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-23T08:00:12ZBUSINESS MANAGER NEEDED, One Day Fill-inhttp://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/20/business-manager-needed-one-day-fillin.aspxAn import dealership in Victoria, BC is looking for a one day only
Financial Services Manager/Business Manager fill-in for Saturday, May 31st.
Please respond to this post by "Add Comment" below, your inquiry will be
forwarded directly to the dealer.]]>Positions Availableprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-21T14:23:41ZGUARANTEED to Increase Sales!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/18/guaranteed-to-increase-sales.aspx                        TRUST and VALUE!
                                Part 1
Seems too simple to be true doesn't it?  These two time honored principals
of selling are the fundamentals to EVERY successful sale!  Your customer
must TRUST you if they are going to buy something you have to offer AND
they must see the VALUE in what you have to offer!  The real trick to these are "HOW?".  How do you create trust with your customer and how do you
ensure your customer perceives that your product has value for them?

Trust is identified by a sense of comfort and ease.  Go back to the post of
April 7th "Tip of the Week CHALLENGE!!!!!".  If you buy your customer lunch
during the very emotional process of buying a car, you have made a
great step in the right direction of gaining their trust.  That's not to say
that EVERY customer you buy lunch for will automatically trust you
but with more customers than not, a generous gesture will move you
forward in the right direction.  Ask yourself, how many salespeople
have bought you lunch during a lengthy purchase process?  Our customers
are no different than we are when we go to buy a new suit, new outfit
or a new computer.  How often have you bought ANYTHING from a
salesperson that you didn't trust?  And what makes YOU trust a salesperson?
Part of building rapport with your customer is for this very reason,
to create a bond, to find some commonalities, to establish grounds of trust.
If your customer asks you, "What would you buy if you were me?",
you know you have done your job of developing trust between you.

Here are some suggestions to build trust with your customer: 

  • RAPPORT, warm and meaningful conversation, this is a topic in itself and will be further elaborated on in the Profit Drivers website to launch June 30th.  For now, ask some questions to promote conversation with your customer.  Keep the conversation entirely away from the car at first and see if you can establish some commonalities between yourselves.   Be sure you steer the conversation though, you want to be effective with the brief time you have, there is lots to cover yet!
  • BE HONEST.  Example:  If your customer sincerely only plans to keep their car for 5 years, offer them their warranty extension options and recommend they take the lesser priced 5-year plan because that would best match their expected length of ownership.   This honesty principal will win you many brownie points with your customer if you cater your product recommendations to suit their lifestyle and ownership needs!
  • RELATIVITY.  Describe to your customer how your product(s) are relative to their particular circumstances.  Example:  Maybe they park their car outside under trees and the paint protection will help preserve the new car condition of the paint OR, maybe your customer is elderly and never has pets nor children nor drinks in the car and therefore a customized discounted protection package that excludes the fabric protection is ideal for him/her.
  • SOLVE PROBLEMS and/or CORRECT MISTAKES.   If your customer identifies a problem or a mistake when they sit down with you, stop all further action and deal with it right then and there.  First, you need to clear the air.  If there is any concern about the deal they have just signed, they will be less open to purchase additional "add-on" products you have to offer.   In fact, they probably won't even hear what you have to say because their thoughts will be clouded with whatever the problem/mistake is.  Covering up a problem or denying that one exists is a sure way to make yourself a big fat donut ($0.00) on the back-end profit of that deal!
  • LISTEN to your customer and RESPECT what they say!  If they tell you they had a terrible experience once with undercoating and NEVER what to purchase that product again, honor their feelings, be EMPATHETIC that they had a lousy experience and be inquisitive.  Be genuinely interested in what happened and why.  In most cases you will find that the incident occurred many years ago and the products have changed significantly since then.  It is your responsibility to let your customer know that what happened in the past reflected out-of-date policies/products, and there are amazing new options/technologies today.  You are educating your customer rather than selling them something.  Once you have updated them with the current information, offer your new product, ask for the sale.  They may or may not purchase your offering but they will feel that you heard their concerns, you took the time to educate them about current products and gave them the opportunity to choose if they want to purchase your new offering(s).

Part 2, Building VALUE in what you have to offer your customer will be covered later this week in another post. 

This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!

]]>Sales Tipsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-19T19:46:22ZWOMEN of WEALTH Canadahttp://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/16/women-of-wealth-canada.aspx

This event takes place Saturday May 24th and Sunday May 25th, in Delta, BC
Please refer to the website for further details:  http://www.lavenderhill.org/events.htm

Women of Wealth Canada

Proudly Presents

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN
Women's Weekend Seminar

We want YOU to Climb Every Mountain
so we are going to provide you with the right gear to get you there!



NOTE:  I have no affiliation with the organization nor facilitators of this event but I have my ticket and expect it to be a DYNAMITE weekend!

]]>Upcoming Eventsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-13T22:44:07ZYour BEST Negotiating Question!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/15/your-best-negotiating-question.aspx                                    "WHAT WOULD IT TAKE?"

This question alone will get you more negotiating mileage than you could ever dream of.
Sometimes the bank will come back with a flat out DECLINE!  Yuck, that has to bug 'ya!
The next time that happens, after you've had an initial warm and fuzzy chat with the bank's
credit officer to determine where the holes are in the deal and you have taken the opportunity
to present your defense with concrete information, filled in the details of the story and special
circumstances, ask the bank "What would it take to get Mr./Mrs. Customer into this vehicle
today?"  Explain to the credit officer that you want to go back to the customer with some
OPTIONS!  Would cash down help?  How about a co-signor?  In some cases one or the other
will make no difference, depending on the problem with the deal but in many instances
they will offer a conditional approval based on a certain amount of cash down; a qualified
co-signor; a different vehicle; proof of income or other documentation.  The bank may refer
the deal to their sub prime finance source and it may be approved with a much higher rate
than what the customer was expecting, particularly if they are purchasing a brand new car
with subvened interest rates and that was the trigger to purchase the vehicle in the first place. 
When you go back to the prime finance source, be sure to ask "What would it take
to get Mr./Mrs. Customer into this vehicle today?".  Options is the key word here because
it is much more favorable to return to your customer with an unconditional approval at a
high interest rate and a conditional approval at the expected interest rate.  This approach
puts the onus on the customer to decide which option is the better for them and relieves the
business manager of presenting only one solution that may not be well received by the customer.

Give it a try!

This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!

]]>Practical TipsFinance and Leasingprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-15T23:21:03ZTurn those FINANCE DECLINES into Approvals!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/14/finance-tip.aspxWHEN YOUR CUSTOMER HAS BEEN DECLINED FOR FINANCING...

Almost always, there is a story that your customer hasn't fully
disclosed to you.  They know their circumstances and their story
the best.  Go back to your customer and ask more questions. 
Keep digging until all those little questions that popped
up in your head while they were talking, are answered. 
If your little noggin' came up with those questions,
you can be sure the bank credit officer thought of them too!
Once you are clear about the events that took place to
impair the financing approval, call the bank back and relay
the story to them.  Have compassion for the customer,
describe the situation with confidence and appeal your case
to turn the decline into an approval.   This isn't a sales job
to the bank but rather it is your ability to describe a special
set of circumstances that took place that were unique due to
a specific situation or event(s) such as illness or divorce.
The credit officers understand that we are human and things
can go sideways in life.  If the application is considered on it's
face value only (the black and white appearance it has when
the bank receives it over the internet portal), there is no
human element involved with the decision process.  When
you make the effort to get details from your customer and
describe the story to the bank, you now give them an opportunity
to make an assessment based on a real life situation that they
were unable to see in the initial application. 

This practice will reap you more approvals, TRY IT!

This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!

]]>Practical TipsFinance and Leasingprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-20T20:02:30ZTip of the Week CHALLENGE Results!http://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/13/tip-of-the-week-challenge-results.aspxOk Gang of Business Managers, F&I Managers out there, I have to be honest...
there were no entries received for the Tip of the Week CHALLENGE!!!
The Good News is that I have compiled a long list of little tips in my toolkit
and I will be giving them to you one by one over the next couple weeks.
At the same time I am hiding myself away for the better part of the
next six weeks to assemble the content for the Training Website, 
www.profitdrivers.ca that will launch June 30th.  In the meantime, I 
would like to hear from you...what training do you need most, what have
you found most valuable in this blog so far, and what would you like to see
more of? 

The training website stems from the idea that I had while working as
a full-time business manager, I always felt that there needed to be a massive
manual sitting on the shelf for me to reach for when I had quirky questions.  
You know, issues that arise from time to time like taxation laws with respect
to native purchases and leases.  And just to further complicate it, let's say
that one of the lessees has native status and the other one doesn't.  Uh oh,
what to do now?!  Previously, the only sure way to get the correct answer
was to phone the provincial and federal tax agencies.  By the way, if you had to
call back to check something that you forgot to ask the first time, be prepared to
speak to someone different and to get a different answer than you did the first time!
Frustration!!!...resulting in potential tax liabilities for the dealership. 

And what about the slow times at your dealership.  The paperwork is up-to-date,
there are no fresh deals to work on and you have nothing to do.  Wouldn't it
be handy to have training materials at your fingertips to review audio and video
clips specific to warranty sales, credit insurance, protection package
products and auto arm? 

These are my ideas and what I believe would be helpful to the
business manager/F&I manager, to create bigger paycheques for you
and to increase dealership profits.   If you think of ANYTHING
that you would like to see in the training website,
respond to this post, just click "Add Comment" below and I will do
everything humanly possible to create a site based on what you,
the users, want and need!

This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!]]>Practical Tipsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-13T22:25:55ZA Creative Solution for an Inexperienced Business Managerhttp://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/06/a-creative-solution-for-an-inexperienced-business-manager.aspxHere's the History:
  • Very bright woman has 5 years experience selling cars on Vancouver Island
  • Seeking something more challenging, she completed the 2-week business manager course in Richmond at her own expense
  • Returns to Victoria and faces a catch-22 wherein she has no business manager experience therefore it is a challenge for her to find a dealership that will allow her to prove her capabilities


Here's the Solution!

  • I have agreed to "shadow" this inexperienced business manager
  • I believe in her abilities and my own (eight years experience with impressive statistics)
  • Together we will make your business office a productive, efficient, profitable machine
  • The dealership pays their normal commission to their new business manager
  • Renumeration to me, the trainer is between the new business manager and myself

            WIN!   WIN!   WIN!

  1. The Dealership gets the experience of a seasoned business manager;
  2. New Business Manager gets the chance to prove her capabilities and continue employment in her new field;
  3. The trainer gets more exposure

If you are looking for a new business manager or if you know of a dealership that is seeking one, please refer them to this blog post, reply by "Add Comment" below and follow the prompts.

This Blog is Committed and Dedicated to your Success!

]]>Seeking a Business Manager Positionprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-08T21:11:20ZWatch Next Week for the CHALLENGE Contest Resultshttp://profitdriversblog.com/2008/05/04/tips-of-the-week-from-the-challenge-contest-to-be-published-beginning-next-week.aspxone suggestion per blog post.  Have a Great week, I am out of the country and unavailable until Monday the 12th!

This blog is Committed and Dedicated to Your Success!]]>Practical Tipsprofitdrivers@shaw.ca (Cathy)2008-05-05T10:15:52Z