Auto Dealer Monthly, May 2013

FINANCE INSURANCE THE GOOGLE EFFECT Google has defi nitely become a key sales tool for the people manning the front end but it hasnt been too kind to the F I offi ce The magazines resident F I insider weighs in Google hasnt been kind to fi nance departments and the effect is damaging to the culture inside your dealership Without taking proactive steps to fi x this issue your attempt to provide valuable protection products to consumers can be shot down by this powerful search engine But as fi nance departments continue to take it on the chin consumer trust of the sales department has vaulted dramatically Why is that If you guessed the Internet youd be right Th ink about it A 10 minute search online can validate an entire vehicle sale from hundreds of diff erent sources A customer can crosscheck pricing options availability and even fees and taxes in no time And chances are your astute net sweeping buyer has decided to purchase the car before he or she ever steps into your store Even better that customer probably feels very comfortable with the terms of the purchase Unfortunately a Google search on F I doesnt produce the same sentiment Th eres this comment Consumer Reports made about the F I offi ces go to product Dont buy a troublesome automotive service contract Th e advice issued by Bankrate com isnt any better Beware of the extended warranty add on the site warns consumers Th en theres Crosby and Crosby Insurance Services which has this to say about GAP You can save 500 to 1000 by skipping the dealers off er of GAP coverage and getting it under your auto insurance policy Even the Federal Trade Commission gets in a few shots A service contract is an add on that might not be worth the price and may make it nearly impossible to get repairs when you need them Whats scary is consumers can fi nd hundreds of these types of statements by conducting a single Google search Even worse salespeople and other dealership personnel can fi nd these disparaging comments on Google too So how can we reverse the damage caused by these Google search results Well the following are just a few examples of what you can do to stop this F I grinding search engine 1 Educate Sales Staff Your entire sales team should be well versed in the benefi ts of in dealership fi nancing the products your F I producers off er the quality of the companies that provide the options and the reasons it is important for your customers to be 24 AUTO DEALER MONTHLY MAY 2013 protected Your sales team also needs to understand how the various protection products can actually make their jobs easier by helping them avoid heat cases later And by educating your sales team on why we choose to sell a particular product or do business with a particular company the overall culture of our dealership improves You also make your salespeople champions of the F I cause 2 Study What Customers Read Online Th e second you fi nish this article take it directly to your fi nance manager Have him or her run some queries on service contracts or GAP insurance and have him or her note the things your customers are reading Many of the most common objections that come from these searches can be easily overcome just as long as your F I team is prepared 3 Promote Products and Providers Use your dealerships website Facebook page and any other customer communications channels to promote the quality of the F I products your store off ers Since we know a majority of customers fi nding negative results on Google are also scrolling through our various digital media outlets it is important that we use our channels to separate the protections we off er from the ones being disparaged online 4 Select Providers With Top Level Reputations A healthy bit of due diligence can go a long way to prevent many potential problems So head to the computer to do a little research on the F I product providers you are considering before you commit to selling their products What youre looking for are reader reviews company ratings and other valuable pieces of information that will help you select the right company And just imagine if your customers found the same positive reviews about the company you selected when they do their own due diligence Th e perception our customers and employees have of our fi nance department is directly linked to customer satisfaction and your dealerships overall profi tability Th ats why we have to be aware of whats being said about F I online and we have to educate our people to prepare them for the battle the Internet wages daily on our fi nance department has ha depa fect dam ect d nside proac aking pro Michael Cassinelli is a sales and finance training specialist from IPS Agency a company that serves auto dealers in the Eastern United States While his motivational skills and closing techniques are what his clients rave over his real passion is helping build teams and pushing people to improve their quality of life MCassinelli@ AutoDealerMonthly com By Michael Cassinelli