Show Off What You Got!
by Mark R. Dubis
In the auto business it’s all
about selling the sizzle, and even though your
customers may have special credit needs, it
doesn’t mean that they can be treated any
different than a customer with great credit.
Creating a dealership environment that targets
special finance customers means you have to have a
process conducive to the needs of those clients.
Any special finance manager will tell you a big
part of the success in the department depends on
having the right inventory and letting your prospects
know you have vehicles that meet their
requirements.
This used to be a lot easier
in years gone by. Previously special finance deals
meant cars you could retail for $7,000 to $10,000
and your target price to acquire them was about
half the retail price. Much of that has changed.
Today’s customer is looking for nicer vehicle and
the range of these transactions is now running
from $10,000 to $12,000 on average.
Add to this the price of
gasoline, the scarcity of fuel-efficient vehicles
and the demand for Honda, Toyota, and Nissan
products and you begin to realize how challenging
this can be. The best buys these days are domestic
products and some of the good makes to look for in
particular are Chrysler, Chevrolet and Pontiac.
Hyundais used to be great for special finance
customers, but since Hyundai has improved their
product and styling they are in more demand and
bringing higher wholesale prices. Another good
make to consider is Kia. They have rock solid
quality; good styling and you can still obtain
these units at a pretty good price. Most
importantly is that all the units I mentioned book
out well for your non-prime transactions. Vehicles
you can really buy “right” are sport-utility units
as their prices have dropped and they book out
well for these transactions. Consumers also like
the appeal of SUVs, and they make good, safe,
family vehicles.
Special finance managers are
working closely with their used car managers to
locate the right units and there are more
locations to shop for these units. In addition to
the auction, a good place to locate these units is
other new car dealers who are not into the special
finance market. They often take in trades that
make great selections for your credit-impaired
clients. One manager I spoke with said he is
finding some great units online at the rental car
sites. Enterprise, Budget Auto Sales, and Hertz
Car Sales offer some good bargains and they may
“deal” on older units. You may also want to look
at ATC Onlane (www.autotradecenter.com) as they
work with some very large vehicle consignors
including many of the OEMs, banks, and credit
unions.
Okay so now that you have the
right inventory, how are you going to let your
prospects know that you have this inventory?
Non-prime customers are price-conscious so be sure
to include on your web site home page the ability
to search for vehicle $10,000 or less. I guarantee
you will see a number of consumers clicking on
those pages. Hare Chevrolet in Noblesville,
Indiana (www.harechevrolet.com) targets these
customers and right on their home page is a large
button for Vehicles Under 10k. I clicked it while
writing this article and it brought up new window
showing 52 vehicles available. Online shoppers can
then sort the inventory by year, make, model,
mileage, price or stock number. Prices ranged from
$3,498 for a 2000 Pontiac Montana minivan to
$9,999 for a very clean low mileage 2005 Pontiac
Sunfire. Prospects had a wide choice of vehicles
from small economy cars to full-size pickup
trucks.
When I clicked on the detail
page for most vehicles, I was offered 15 photos of
the vehicle that included both exterior and
interior photographs. Additionally, they offered a
payment calculator and the ability to click on a
credit application housed on a secure server. More
special finance customers prefer online credit
applications as they can be anonymous and complete
the information in private. I continue to see some
sites offering credit applications that are not
secure which generate a form to an e-mail box. I
strongly recommend you have a secure, encrypted
site if you are offering your prospects the
ability to complete an online credit
application.
It’s important to let your
online shoppers know you offer credit-rebuilding
assistance so find some ways to get that across.
Laurel Toyota in Johnstown, PA
(www.laureltoyotapa.com) has a big button with a
flashing asterisk hyping their “2nd Chance Credit”
department. When you click on the button, a window
pops up introducing you to the special finance
manager at the dealership. His smiling photo,
along with phone number and e-mail address are
clearly visible for consumers. This clearly sends
the message that this dealership is ready to help
folks re-establish their credit and get a car
loan.
What I didn’t like about their
site was the inability to shop for vehicle types
by price. Oftentimes shoppers do not know the
exact make and model they want but they know they
want a sedan under $8,000 or a minivan for
$10,000. Or they know they can afford $290 a month
and want a small sport-utility vehicle. Many sites
still require you to enter a make and model before
you can see inventory.
When you present your
pre-owned inventory, come up with a way to
highlight units that are good candidates for
special finance customers. I visited the Bennett
Chevrolet site (www.bennettchevy.com) based in Egg
Harbor, New Jersey and every pre-owned unit has a
box for their “30-Second Credit Application,” and
it got pretty annoying looking at 50 vehicles with
that box on every listing. They are also using the
new video introduction on their home page and when
you click “play” a young lady welcomes you to the
site. If you should then click on the box for the
30-second credit application you will get a new
window opening and another young lady will tell
you about the credit application process. The only
problem is the first woman is still talking at the
same time as the second woman so you hear two
conversations. Talk about annoying! Good
functionality but lackluster execution.
Let’s review the
highlights:
• Put on your
home page and maybe on every page that you offer
assistance for credit-challenged customers. Terms
like “Credit Rebuilder Program” or “2nd Chance
Financing” work well.
• Put a link
to vehicles under $10,000 for your
“budget-oriented customers.”
• Give
prospects the ability to shop by vehicle type and
price, not just by make and model
• Be sure you
post credit applications on a secure server and
tell your customers you are protecting their
data.
• Let them
know what you will be doing with their
data/application to help them finance a
vehicle.
Now, go sell some more cars
and trucks
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