I ran across an interesting article last week in Business Insider. It was about a survey released in December of last year concerning financial services done by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The survey found that roughly 1 in every 12 US households, or some 17 million adult Americans, are “unbanked”. That means they lack a current checking or savings account. The survey also found that 1 in every 5
Many BHPH dealerships never pulled credit reports in the past. Their philosophy was, “My customers all have bad credit. I don’t need to pay for a report to tell me that.” That philosophy has been changing over the past few years and obtaining a report on all prospective customers is a “best practice” that should be adopted by all BHPH dealers. You need to obtain credit reports on your prospective
An important aspect of establishing goals, creating plans for reaching those goals and managing your time so you can achieve those goals is thinking about your personal philosophy. Whether you are a new car dealer, an independent retail dealer, a dealer controlled financing dealer or unrelated to the car business at all, our personal philosophy stears our actions as we plan, implement and, hopefully, achieve our goals. One of the
Effective time management can help you get more done, reduce your stress and reclaim your personal life. Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the number and complexity of projects that need to be completed at work each day? As the day flies by, do you often feel as if you haven’t paid enough attention to each task because other tasks keep landing on your desk, co-workers interrupt you with questions
A study of Harvard MBA candidates found that 3% had clear written goals and plans for accomplishing them, 13% had goals but had not put them down in writing and 84% had no goals when they were first entering the program. Ten year later the same students were re-interviewed. The 13% that had goals were making twice as much as the 84% with no goals but, even more astounding, the
I posted a blog earlier this week about Goal Setting and I received many comments and emails on the topic. That topic came about almost by accident. I was researching some of the sales training courses available for dealers and salespeople in the automotive industry the other day. Although there are numerous great courses and trainers out there covering subjects from prospecting to closing and everywhere in between, I noticed
Goal setting is an important factor in growing your business. Goals provide direction, motivation and a clear way to measure your progress. Although this article focuses on setting goals for your business, the same steps apply to setting your personal goals, as well. Without goals, and a process for tracking your goals, you may have difficulty seeing the big picture and staying focused. Goal setting helps you create a roadmap
Collections are the most exciting activity at a Dealer Controlled Financing dealership. If your employees have properly worked the other processes at your dealership, then collections can be easy. The dealership can maintain a larger portfolio without increasing personnel expense. If your dealership is charging the highest interest rates allowed, extending contracts beyond the expected life of the vehicle, or treats customers like they are doing them a favor by
From the FTC Business Center Blog By Tony Rodriguez and Jessica Lyon January 10, 2013 – 2:00pm Just saying you’re not a consumer reporting agency isn’t enough You know that phrase “If it quacks like a duck. . . “? It’s applicable in the Fair Credit Reporting Act context, too. If a company meets the legal definition of a “consumer reporting agency,” it’s a consumer reporting agency. Including a disclaimer
Tax time will soon be upon us. Buy Here – Pay Here dealers look forward to this time of the year because many dealers make a high percentage of their annual sales during this period. One dealer I read about claimed to make 80% of his sales during this quarter. That seems a too high to me and I would argue his marketing and sales efforts during the rest of
