Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/379417
5 can come in and identify some piece of our process that has slipped or that we're not quite as focused on as we should be, to me that's gold because that will help us get better," Bruno said. RpmOne's training has also helped Bruno, a 30-plus-year veteran of automotive sales and F&I, rethink some of his processes. After RpmOne suggested a two-day session on the greet and probe, Bruno balked at the time spent on that and pushed for more focus on sit-downs and write-ups. However, after attending the greet and probe session, he was convinced of its validity. "It reinforced for me that the real money was in the greet and probe, and the better job we do within those phases, and the better we get to know the customer and them to know us, the better chance we have of sitting them down, writing them up and enjoying the sale," he said. "Kudos to my RpmOne rep for hanging in there because prior to the meeting I nudged him a little and said let's get through this greet and probe stuff quickly because I want more sit downs and I want more riders. But they stuck to their guns, and I respect that." Bruno has also appreciated the cross training of other departments' employees, encouraging everyone in the store to promote F&I products. Bruno's F&I manager has continued the training in-house with service, parts and general merchandise staff, and reinforces it by offering $50 spiffs to employees who refer F&I customers. "RpmOne came in and trained our F&I guys on proper word tracks and such, then had classes with service writers and other employees to train them on those word tracks. Now twice a week the F&I manager visits with other department employees and keeps it alive," Bruno said. The training across all departments has shown Bruno that RpmOne is committed to helping his dealerships as a whole, rather than just focusing one aspect of the business. "They look at the whole department offering," he said. "It's in their best interest to help the whole environment. They're not there just pumping their products. They're there pumping a process and a system that will allow us to maximize the opportunity with all the products we sell." Though Bruno is quick to point out that his dealerships had top-notch F&I processes before working with RpmOne, he admits that the company helped the dealerships perfect their processes and refine the culture at Northshore Harley-Davidson. "You go back to the basics — we use menus, and we offer all the products to all the customers all the time," he said. "Some of that was slipping, especially on the cash, bank and credit union business. Now we are offering the products to all the customers. Did they bring a few things to the table in terms of objection handling and GAP, yeah, they shared some ideas with our guys. But the most important thing is we got back to the basics and fundamentals of F&I, which means you use a menu on every customer irrespective of how they're paying for the vehicle, and you offer all the products to all customers, and we had not been doing that in all cases." For a dealership group like Bruno's, the plan wasn't to grow the F&I business at an unrealistic rate. Instead, the dealership owner wanted to sharpen the process, so that he and his team could squeeze a little more profit out of every deal. "Before RpmOne, we operated at a high level, and since we've had them on board, we continue to operate at a high level and try to get a little higher every day," he said. "It's a matter of maintaining and growing incrementally with each store. That's the toughest piece of it. It's easy to go from nothing to something; that's the easy challenge. When you operate at a high level, you need quality resources to help you maintain that, and RpmOne is part of that team for us." 40% Current percentage of prepaid maintenance penetration at Mike Bruno's Northshore Harley-Davidson, up from the a low-20s percent prior to partnering with RpmOne. 5 can come in and identify some piece of our process that has slipped or that we're not quite as focused on as we should be, to me that's gold because that will help us get better," Bruno said. RpmOne's training has also helped Bruno, a 30-plus-year veteran of automotive sales and F&I, rethink some of his processes. After RpmOne suggested a two-day session on the greet and probe, Bruno balked at the time spent on that and pushed for more focus on sit-downs and write-ups. However, after attending the greet and probe session, he was convinced of its validity. "It reinforced for me that the real money was in the greet and probe, and the better job we do within those phases, and the better we get to know the customer and them to know us, the better chance we have of sitting them down, writing them up and enjoying the sale," he said. "Kudos to my RpmOne rep for hanging in there because prior to the meeting I nudged him a little and said let's get through this greet and probe stuff quickly because I want more sit downs and I want more riders. But they stuck to their guns, and I respect that." Bruno has also appreciated the cross training of other departments' employees, encouraging everyone in the store to promote F&I products. Bruno's F&I manager has continued the training in-house with service, parts and general merchandise staff, and reinforces it by offering $50 spiffs to employees who refer F&I customers. "RpmOne came in and trained our F&I guys on proper word tracks and such, then had classes with service writers and other employees to train them on those word tracks. Now twice a week the F&I manager visits with other department employees and keeps it alive," Bruno said. The training across all departments has shown Bruno that RpmOne is committed to helping his dealerships as a whole, rather than just focusing one aspect of the business. "They look at the whole department offering," he said. "It's in their best interest to help the whole environment. They're not there just pumping their products. They're there pumping a process and a system that will allow us to maximize the opportunity with all the products we sell." Though Bruno is quick to point out that his dealerships had top-notch F&I processes before working with RpmOne, he admits that the company helped the dealerships perfect their processes and refine the culture at Northshore Harley-Davidson. "You go back to the basics — we use menus, and we offer all the products to all the customers all the time," he said. "Some of that was slipping, especially on the cash, bank and credit union business. Now we are offering the products to all the customers. Did they bring a few things to the table in terms of objection handling and GAP, yeah, they shared some ideas with our guys. But the most important thing is we got back to the basics and fundamentals of F&I, which means you use a menu on every customer irrespective of how they're paying for the vehicle, and you offer all the products to all customers, and we had not been doing that in all cases." For a dealership group like Bruno's, the plan wasn't to grow the F&I business at an unrealistic rate. Instead, the dealership owner wanted to sharpen the process, so that he and his team could squeeze a little more profit out of every deal. "Before RpmOne, we operated at a high level, and since we've had them on board, we continue to operate at a high level and try to get a little higher every day," he said. "It's a matter of maintaining and growing incrementally with each store. That's the toughest piece of it. It's easy to go from nothing to something; that's the easy challenge. When you operate at a high level, you need quality resources to help you maintain that, and RpmOne is part of that team for us." 40% Current percentage of prepaid maintenance penetration at Mike Bruno's Northshore Harley-Davidson, up from the a low-20s percent prior to partnering with RpmOne. "They're not there just pumping their products. They're there pumping a process and a system that will allow us to maximize the opportunity with all the products we sell." Owner Mike Bruno BRANDS: Harley-Davidson 10514S-PSB-RPMOne Dealer Case Study.indd 5 8/29/14 10:30 AM