Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/410969
www.PowersportsBusiness.com FINANCE Powersports Business • November 3, 2014 • 15 important, and one of the reasons Ucer con- tacted EFG, MotoLease was also looking to add other programs. Twelve months of roadside assistance is now complimentary, with the chance for dealers to upsell it for the full terms of the lease. And MotoLease will be offering customers the option to buy service contracts, which are especially reassuring for the 90 per- cent of MotoLease customers who are purchas- ing pre-owned units. "I felt that we should start with the prod- ucts that we feel like the end user customer can really benefit from in a big way, so I'm not against any of the other [F&I] products, but we thought these were top three," Ucer said, adding MotoLease may add other products in the future. MotoLease's goals in adding these products are to relieve some customer objections and to add more prime customers to its mostly sub- prime market. "Many of their consumers are in more of the subprime space, and they want to offer something out there that will draw in the prime [customers] as well," Wilder said. By adding the new products, MotoLease also makes selling service contracts and roadside assistance easier, as the backend for those, along with the lease assurance, is within MotoLease's administration portal. That means all forms are electronic and can be completed at once. "They do not have to quote these add-on products as a price, but as part of our system, it becomes part of our monthly payment. It's usu- ally easier to sell a monthly payment than a total price," Ucer said, adding that the convenience of using one system also gets customers in and out faster and allows less time for objections. NEW PARTNERSHIPS With EFG's experience developing the Hyun- dai Assurance program, it was easy for MotoLe- ase to have confidence in its newfound partner. But EFG also sees a lot of positives in working with MotoLease. "There are many prime lenders that are out there; there are not as many subprime lenders that are out there, and MotoLease steps up, and says, 'Hey, you know what? We can finance anyone and everyone.' So based on their way of thinking and our way of thinking, we felt that it was a really great partnership," Wilder said. "The quality of the customer service that they provide to the dealers as well is in line with our beliefs with how to provide great service to our dealers as well as the consumer." With nearly 40 years in claims experience, EFG employees say the company is well-versed in customer service, so MotoLease and its deal- ers should be confident leaving customers in EFG's hands should a claim arise. Wilder said the company knows how its service can affect customers' impressions of the dealerships that sell them EFG's F&I services. "If the customer experience is good, and in terms of the consumer protection products that are on that bike, if there's a good claims admin- istration experience when they have an issue, that's just that loyal customer that you build, and they're going to buy their next bike from you, and they're going to refer their brother and sister-in-law and friends over to do business with you as well," Wilder said. EFG also strives to be a partner with its deal- ers, visiting them and helping them dive into their financials twice per month. "We're providing them with a review of their business, identifying processes and procedures that need to be put in place or pay plans that need to be changed to help drive their business and help drive their people. So we are a full-service [provider]. We are part- ners. I tell them that we are not a vendor; we are a partner," Rappaport said. EFG has historically serviced the automo- tive industry, but the company began doing work in powersports about a year ago, after some automotive dealers who picked up pow- ersports vehicles called EFG seeking powers- ports services. Though EFG is somewhat new to powersports, Rappaport said the transition wasn't difficult. "When we started this, I was excited because I have a Harley, and it was just a great fit for me," she said. "I believe that when we hit the market with our team, we were educated on the motorcycle/powersports space and were able to listen to what their needs are and bring that to market for them very, very quickly." MOTOLEASE'S BUSINESS GROWS MotoLease believes that by adding lease assur- ance, roadside assistance and service contracts to its offerings, it can grow not only its business but its dealers' businesses as well. In addition to increasing its product offerings, MotoLease is also increasing its dealer network. "We are doing really well. We limited our- selves in the beginning to seven to eight states, but this year we made the decision to get into more states, so by the end of this year we're prob- ably going to get into 30-35 states," Ucer said. MotoLease began by offering its lease prod- uct to dealerships in Florida, Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and South Carolina, and in early July, the company added dealers in Ohio to its roster. The plan is to add about one state into its network each week for the remain- der of the year. So far, dealers who have been working with MotoLease have appreciated the company's 90-plus-percent approval rate, instant decisions on more than 70 percent of subprime applica- tions and the residual value under 10 percent, which makes MotoLease more of a lease-to-buy program rather than a traditional lease. Ucer visited dealerships in Tampa and Orlando, Fla., shortly after the EFG partnership was revealed, and dealers were happy about the additional offerings. "I only heard good things, so it seems like dealers are really excited," Ucer said. "They think that that will help them close more deals." PSB MotoLease's approval rate 90% MOTOLEASE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13