Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/499779
The big things aren't always what affect your finance department's ability to make money. This month's article is dedicated to all the little things that we do, and many times we don't even realize that we are making our jobs harder. 'YOU ARE APPROVED!' This phrase is No. 1 on my hit list! If you cur- rently use this phrase, PLEASE STOP! I cannot count the number of times when I have heard this said and watched the customer go from Jekyll to Hyde before my eyes. Does any of this sound familiar? "Well, if you throw in the _____ then I will take it home today." OR "Okay, I'll buy it if you take another _____ hundred off." OR "Good, I have a few more places to look, but at least I know that I can get approved." OR "What's my rate? I'm not doing anything till I know my rate." Many times when I make this observation, I bring it up to the staff, and they had never really thought about it. Or I get, "That's what we have always done." So, what can you say instead? You could say: "Everything looks good, let me get a few things together, and then I can go over your options with you." OR "It looks like we have everything squared away. Give me a few minutes, and I will be ready for you." OR "I just heard back from the bank, and every- thing sounds good. I will be ready to go through everything with you in about five minutes." Just say anything that gets the point across that we are moving forward with the sale with- out using the word "approved." The other beautiful side benefit that I have seen to saying something besides "you are approved" is that when they ask about their rate, term or payment, you can simply say that you are getting all of that together, and you will go over everything with them in a minute, and that is exactly what you are going to do next, so that works perfectly. FINANCE DEPARTMENT APPOINTMENTS Every finance department must make its own customer appointments. We don't allow the salespeople to make appointments for our service departments, so why do we allow it for our finance department? Anyone who lets the salespeople make appointments for the finance staff knows how that goes. It's always a mess! Three customers show up at the same time, most likely at close. Customers also never show up when they say they will. Customers show up without their pay stubs or some other piece of paperwork you need to get the loan funded. The finance department calls customers back to let them know that everything looks good, not that they are approved gives them a list of the stipulations needed for the loan and sets an appointment. A finance manager's biggest concern when making this switch is that he or she will have to start talking about rates, terms and payments over the phone. Similar to what I said in the section above, finance managers can say that they don't have all of the information from the FINANCIAL 12 • May 4, 2015 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com STOCK MARKET WATCH DEALER FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT MARCH 2015 CDK Global Recreation dealerships' Same Store Sales were up 4.5 percent overall in March. The Northeast was the only region to decrease in all four categories. The Midwest had the highest increase in all four categories over the rest of the U.S., with an overall sales increase of 12.6 percent. The West came in second with an 8.5 percent overall sales increase. The Northwest, West and Midwest all expe- rienced increases in all four categories. PARTS SALES In parts, 748 dealers were up, while 734 were down. SERVICE SALES Nationwide, 807 dealers were up in service, and 619 down. MAJOR UNIT SALES Major unit sales saw 740 dealers up, while 565 were down. NORTHWEST 2.0% Parts Department 10.4% Service Department 7.3% Major Units 6.7% Overall MIDWEST 6.1% Parts Department 13.6% Service Department 13.2% Major Units 12.6% Overall NORTHEAST -1.4% Parts Department 0.5% Service Department 0.2% Major Units -0.2% Overall SOUTH -5.6% Parts Department 2.7% Service Department 0.6% Major Units -0.1% Overall WEST 2.6% Parts Department 9.3% Service Department 9.8% Major Units 8.5% Overall UNITED STATES -0.5% Parts Department 6.6% Service Department 5.1% Major Units 4.5% Overall Stock Price Percent Company Ticker 4/10/15 Change Intl. Speedway Corp. Cl. A ISCA $36.19 14.9% Speedway Motorsports, Inc. TRK $24.75 14.7% General Electric Co. GE $28.51 13.9% Cooper Tire & Rubber CTB $42.17 8.2% Harley-Davidson, Inc. HOG $62.51 6.3% Polaris Industries, Inc. PII $143.54 -2.9% Arctic Cat, Inc. ACAT $35.76 -4.3% ArvinMeritor ARM $12.42 -6.3% ARI Network Services, Inc. ARIS $3.35 -9.5% MarineMax, Inc. HZO $23.50 -11.8% POWERSPORTS BUSINESS WINNERS AND LOSERS See Dodds, Page 13 MARKET WATCH Change 4/10/15 from 3/13 % Change Powersports Business Index 316.758 -4.13 -1.29 Dow Jones Index 157.062 2.68 1.74 S&P 500 Index 143.070 3.31 2.37 Source: Wells Fargo Securities LLC 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 8/15/14 9/12/14 10/10/14 11/7/14 12/5/14 1/2/15 1/23/15 2/20/15 3/13/15 4/10/15 PSB INDEX VALUE DOW JONES INDEXED S&P 500 INDEXED STOCK MARKET ACTIVITY FOR MORE ON THE SAME STORE SALES DATA For more information on this report and other industry data, contact: cdkrecreation.com/dataservices *The Powersports Business Index has been adjusted to reflect the removal of Orbital Engine Corp. Ltd. ADR (OE) on 8/15/14 and the addition of CDK Global (CDK) on 12/5/14. The big things don't always drive sales F&I SOLUTIONS STEVE DODDS