Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/536070
FINANCIAL Over the last 20 years the finance office duties have increased. With the number of added regula- tions and added safe- guards that have been put in place, there is a lot more to occupy your time. This has us rethinking what we recommend as a stan- dard staffing level for the finance depart- ment. When I started working in the finance office, it was generally felt that a single person could handle around 75 deals per month. Around 15 years ago, the general thinking was 60 deals per month. Within the last few years we have revised our recommendation back to about 50 deals per month. Why? New regulations like the credit score dis- closure and red flag requirements or changes to the adverse action notice regulation have continued to add tasks to your list of duties. So, this month I want to share some tools that can simplify and streamline the work that needs to be done in your finance office. NOT EVERYTHING IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY You are the gatekeeper for the legal require- ments but that does not mean that you are the executer. Take the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, for example. Under this legislation, every cus- tomer who gives your dealership non-public information must receive a copy of your com- pany's privacy policy. This is not something that needs to be done in the finance office! If you are doing it in your finance office you have missed more than half of the cus- tomers that gave your dealership non-public information. None of the customers who gave you credit information and then were unable to buy received a copy of the privacy policy, nor did the customers who gave you a copy of their driver's license so that they could take a test ride. Giving out the privacy policy should be a function of the sales — not the finance — department. You should be the one who checks every deal that comes into your office to make sure they all have a privacy policy with them, but providing them with a privacy policy is not up to you. Same with the two forms of ID that are required with every customer who buys. The IDs should be collected by sales. Anything you can do to spread out the workload will ultimately help the deal go faster and make the sales department happier. When you explain to the salespeople what you need them to do, always start with the "why" and then lead into the "what." COMMUNICATION IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY One of the most frustrating parts of a salesper- son's job is waiting to hear back from the bank. It usually takes too long and the longer the cus- tomer has to wait, the less excited he or she is. One of the most frustrating parts of a finance manager's job is when he or she is try- ing to send a credit application to the bank or get paperwork ready for the next deal, and salespeople keep coming in to ask if their cus- tomer has been approved yet. Communication is the key! Something as simple as a submission log can alleviate both of these frustrations. When a credit applica- tion is submitted, the salesperson puts it on the log along with the time it was dropped off. When the application is sent to a bank, the finance manager logs the bank and the time it was sent. When the bank provides an answer, the answer is noted along with any stipulations. This log should be in a place that is easily accessible to both the salesperson and the finance person, even when the finance manager has a customer in his or her office. 14 • July 13, 2015 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com 3 ways to improve finance dept. productivity STOCK MARKET WATCH DEALER FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT MAY 2015 CDK Global Recreation dealerships' Same Store Sales were down 1.5 percent overall in May. The Midwest and West regions each decreased in all four categories. Both the Northwest and the South experienced an increase only in service, with all other categories down. The Northeast had the only increase overall, up 5.2 percent with a 6.9 increase in major unit sales. The Northwest saw the largest decrease, down 3.8 percent overall. PARTS SALES Nationally, 594 dealers were up in parts, and 891 down. SERVICE SALES In service, 693 dealers were up, while 763 were down. MAJOR UNIT SALES Major unit sales saw 633 dealers up, and 691 down. NORTHWEST -3.9% Parts Department 0.3% Service Department -4.5% Major Units -3.8% Overall MIDWEST -6.8% Parts Department -2.6% Service Department -4.0% Major Units -3.5% Overall NORTHEAST -1.2% Parts Department 0.0% Service Department 6.9% Major Units 5.2% Overall SOUTH -7.9% Parts Department 0.2% Service Department -2.3% Major Units -2.6% Overall WEST -4.3% Parts Department -0.9% Service Department -2.8% Major Units -2.5% Overall UNITED STATES -5.1% Parts Department -0.7% Service Department -1.4% Major Units -1.5% Overall Stock Price Percent Company Ticker 6/19/15 Change TCF Financial Corporation TCB $16.95 6.5% MarineMax, Inc. HZO $25.00 3.4% Assurant, Inc. AIZ $68.56 3.4% Polaris Industries, Inc. PII $151.18 3.3% Carlisle Companies CSL $101.15 3.2% Bridgestone Corp. ADR BRDCY $19.39 -3.0% Honda Motor Corp. ADR HMC $32.48 -4.8% Cooper Tire & Rubber CTB $35.17 -5.6% Dover Corporation DOV $72.54 -6.7% Spy Inc. XSPY $0.80 -11.1% POWERSPORTS BUSINESS WINNERS AND LOSERS MARKET WATCH Change 6/19/15 from 5/22 % Change Powersports Business Index 327.205 7.17 2.24% Dow Jones Index 156.700 -1.88 -1.18% S&P 500 Index 143.610 -1.09 -0.76% Source: Wells Fargo Securities LLC 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 11/7/14 12/5/14 1/2/15 1/23/15 2/20/15 3/13/15 4/10/15 5/1/15 5/22/15 6/19/15 PSB INDEX VALUE DOW JONES INDEXED S&P 500 INDEXED STOCK MARKET ACTIVITY F&I SOLUTIONS 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 addition of CDK Global (CDK) on 12/5/14. STEVE DODDS See Dodds, Page 16