Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/730410
www.PowersportsBusiness.com FINANCIAL Powersports Business • October 3, 2016 • 25 Fifteen suppliers received American Honda's Premier Partner Award from president and CEO Toshiaki Mikoshiba in a special cer- emony held in September in Torrance, Calif. This year's award recipients were selected from a pool of more than 1,000 eligible companies nominated by American Honda associates. CDK Global was recognized "for provid- ing business management solutions for our powersports and marine dealers," according to Honda. Brando, Inc., was also recog- nized for its work in powersports, "for pro- viding experiential marketing services for the motorcycle and UTV/ATV segments," Honda reported. The Premier Partner Award winners rep- resent multiple industries and include small businesses and minority-owned operations. These suppliers play an important role in supporting Honda businesses and operations, including Honda and Acura automobiles, automobile engines and transmissions, Honda all-terrain vehicles, power equipment products and general purpose engines. "This outstanding group of Premier Partner Award recipients embodies Honda's philosophy of exceeding customer expecta- tions," said Charles Harmon, American Honda's senior manager of procurement and corporate services. "They are critical members of the extended Honda family, and we thank them for their dedication to excep- tional quality and service." BINTELLI RANKED AMONG INC. 5000 Inc. magazine ranked Bintelli LLC/citE- car Electric Vehicles No. 2807 on its 35th annual Inc. 5000, the most prestigious rank- ing of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. This is the highest ranking on the list for any powersports manufacturer, distributor, or dealer. The list represents a unique look at the most successful compa- nies within the American economy's most dynamic segment— its independent small businesses. Companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Domino's Pizza, Pandora, Timber- land, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees of the Inc. 5000. "To be honored by Inc. 5000 as the lead- ing powersports manufacturer and distribu- tor is an exciting accomplishment for our team," said Bintelli president Justin Jackrel. "It validates all of the hard work our team puts in every year to continue to better our products, offerings and dealer network." GARAGE COMPOSITES OFFERS F&I TRAINING Top metric dealerships in the nation are eclipsing $1,000 in F&I revenue per unit sold. That number is up to two times higher for top Harley-Davidson dealerships. Garage Composites' Steve Dodds, an industry-specific expert in increasing F&I revenue, has created an in-depth training program to get more dealerships hitting those top F&I benchmarks. The training program will start in December and continue into the spring. Dodds' extended F&I program will be more in-depth than traditional one-session training courses, providing: In-depth sessions on getting more from your lenders, including how to get more deals financed and how to find new banks; Compliance information, including a checklist and follow-up info on implementation; 20 club-style composite reviews to ensure the training is making a successful impact at the dealership. A session, unique to the industry, that will include both sales and F&I managers to create a sales process designed to get the most from each and every deal. The latter session is especially key to deal- ers hopeful of elevating their F&I revenue, Dodds said. "A big part of the finance depart- ment's potential can be either created or destroyed by the sales department," he said. The F&I sales process Dodds teaches is "simple to follow and along with the provided word tracks creates a recipe for immediate, substantial increases in per unit sale," said Matt Merical, general manager for Zylstra Harley-Davidson in Ames, Iowa. The extended F&I training program is part of the diverse Management Training Academy offering provided by Garage Composites, powersports industry leaders in dealership management training and 20 clubs. LEAD TRACKING TOOL LAUNCHED BY DEALERSHIP PERFORMANCE 360 CRM Dealership Performance 360 CRM, the fast- est growing CRM for top performing powers- ports, RV and marine dealerships, announced the release of a proprietary new tool that tracks how quickly sales staff respond to leads: the Proactive Performance Report. The Proactive Performance Report tracks the speed with which each salesperson responds to each lead and then compares response times between individuals, teams and even separate stores. The report can be viewed in real time, or automated daily, weekly, or monthly reports can be emailed. "The ability to look at to-the-minute stats on lead response time, drilled down to a per- person basis ensures leads are being worked efficiently," said Daniel Arriaga, COO of the Freedom Powersports dealership group. Arriaga says the new tool has given his managers the enhanced ability "to coach the sales force on areas where they have oppor- tunities to better serve customers." This cus- tomer-first attitude has earned the 4-year-old dealership group recognition as a Powersports Business Power 50 dealer from 2013-15 and numerous local and national awards. PSB DIGEST CDK Global recognized by American Honda