As I prepare my keynote address for an upcoming conference it became clear to me that unless I simplify my slides, I may lose the audience. Dealership managers know that something is wrong with their marketing strategy.   The answers I will pr

Try Before You Buy, from F&I Showroom. The father of the F&I menu is back, and he has a message for companies claiming to have developed the next big thing for F&I. We can all agree that the way customers react to various selling techniqu

Arbitration and class action waiver clauses in retail installment sales contracts (“RISCs”) are important to dealers to help protect them and their businesses. If properly drafted, including citing the Federal Arbitration Act, these clauses waive

FICO pilot holds promise for auto financing, from Automotive News. The results of a pilot program between Fair Isaac Corp. and 12 big credit-card companies could ultimately help dealerships get auto loans approved for so-called thin files — tha

Strategic Risks: The New Frontier of Risk Management, from The Wall Street Journal. Risk management has undergone a refocusing in recent years, in an attempt to make its techniques and processes more adaptable to shifts in business and the economy, a

Used-Car Boom Breeds Record U.S. Bond Bets, Concern Over Risk, from Bloomberg Business. Auto-finance companies are issuing record amounts of bonds backed by leases as used cars retain their value like never before. With the supply of second-hand vehi

Your Customer’s Perception Is Reality, from KPA Blog. It’s tough out there. Customer access to information on the internet continues to shrink margins. Dealerships are just trying to scrape by in a highly competitive marketplace. You have to do w

FDIC Encourages a Risk-Based Approach in Assessing Customer Relationships, from Risk Management Blog. In a January 28, 2015 Financial Institution Letter (FIL), the FDIC attempted to further publicly clarify its position regarding the propriety of ban

Special Finance Commitment, from Dealer Strong. Are you on the 36% or the 64% team? Trust me – you want to be on the 36% team but it will take special finance commitment. In this post, I will explain the 64% team (and why you don’t want to be on