Q&A:
Bruce Werner Ernie Haire Ford
Bruce, how did you go from secondary finance manager at a used satellite lot to finance and sales manager at a Ford store?
Well, I originally started as the secondary finance manager at the used store down the street. I quit. Then they asked me to come back and be the sales manager for this store and to handle all the financing. This store never had a secondary department, I basically started it from scratch.
To what do you attribute your gross numbers?
I don't let the salespeople discuss price. Ever.
Okay. What are some of the other reasons?
I set the price by the book. You know controlling the customer is the big issue. Putting the customer in the car and not letting them slack.
Bruce, when you started the sub-prime department here, what was the first thing that you did?
I put together a credit hotline and advertised the 800 number in the Flyer, a local free shopping paper.
What is your process for putting someone in a car, sub-prime?
They call the 800 number. The 800 number authorizes us to pull a credit report. I never tell a customer they are pre-approved, never, because they won't come in, they will continue to shop. What I do is I tell them that I may be able to help them get in a car, but I'm going to need a few documents from them, such as their most recent pay stub, utility bill in their name, and so forth.
What's the difference between selling sub-prime off the satellite lot compared to the new car dealership where you have a turnover situation from your new car salespeople?
There's no difference.
No difference? I guess that's the beauty of being the sales manager and the finance manager.
Yeah, actually what they do is they just turn it over to me. But regardless, there are ten steps to a sale. The first one is meet and greet, second one is qualify. If the salesperson doesn't qualify properly or they find out after the demo and after the discussing of price and working out payment and trying to work a deal, that the customer just had a bankruptcy discharged two weeks ago
Who's fault is that?
The salesperson's for not properly qualifying the customer. And at that point the salespeople usually become very frustrated and try to put the customer off. The sales desk calls me up and says, "Hey, we need your help." I'll go over and walk the customer back across the street and sit down and I'll generally switch them. It's generally pretty hard to switch a customer to a used Escort after they've just driven an Expedition, but it can be done.
What are some of the tools you use to maximize your department?
We use Voisys for our 800 number service. It helps having a computer with Kelley Blue Book and NADA on disk. You can always book cars by hand, but this is just a lot more efficient.
What do you think is going to change in the sub-prime arena in the next year, Bruce?
I can see a lot more customers. Their credit continues to get worse. My business is only going to get better. I also feel that people are going to be using their computers a whole lot more and we'll see a lot more of our leads via the Internet rather than have them faxed over.
What is your advice to dealers wanting to grow their sub-prime department?
I was a rep for a secondary company for two years and I found a lot of the dealer principals are so concerned and so wrapped up in being funded in 48 hours. It shouldn't be a concern if they have somebody knowledgeable in the department.
What do you think is a reasonable expectation of turnaround time?
I'd say probably about seven to eight days.
Any final thoughts for our readers?
The majority of people wanting to purchase a vehicle have some sort of tarnished credit. A good secondary finance manager will interview the customer and create a very profitable deal. Dealers without a sub-prime finance department are missing the boat.
