How to Identify the True Potential of Your Subprime Department and Double Your Sales in 60 Days!! John Palmer President and CEO of Dealer Marketing Services, Inc.

Special Finance is 42.5% of the market! % of population Credit Score 1.09% % % % % % % %760+ FICO Credit Scores Source: Experian 2014

Special Finance lending continues to grow and is headed to record levels. Based on FICO scores 649 and below 27% of all Auto Loans Booked in 2013 were subprime. 32% of all Auto Loans Booked in 2014 were subprime. 32% of all Auto Loans Booked in 2014 were subprime.

Do you know how many subprime prospects you already have coming in your store and how many you are selling? If not you need to: See me for your store’s actual numbers after the workshop.

Do you know if you are working your subprime prospects as hard and fully as your prime prospects? If not you need to:

A blended sales process that maximizes every opportunity The right mix of lenders The correct inventory Marketing tools to generate leads without detracting from store’s image To be successful in Special Finance a dealership needs:

No separate SF department Qualify prospect early & correctly Work the deal backwards Give the salesperson 3-4 qualifying vehicles to show and demo the customer Close the selected vehicle with alternate choice close A blended sales process that maximizes every opportunity

#1 reason closing ratios are so low on subprime customers Allowing the customer to pick out the wrong vehicle because of poor qualifying.

TransUnion has developed “Instant Screen” to solve this problem!

Use Today’s latest technology to automatically prescreen every prospect as soon as they are logged. Work every deal correctly from the beginning for maximum sales and gross!

A manager needs to review the credit application and credit bureau to get an idea of available lenders. He can then choose the top grossing combinations of vehicles and lenders and select 3 vehicles which the salesperson can show the prospect. This can be done manually with an inventory list or with available software programs. Work the deal backwards

Salesperson’s printout without profit

Never give any customer just one option – always give them 3 Here is an example of a good alternate choice worksheet. Close the selected vehicle with an Alternate Choice close.

Select the right mix of lenders

Next- Make sure you have the correct inventory. What works best for the prime side of your business may be just the opposite of what you need to be successful in Special Finance. 50% of the gross on Special Finance deals is based on the “Spread” the other 50% on how you work the deal.

First analyze your current inventory for Special Finance opportunities

If your current inventory analysis shows you need vehicles – Go to the auction with a list of vehicles to buy for your Special Finance customers

Once you have increased the closing ratio of the subprime prospects already coming into your store - YOU ARE READY FOR MORE! Here are 4 low cost and very effective ways to do just that.

Optimize Your Website to Get More and Better Credit Leads 1

Suggested plug-in images!

While the customer is getting instant gratification, the dealer is getting valuable closing information.

Place the pre-screen offer on your Inventory results and vehicle detail pages to provide maximum exposure.

2 Do you want to know who applied for an auto loan YESTERDAY within 30 miles of your dealership with a credit score between ? When a dealership, finance company, credit union, or bank pulls a credit bureau on a consumer the bureau is flagged with an auto inquiry. With Trigger Leads: You receive a list of customers within your store’s radius and selected CB score range. Phone numbers are scrubbed against the Do Not Call list Customer will receive a next day offer of credit letter Average response rates vary between 5% and 10% Trigger Leads

Washington Auto Credit, in Olympia WA, averages sales a month at an average cost of $1000! Set up an aggressive marketing campaign to identify freshly filed and discharged BK’s in your area with Direct Mail and Telemarketing 3

1.Give every customer a Referral sheet to fill out before going into the F&I office, and offer a “bird dog” fee. 2.Send out a letter to every Reference on every subprime credit app. Your CRM should be able to do this automatically. Hundreds of great prospects for the price of a few stamps! 3.Use your CRM to automatically follow-up on Unsold Showroom Traffic based on their “status”. Referrals, References, and Unsold Showroom Traffic 4

John Palmer President and CEO Dealer Marketing Services, Inc. If you have any questions, comments, or want more information about our products and services; contact me through our website at: or call ext. 103 or me directly at