Pete will be based in Southern Ohio and will be focusing on assisting dealer’s needs throughout the country.
Continue readingAdvanced Dealer Solutions April Newsletter
In this month’s issue of The Advanced News; we look at a new service loyalty program, our newest associate, and a summer recipe that you will not want to miss.
We welcome any feedback and will seek to continually improve with each issue. It is through this ongoing experiment that we look to gain more knowledge, insight, and ideas that we will pass along to our current and future clients.
To read the full newsletter and subscribe follow the link below.
https://mailchi.mp/advdealer.com/advanced-dealer-solutions-april-newsletter
The Futuristic Twist on Vehicle Service Contracts
If I asked you how many computers the average vehicle today has, what do you think that number would be? Would you be surprised if I told you that number was 30, or even 50? How does that compare to high-end luxury vehicles? Try doubling or even tripling that number!
Now, what do these computers do for us? The simple answer, EVERYTHING! At any given second, these super-computer vehicles calculate an obscene amount of data (in milliseconds) telling the vehicle how to steer, accelerate, parallel park, or even slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. We are talking Gigabits of data in milliseconds, truly a modern marvel supercomputer on four wheels.
Today’s vehicles are the most advanced machines that have ever been on the road. Most dealers offer an array of service contract coverages, from full exclusionary all the way down to powertrain only components. Industry statistics show us 50% or more consumers decline the extended protections available to them. So, why doesn’t every consumer buy an extended service contract if they plan on owning the vehicle past the manufacturer’s warranty expiration date? Is it the cost? Is it the product? Could it be both?
Let us say we have a hypothetical customer who declines exclusionary protection on their vehicle, which would cover all components (except wearable items). What is the next option? Some might say, “reduce the cost”. Well, that would devalue the product, wouldn’t it? Perhaps you could reduce the coverage to a more affordable option, but typically these reductions eliminate the items consumers need coverage on the most, the technology and computer components.
ADS has a solution for you, and the solution is simple. Extreme Tech. Extreme Tech is a stand-alone coverage for high-tech OEM components. Extreme Tech includes components such as navigation systems, adaptive cruise control, self-parking systems, collision avoidance systems, head-up displays, and more.
As independent agents, we see the value of customers insuring and protecting their investments with extended service contracts every day. Service contracts protect the consumer and enhance their ownership experience. In contrast, dealers can ensure their customers are leaving fully protected and can increase their retention through a positive ownership experience.
It is 2021 and it is time we evolve with the industry! Consumers are telling us they want protection on their technology, think how many people are willing to spend $10-$15 monthly to protect their cell phone.
Extreme Tech is the answer! It offers you a valuable solution to present to the consumers declining full protection. The biggest question to ask yourself is, “what could your extended service contract penetrations look like if you had a product that wasn’t competing or displacing to your current service contract offering? 60%? Perhaps more?”
Reach out to your ADS representative or visit our contact page for more information on the program.
Chad Bullock – Account Specialist – Advanced Dealer Solutions
How Covid-19 Changes What Data Your Dealership Needs
Advanced Dealer Solutions is fully committed to providing information that could be beneficial. We wanted to share this information from, Greg Geodakyan the CPO of Client Command, as he shares his insights into the data needed to help take dealerships to the next level.
It’s been my experience that the average dealer makes marketing and outreach decisions based on 90-day old registration data. Think about it. How many of your tools rely on typical, standard 90 day trends and projections? In a world shaped by Covid-19, that must change. Dealers should be shifting their data paradigm to what is real-time, behavior-based and Covid-relevant. Anything less limits a dealership’s ability to both survive this crisis and then navigate the recovery on the other side.
Many dealers rely on their CRM to forecast sales and revenue. Most often, I work with dealers who assess equal value and apply a similar approach to all leads submitted within the past 60 days. While the data point is behavior-based, it is grounded in a purchase-intent action taken by the potential buyer. Its value is limited by its age and potential irrelevancy to the Covid reality.
Potential buyers submitting leads 60, 30 or even 10 days ago are not at the same stage of the purchase funnel today. Consider the 30 million Americans unemployed due to Covid-19. Any purchase intent that person may have had two months ago is likely irrelevant to his or her current situation.
I was talking to a colleague yesterday with a six-year-old vehicle in a prime equity position. Every few months, she receives marketing to trade-in her vehicle, yet she never considered a new vehicle until the OEM put forth recent incentives in response to Covid-19. For two weeks, she’s been online researching different models, but has heard nothing from the dealership. Why? Because the data the dealership needs to tell them this customer is back in the market is not part of their long-range offline data models. They need to be informing their marketing spend and sales team calls with real-time behavior-based, online shopping data.
Contact your ADS associate to book an information webinar with Client Command.
Advanced Dealer Solutions October Newsletter
In this month’s edition of The Advanced News from Advanced Dealer Solutions, we highlight how dealers can raise PVR by 57% by implementing a bi-weekly payment program from our partners at AutoPayPlus.
Also, Jeep fans will enjoy this month’s ‘Toy Box’ as it features an early civilian model Jeep from 1946.
And to help add to the Fall feeling in the air, our very own Amanda Case provides a delicious banana bread recipe.
We welcome any feedback and will seek to continually improve with each issue. It is through this ongoing experiment that we look to gain more knowledge, insight and ideas that we will pass along to our current and future clients.
To get subscribed and view our newsletter click the link below.
https://mailchi.mp/advdealer.com/advanced-dealer-solutions-october-newsletter
COVID-19 Changes Everything – Except How Americans Will Buy Cars
Advanced Dealer Solutions is fully committed to providing information that could be beneficial. We wanted to share this information from Leonard A. Bellavia, in response to the events happening in the world.
There are not many dealer principals active today that operated dealerships through the Arab oil embargo of the early ’70s. Gas was rationed, and most vehicles got eight miles per gallon. Showrooms remained empty for months. Dealers survived because the population ultimately needed new cars.
In response to the oil crisis, Honda, Datsun, and Toyota came to the U.S. with fuel-efficient vehicles. The industry experts predicted the demise of domestic dealerships, as consumers would only buy subcompact cars. The domestic manufacturers pivoted, and while their market share diminished, many of those same domestic dealerships that were handed down or sold, still exist today.
The next unfounded prediction came with the advent of the internet. According to the pundits, dealerships would become extinct as the internet replaced dealers. The reality was that buyers still wanted to test-drive vehicles and see the colors and options firsthand. The internet supplanted the due diligence process, but fell short of replacing dealers.
You may recall the radical transformation that was forecasted to finally eradicate the private capital dealer: factory-owned stores. There was the Ford Collection experiment. It flopped largely because the OEMs discovered too late that knowledge of a local market is best left to local dealers.
Then, GM concluded that the buying public would prefer fixed-price selling. Dealers would need to adapt to the Saturn business model or fail. They didn’t adapt and they didn’t fail. Saturn did.
The next death knell, according to the disrupters, was the factory-direct-selling model of Tesla, which would surely eviscerate the franchise system. These industry outsiders mused that the general public had no use for local dealers. How wrong they were. Recently, Tesla vacillated over whether to shutter all of its “galleries.” Moreover, since Tesla came on the scene, the number of traditional franchised dealerships actually increased.
More recently, electric and autonomous vehicles, as well as ride sharing, have come to the forefront, only to be relegated to the background as consumers continue to stay the course within the traditional culture of two cars in every driveway (both with combustion engines, thank you very much). It is still early, but electric vehicles don’t seem to have that “vroom” quality, that appeals to consumers
After COVID-19 ends and becomes a horrific memory, life will go on. In my opinion, complete remote-selling will not be embraced by the majority of the public. To the contrary, I predict “end-to-end” online selling will be utilized by only 5-10% of consumers, and even less if talented salespeople convert these customers to hybrid online buyers. It is impersonal in an interpersonal world. The purchase of the family vehicle does not lend itself entirely to remote interaction. The process is not that sterile. The human senses come into play with respect to test drives, color choices, comfort, and the need to understand financial options. Innovators and vendors will resist the notion that customers will continue to prefer to visit the dealership and become comfortable with the product, along with the people selling and servicing the product. Relationships matter. That is not to say the process doesn’t need to be materially streamlined. That is a topic unto itself.
Link to full F&I Showroom – COVID-19 Changes Everything – Except How Americans Will Buy Cars
Welcome Lindsay Jackson
Advanced Dealer Solutions is proud to welcome Lindsay Jackson as Account Executive.
Prior to joining Advanced Dealer Solutions, Lindsay held roles working with auto and RV dealers in the Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana markets.
“Lindsay served dealers at multiple levels and brings a unique perspective to ADS. From income
development, corporate training, underwriting, etc. Lindsay has delivered tremendous value to her dealers,
and consistently performed at a high level.” – says Bob Mancuso – President Advanced Dealer Solutions.
“I am excited to bring my collective experience to the ADS team. Working with dealership associates to help
improve their overall performance is such a passion of mine, and I feel the ADS platform will provide me the
tools to get to the next level.” – says Lindsay Jackson.
“Lindsay brings tremendous positivity and energy to everything she does. Her successful background in
training and development fits well with our core philosophies and her infectious personality will help her
build strong relationships with our expanding ADS family of dealers.” – says Ryan Nelson – EVP Advanced
Dealer Solutions.
Lindsay will be based in the Columbus, OH area with continued focus in central and southern Ohio.
Mwanganza
The vision for Mwangaza began in 2005 when Tresor Yenyi, an international student from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had a friend ask him a simple question. “What do you need to make Christmas special for people in the DRC?” That was an easy answer for Tresor: fifty kg of rice, a few tooth brushes, some soap and a couple bags of sugar. To be able to offer these simple things would change the lives of innumerable children.
Changing Lives Foundation
At Changing Lives, we can only impact lives as we learn about the opportunities to serve others. Medical bills, Long-term health issues, One-time catastrophic events, Education Rent/mortgage payments, Unexpected death are just a sampling of the events we can provide financial assistance for. Nothing is off limits…our passion is to change lives for those in need today!
Visit our website at https://www.changinglivesfound.org/
Cleveland Christian Home
Cleveland Christian Home is the most trusted and reliable choice for kids struggling to overcome the toughest emotional and behavioral challenges. CCH offers one of the only residential treatment programs in the City of Cleveland with an intensive treatment center. Our success in treating children with trauma has made CCH the go-to organization for children and families in crisis.
