Download - Tennessee Dealer Connect June July 2013

CRASH DATA RETRIEVAL (CDR)

• AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ROADMAP• PREDICT YOUR OWN FUTURE• COMPLIANCE OVERDRIVE

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DEALER CONNECTJUNE/JULY 2013T E N N E S S E E I N D E P E N D E N T A U T O M O B I L E D E A L E R S A S S O C I A T I O N

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TNIADA BOARD MEMBERS

WHAT’S NEW

NATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION2521 BROWN BLVD. ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203 PHONE (817) 640-3838WWW.NIADA.COM • WWW.NIADA.TVFOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CONTACT: TROY GRAFF (800) 682-3837 OR [email protected] Tennessee Dealer Connect is published bi-monthly by the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association Services Corporation, 2521 Brown Blvd., Arlington, TX 76006-5203; phone 817-640-3838. Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, TX and at additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NIADA State Publications, 2521 Brown Blvd., Arlington, TX 76006-5203. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of TNIADA or the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or their identification as members of NIADA, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured. Copyright © 2013 by NIADA Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

STATE MAGAZINE MGR./SALES Troy Graff • [email protected]

EDITORS Jennifer Carman • [email protected] Andy Friedlander • [email protected]

ART DIRECTOR Christy Haynes • [email protected]

PRINTING Nieman Printing

ADESA .......................... Inside Back CoverAlly .......................................................15AutoManager ..........................................5CarMax Auctions ...................................19Chase ...................................................16Manheim Nashville ........ Inside Front CoverManheim Pennsylvania ............................7Manheim.com .......................................11NextGear Capital .................................. 13Protective ...............................................9 United Acceptance ................................17VAuto .......................................Back Cover

04 Data Speaks for Itself06 The Fountain of Youth12 Affordable Care Act Roadmap16 Washington Update18 Quality Processes for Quality Leads20 Predict Your Own Future22 Compliance Overdrive

JT LIVEZEYPRESIDENTMID-STATE AUTO, INC.

MARK SHUBERTPRESIDENT-ELECTSHUBERT MOTORS

MICKEY DORSEYCHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDFRIENDLY AUTO

DAVID WILSONTREASURERWILSON’S AUTO SALES

JOHN NIVENSECRETARYAUTO AGENCY, INC.

MARCUS DAVISAUCTION MEMBERMARCKA AUTO AUCTION

DARRYL NOBLEEXECUTIVE [email protected]

U.S. gasoline prices hit a record high average in February, but thanks to a rapid decline in March, the average first quarter 2013 gas prices were less than the 2012 numbers, according to GasBuddy, which tracks gasoline prices at more than 140,000 stations in the U.S. and Canada.

Contrary to widespread perception, Americans paid about 30 cents less for a gallon of gasoline during Easter weekend than they paid over the same period in 2012. Gas averaged about $3.64 per gallon on Good Friday, compared to $3.93 last year.

The average price in the first quarter of 2013 was $3.548 per gallon, compared to $3.584 for the first quarter of 2012.

In ranking the prices for 363 metropolitan statistical areas, GasBuddy found two U.S. markets that averaged less than $3 for the quarter – both in Wyoming. Casper averaged $2.87 and Cheyenne was at $2.955. The most expensive market in the country was the Honolulu area at $4.157 per gallon, three cents more than in 2012.

Overall, the Rocky Mountain region had the lowest prices thanks in part to relatively cheap North American crude availability for refiners. The highest prices were found in New England, Florida and California, which had eight of the 10 most expensive markets in the country.

The NIADA executive committee has recommended an addition to the bylaws in Article VI, Section 6: Meetings.

The section would read (addition in bold):

The NIADA Board of Directors Annual Meeting and Convention Meeting shall be held at the location of NIADA’s Annual National Convention, if one is held. The Midterm Meeting and any special meetings, and annual meeting not held in conjunction of with NIADA’s Annual National Convention (due to no such convention being held) may be held at any location chosen by the NIADA Board of Directors or Executive Committee. In its sole discretion, the Board of Directors or Executive Committee may determine that such meetings except for the Annual Meeting may be held solely by means of remote communication in accordance with 8 Del. C. § 211, as amended.

This addition to the NIADA bylaws will allow for more dealer participation in the business of the NIADA board of directors.

The proposed amendment will be placed on the agenda and voted on at the board of directors meeting at the NIADA Annual Convention on June 25.

I N D U S T R Y N E W S

According to data analysis by mobile advertising firm Marchex, Inc., consumers now place millions of calls to the auto industry directly through mobile ads – and once consumers connect to a representative over the phone, 79 percent of them want to buy.

Analysts aggregated anonymous data points from more than 65,000 calls placed to auto dealers, repair shops and national call centers. The calls, driven through Marchex’s mobile advertising network, came from consumers engaging with mobile ads via mobile directories, apps, mobile banners and voice search.

“Our findings underscore how very important it is to be available, in person, to answer the phone when calls come in,” said John Busby, vice president of the Marchex Institute, the Marchex’s research arm. “The auto industry should think of these conversations as money on the table. Every voicemail can cost you.”

Other findings: •Consumerscallingauto

dealers are highly motivated, asking about inventory and booking test drives.

•Consumerswhocallfrommobile ads tend to be younger than the general population.

•Mencallmoreoftenthanwomen.

•Smartphonecallerstendtohave higher income.

OVERALL, THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN

REGION HAD THE LOWEST

PRICES

EVERY VOICEMAIL CAN COST

YOU.

THIS ADDITION WILL ALLOW FOR MORE DEALER

PARTICIPATION IN THE BUSINESS OF THE NIADA

BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

Surprise! Gas Cost Less in First Quarter 2013

NIADA Committee Recommends Bylaw Change

Study: 4 of 5 Mobile Calls Lead to Sales

Thursday, June 27, starting at 6 p.m. PDTLIVE BROADCAST FROM CAESARS PALACENational Quality Dealer of the Year Award

TUNE IN TO WWW.NIADA.TV OR WWW.NIADA.COMWatch from any device and cheer for your state’s top dealer.

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Diagnostic Link Connector

C R A S H D A T A R E T R I E V A L P R O V I D E S A C R U C I A L T O O L F O R T H E V E H I C L E R E M A R K E T I N G C O M M U N I T Y.

Crash data retrieval (CDR) is a proven tool that allows users the ability to image a vehicle’s airbag control module (ACM) and evaluate any “events” that might have been recorded.

Those “events” include a list of data parameters that allow the user to determine if the vehicle has been in a crash or incurred some type of force to record data. The data can be used to make informed decisions on the quality and structural integrity of a vehicle being purchased or sold.

All that is interesting. But what exactly is CDR?

Most vehicles that have an airbag also have event data recorder (EDR) functionality. There is already an EDR in most production vehicles today. It is not something you need to install and is not an aftermarket product.

More than 115 million registered vehicles on the road today can be accessed and imaged using the Bosch CDR tool. Simply connect the CDR tool to the universal data port (diagnostic link connector or DLC) of the vehicle and run the CDR software program. The CDR tool then images any data stored and creates a PDF report of the findings.

It’s the same tool used by auto manufacturers – the CDR tool currently supports select General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota/Lexus, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki, Fiat, Volvo and BMW vehicles. And thanks to a ruling by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, many more manufacturers are expected to be supported before long.

In August 2006, the NHTSA published a final rule specifying uniform requirements for the accuracy, collection, storage, survivability and retrievability of onboard crash event data in passenger cars and other light vehicles equipped with EDRs.

The final rule was intended to standardize the data collected through EDRs so it could be put to the most effective future use.

Vehicles manufactured on or after Sept. 1, 2012, that are equipped with an EDR and manufacturers of those vehicles must comply with the rule. Vehicles that are manufactured in two or more stages or are altered are not required to comply with the rule until Sept. 1, 2013.

The airbag control module is where most EDR data is stored. However, EDR data or crash data can also be stored in the powertrain control module (PCM) or the rollover sensor module (ROS).

The primary job of the ACM, PCM and ROS is to detect sudden changes in direction and/or rotation and, when appropriate, deploy restraint devices like airbags. The ACM and other modules use certain bits of information, including those from crash-sensing systems, seat belt-related sensors and occupant detection systems, to decide whether and when to deploy airbags and other restraint system devices.

When certain conditions are met, those modules can record the data associated with the sudden changes in direction and/or rotation in a crash, which can later be imaged by the CDR tool. Data available to be collected depends on the year, make and model of the involved vehicle.

The CDR tool is used by law enforcement, insurance companies, collision reconstructionists, fleet managers, auto manufacturers and government researchers.

The next logical question is: How does the auto remarketer benefit from using the technology?

Auto remarketers need to gather all the pertinent information available in their evaluation of the vehicles they are considering for purchase or resale. The CDR tool provides an easy way to determine if there are any existing events stored in the vehicle, providing greater confidence for the buyer and seller. It can also help determine if some repairs were performed correctly.

“In today’s digital age, it is best to let the data speak for itself and not rely solely on seller statements, assumed to be true,” Crash Data Group president Scott Baker said. “This tool will help make quick, accurate, decisions on the vehicle in question.”

For example, a vehicle owner presents a vehicle for sale and says it was in a crash and the airbags deployed, but the vehicle

ARC-CSI Crash Conference: Visit www.arccsi.com to watch a video by Insurance Claims TV, filmed at the annual ARC-CSI Crash Conference in Las Vegas, showing real-world crash testing and data collection using the Crash Data Retrieval tool.

has been repaired and the airbags replaced. Using the CDR tool, the vehicle can be imaged. If the report shows a “deployment event,” it means while the airbags were reported to be replaced, the airbag control module was not and is locked. And that means the airbags will not deploy again.

If that is the case, you have to question whether the airbags were actually replaced or if there is just an empty reservoir. We have all heard stories of airbags that really weren’t replaced.

In addition, since the data is still there the report will also show information such as how fast the vehicle was going prior to impact and the severity of the crash. You might even be able to assess potential frame damage.

Of course, if you image the vehicle and there are no events and everything checks out fine, you’ll have greater confidence that a lawsuit won’t come back to haunt you.

Auto remarketers depend heavily on sellers to verify damage-free vehicles at end of lease or for sale. To properly investigate and assess potential damage to a vehicle, the buyer needs to have the peace of mind that the vehicle was not involved in an accident. It also provides a great service to the remarketer and ultimate end buyer, who depend on a fair assessment of the vehicle’s history to avoid significant loss.

“Industry adoption of the technology will be critical as we move further into the digital future of vehicle due diligence,” Baker said. “CDR technology is here to stay, and vehicle remarketers should be aware that the technology will help them achieve their goals while maintaining a higher level of integrity.”

For more information about CDR, call Crash Data Group at 1-800-280-7940 or visit www.cdr-system.com.

BY CLIFFORD J. SMITH CLIFFORD J. SMITH IS CDR NATIONAL SALES AND EDUCATION DIRECTOR FOR CRASH DATA GROUP, THE EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR OF THE BOSCH CRASH DATA RETRIEVAL PRODUCT LINE IN THE UNITED STATES. HE CAN BE REACHED AT [email protected] OR 1-800-280-7940, EXT.105.

COVER STORY

Data Speaks for Itself

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E M B R AC I N G T E C H N O L O GY C A N A D D L I F E T O YO U R D E A L E R S H I P A S T H E M I L L E N N I A L G E N E R AT I O N B E C O M E S A F O R C E I N T H E M A R K E T

Over the past few years, there’s been a profound change in the way people communicate. With the advent of easy-to-use personal computers, smartphones, tablets and laptops, people now get their news differently.

The “millennial” generation, which came of age during this time of communication change, has been most affected. They keep in touch with their friends differently. And they shop for cars differently.

So the question for dealers is how to reach out to that new generation and sell them cars.

A Growing MarketMillennial buyers represent 15

percent of the market, and rising. Ignore them at your peril.

Jon Osborn, research director for J.D. Power and Associates, said millennial buyers – those between the ages of 18 and 35 – are entering the prime car-buying age range. And in one way they’re not that different from buyers in the same age range 20 years ago.

“They’re similar in that buying a car is a big purchase for them in terms of money,” Osborn said. “It might be the biggest purchase they’ve made in their lives up to that time.

“What’s different is that the millennials grew up in the digital age. Now everyone uses computers or tablets or smartphones.”

Sure it’s basic, but dealers sometimes forget that to get the attention of millennial buyers, dealers must have an Internet presence. That means having a website and an app for smartphones, as well as being on third-party sites like AutoTrader.com or Cars.com.

In fact, just having a website is no longer enough. An increasing number of people – especially young people – are accessing the web with a mobile device rather than a computer.

Looking up information on a web page using a tablet or a smartphone is different than using a computer. The computer screen is bigger and web pages tend to be designed to take advantage of that size. To reach smartphone or tablet users, dealers might think of creating an app or a mobile site designed to fit on smartphones and tablets.

“If you create a mobile site, remember people will expect the same

kind of information you have on your website,” Osborn said. “So how people use the Internet has to be taken into consideration when designing pages. Dealers should be using the same technology as consumers. Having a tablet helps dealers, too.”

Tablets are portable and can be used to look up information while a salesperson is with a customer at a car. Now the salesperson doesn’t have to keep walking back to the showroom to look up information.

The younger generation is used to shopping and buying with the click of a button, Osborn said. They don’t believe buying a car should be different than any other kind of shopping. And they want the experience to be fun.

Osborn noted it’s important to provide buyers with as much information as possible up front, so customers won’t have to spend five hours in a dealership learning about F&I options.

What They’re Looking ForDespite numerous reports to the

contrary, yes, young people are buying cars, said Scott Painter, CEO and founder of TrueCar. But if you want to sell them one, you’ll have to do it on their terms.

“They are buying cars,” Painter said, “but they are doing it differently. There’s been a definite shift with millennial buyers. And it’s different from 20 years ago. Millennials are rewriting the rules. What used to work even as recently as five years ago, doesn’t work now.”

Dealers looking to sell to millennials have to recognize certain truths, Painter said. First, shoppers are used to getting a lot of information and want to be in control of the sales process. That’s very different from the way dealers used to operate.

In the old days, some dealers hesitated even to give the price of a vehicle. Instead, they would talk about payments and schedules. That tactic doesn’t work anymore.

“Today’s millennial buyers have access to information and expect the cars they buy to work,” Painter said. “A ‘lemon’ of a car is something they see in old movies.”

That means dealers have to buy vehicles that will “intrigue” the millennial buyer, Painter said. Reliability is just assumed, so it’s not much of selling point anymore. Dealers looking to sell to younger buyers have to pay attention to

things like design.And that isn’t all that’s changed.

Convention wisdom used to be that buyers entered the car market 30 to 60 days before entering a dealership’s showroom. Because buyers now are more social over the Internet, they might start asking advice or reading blogs up to a year before they hit a dealership.

“When we launched Cars Direct in 1998,” Painter said, “only 5 percent of consumers were using the Internet to help buy a car. That meant when someone did go on the Internet, they were definitely in the market. Now everyone looks at cars online, and a lot of people just do it for fun. Visiting a site doesn’t mean someone is in the market for a car at that particular moment.”

Still, there are ways dealers can tell if someone visiting their website is serious about buying a car now, Painter said.

The first is if that person asks about financing. The second is if that person has totaled his car in an accident – usually that person has an insurance check and needs to buy right away. A third is if the person checking the site starts asking questions about price instead of features and product information.

“Millennial buyers want to know prices before they will show up at your lot,” Painter said. “But when they visit your store, they are much more likely to buy. They’ve done their homework and like what they saw on their smartphone or tablet or computer.”

The fear of millennial buyers is that they will get ripped off by a slick dealer. So dealers must be up front about their prices without giving away the store, Painter said.

“You have to have a competitive price for your vehicles, but dealers also have to be able to make money,” Painter said. “That means dealers must believe in data. Data is what differentiates one used vehicle from another. If a dealer can show, through data, why one Chevy Tahoe costs $500 more than another, that assures the customer. The motto of the millennial buyer is, ‘In data we trust.’ ”

Painter said his company quantifies how many of a particular model are for sale. TrueCar goes online, finds all the data on Tahoes for sale and finds out what the mileage ranges and prices are.

Now the dealer can demonstrate with data collected by a neutral party what the price range of a particular vehicle is. The

The Fountain of Youth

C O N T I N U E D O N PAG E 8

MARKETING MATTERS

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Stewart and his brother and father, both named Don, operate two used-car lots. In addition, Stewart is owner of Social Media Chapter.com, which specializes in helping car dealerships and other small businesses use social media.

“Social media is not just Facebook,” Stewart said. “If you’re going to use social media you have to have people on hand to respond to comments. That’s where we come in.”

What’s important to remember, Stewart said, is that social media is active and interactive. It’s a conversation using new technology. So if someone comments about your dealership on Facebook or another site, you have to be ready to engage in a conversation.

And if you’re using social media to reach out to people, make sure your staff knows what you’re saying. It does no one any good to promise a $15.99 oil change on Facebook and not tell the sales staff. If they don’t know about something, they can’t answer questions about the promotion, such as whether it applies to synthetic oil.

“The biggest problem I see with dealers is that they don’t use social media themselves and actually see it as a distraction,” Stewart said. “They don’t see it as a tool. So they won’t let salespeople visit their Facebook page or make tweets during business hours.”

That’s a mistake, Stewart said. As long as salespeople are following some simple rules, being on a social media site during the day can pay off.

“I say let them go on their social media page,” Stewart said. “As long as they list where they work and what they do, they should be allowed to communicate with people. If someone is looking for a car and is ‘friends’ with a salesperson, that salesperson’s social media page can be very helpful.”

Of course, salespeople must realize their pages are a business tool as well as a personal page, so they shouldn’t post anything that would reflect badly on the dealership.

“Dealers tell me they worry about that,” Stewart said. “I say if they don’t trust the judgment of their staff, then maybe those people shouldn’t be working for them. I also point out that when someone walks into a showroom, usually they find half the sales staff just sitting around.”

Those people could, instead, be online looking for leads.

Stewart said dealers have to realize that while many social media sites are available to users at little to no cost, using social media isn’t free. Someone has to update the pages, read the comments and generally stay on top of things. That person should have some expertise in social media, and dealers should expect to pay for that expertise.

MARKETING MATTERS

“The biggest mistake I see is that dealers aren’t everywhere that matters,” Stewart said. “Everywhere includes the Internet, but it also includes print and radio and billboards and fliers. Dealers need to create an omnipresence.

“Social media isn’t just Facebook, either. There’s Google listings, Yahoo listings, Bing. These are the new yellow pages and dealers need to understand how they work.”

For example, Stewart said, it’s possible to give a verbal command to a smartphone asking to find a local car dealership. If the dealer is listed right on the search engine and the consumer has the right map app, directions to the dealership will pop right up.

“You must register your business with search engines,” Stewart said. “And don’t be afraid of technology. It’s now possible for people with webcams to converse via the Internet. Looking at someone while you’re talking to them is very effective and builds trust. So check out Skype or Google Live Chat.”

Ultimately, a dealer must lead from the front. If the dealership’s owner doesn’t use or understand social media, it can discourage his employees from using it. And that can ultimately cost him when it comes to attracting young buyers.

Millennials Have ArrivedThe millennial generation is here, and

technology is its language. Young buyers expect information, and they have more ways to get it than ever before.

To turn those young consumers into buyers, dealers have to make that work for them. Provide the information they want on all platforms, become a part of the conversation – give those potential buyers a reason to trust you.

The millennials are just beginning to get into the market, and they’re bringing their smartphones and Facebook pages with them. Dealerships that fail to embrace technology risk missing out on tools that will help them reach out to that growing category of consumers who came of age in the digital era.

BY JIM STICKFORD

customer sees he is being treated fairly and feels better about the sale. Painter warned dealers, though, that having national pricing information shouldn’t be a race to the bottom. Dealers have to make money, and constantly undercutting each other’s prices means no one can make money.

“We used to have an ‘easy’ button on our pages,” Painter said. “Dealers used it to get the lowest prices so they could price lower. No one was making money so we disabled it. But through that process we learned buyers aren’t looking for the absolute lowest prices. They just want a fair deal. By showing data transparently, you don’t have to give away the store.”

The trick, Painter said, is to engage the millennial buyer with transparent data to earn trust. Once a dealer earns trust, making a sale becomes much easier.

SocializingSocial media can be a tool for

marketing and not just a place to write about what you had for dinner.

“Today’s buyer visits all the pages,” Osborn explained. “They are very big on things like ratings and reviews. They are big on referrals.

“Millennials are often first-time buyers and are nervous about buying a car, so word of mouth is very important, and that’s outside a dealer’s advertising plan. So dealers should try to subtly encourage people who enjoyed buying a car from their lot to share their experiences on their Facebook page or to write a review on a site like Yelp.”

Rand Stone, sales manager of Next Gen Motors in Clear Lake, Wis., said his dealership just started its own Facebook page.

“We finally decided it was a tool that could be used for marketing,” Stone said. “I don’t know if I can say someone bought a car here as a direct result of something they saw on Facebook, but it’s exposure and telling people who you are.”

Stone believes Facebook is part of a conversation that gives young people the sense they have their own dealership. He is not afraid of social media and what people will say about the business.

“There are always people who want to tear you down,” Stone said. “On the Internet they are known as trolls. But I am confident that our customers are smart enough sift through the nonsense and see what are genuine reviews and what are not.”

Robert Stewart, co-owner of Stewart Auto Group in Pataskala, Ohio, has some advice for dealers: Don’t be afraid of social media. Embrace it. Use it and encourage employees to use it.

C O N T I N U E D F RO M PAG E 6

“The biggest mistake I see is that dealers aren’t everywhere that matters,” Stewart said. “Everywhere includes the Internet, but it also includes print and radio and billboards and fliers. Dealers need to create an omnipresence.

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STAY

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INFORMED!

CONSUMERS RESPOND TO RELIABILITY AND EXTENDED WARRANTIES

Certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles are more popular than ever, according to a new report from Edmunds.com. The report, which evaluates the landscape of America’s used car market through the first quarter of 2013, found that CPO sales were up 6.2 percent over the first three months of 2012, and that the segment’s 21 percent share of all used car sales by franchise dealers in the first quarter of 2013 was the highest it has ever been.

“Car manufacturers love certified pre-owned programs because they attract new customers, strengthen loyalty and help to move off-lease inventory,” commented Edmunds.com Director of Used Car Analysis Joe Spina. “We can expect even higher levels of CPO sales later this year as dealers absorb a growing influx of lease returns.”

While certified pre-owned cars are generally priced higher than other used cars, they appeal to shoppers because they’re often deemed as more reliable and they come with an extended warranty, which alleviates the buyer’s fear of inheriting someone else’s problems.

Other highlights in the report include:

•Therewere9.7millionusedvehicle sales in the U.S. in the first quarter, down 6.2 percent from the first quarter of 2012.

•Usedcarretailpricesatfranchise dealerships ($15,793, on average) remained relatively flat, up 0.5% year over year.

•Subaruvehiclessoldfasterat franchise dealerships than any other used car brand in the first quarter; Volvo’s used sales were the slowest.

Edmunds.com expects a typical seasonal price pattern for used cars this year: an increase in the spring, stability through early summer months, and then a decrease thereafter.

To view Edmunds.com’s 2013 1Q Used Car Market report, visit http://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/data/used-car-market-quarterly-report.html.

For information about NIADA’s certified pre-owned program, visit www.niadacertified.com.

L E G A L U P D A T E

CPO Sales Are Up

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C O N T I N U E D O N PAG E 1 4

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), dubbed “Obamacare” by many, was signed into law on March 23, 2010, with the intent to reform the health care industry and provide affordable health coverage for more than 40 million uninsured Americans.

Under the ACA, every legal resident of the United States who is not already covered by Medicare or an employer-provided health care plan will be eligible to purchase coverage through an online health insurance exchange.

Today, smaller businesses are much less likely to offer health coverage to their employees than larger companies. In 2011, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 57 percent of small businesses with 50 or fewer workers offered health benefits to employees, compared to 92 percent of businesses with 51 to 100 workers, and 97 percent of businesses with 101 or more workers.

Because of that, some provisions of the ACA will have a larger effect on small businesses, and their employees and families.

Expectations of the impact on small businesses are mixed. Some anticipate employees’ hours being cut, costs being passed on to consumers or shareholders, a reduction in hiring and more out-of-pocket costs for larger businesses.

Others see benefits for small businesses and their employees. For example, the ACA rewards employees at small companies by subsidizing their purchase of health insurance.

According to Casey B. Mulligan, economics professor at the University of Chicago, since those employees can’t take the subsidies with them if they move to a large company, they are “in effect, subsidies to the small businesses themselves, helping them compete more cheaply in the market for employees.”

Some provisions of the ACA are already in effect. Others will begin in 2014 and beyond.

As with any major change in policy, the prospect of what the ACA entails can be overwhelming for small business owners

with limited resources.So what does the ACA mean for your

business?

PLANNING YOUR ROUTE: DETERMINE THE SIZE OF YOUR ORGANIZATION

The ACA specifically exempts small businesses with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. By some estimates, that means more than 90 percent of businesses will be not be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions of the ACA.

Before you can begin to assess the impact on your business you must determine the size of your organization.

Sounds simple, right? Well, not entirely.The ACA defines a full-time employee

as an individual working at least 30 hours per week on average. However, for the purposes of calculating your organization’s size, you can’t simply count the number of full-time employees – part-time employees are also factored into the equation.

In essence, you have to add up the hours of part-time employees. So, for example, 100 half-time employees equates to 50 FTEs. Similarly, 40 full-time and 20 half-time employees would also be considered equivalent to 50 FTEs.

If you own more than one company, in most cases, that will also be taken into account. It’s a bit like an umbrella: If an entrepreneur owns five businesses and each business has 10 FTEs, together they are considered a large business with 50 FTEs, and all five businesses are subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions – even though individually they would be exempt.

Obviously, determining FTE counts will be more complex for some businesses than for others. Any businesses that fall close to the 50-employee threshold would be best served by working closely with their accountants to ensure counts are accurate rather than risk penalties for inadvertently being over the threshold.

While the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions do not take effect until 2014, the provisions will be applied based on employee counts from 2013, so it’s important for businesses to start planning now.

OUTSIDE YOUR FRONT DOOR: WHAT’S ALREADY IN PLACE FOR 2013

Several provisions of the ACA are already in place, or will become effective in 2013. Those of most importance to small businesses include:

Grandfathered group plans: Small businesses with insurance plans that were in place prior to March 23, 2010 may keep their current plan. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, approximately 72 percent of businesses with 100 or fewer workers had at least one plan grandfathered under the ACA in 2011. Those plans are subject to fewer requirements when it comes to coverage levels and access.

Under the grandfather provision, companies are even able to change insurance carriers, provided employee costs and benefits remain mostly the same.

Grants for wellness programs: Certain small businesses that did not have a workplace wellness program in effect as of March 2010 are eligible for grants to start one.

Additional Medicare tax: The additional medicare tax is a 0.9 percent tax increase that applies to an individual’s wages, Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensation and self-employment income above a threshold amount based on the individual’s filing status. Small businesses making less than $250,000 in taxable profit are exempt from the tax increase.

Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, phase one: The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit helps certain small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations – particularly those with low- to moderate-income employees – afford the cost of covering their employees.

From 2010 through 2013, if your company has fewer than 25 FTEs with average annual wages of less than $50,000 and you purchase health insurance for your employees, you might be eligible to receive a credit of up to 35 percent of your contribution toward employee health insurance premiums.

Note: In March 2013, as a result of sequestration provisions, the refundable

A S W I T H A N Y M A J O R C H A N G E I N P O L I C Y, T H E P RO S P E C T O F W H AT T H E ACA E N TA I L S CA N B E OV E RW H E L M I N G FO R S M A L L B U S I N E S S OW N E R S W I T H L I M I T E D R E S O U RC E S .

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR YOUR SMAL L BUS INESS

THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ROADMAP:

F E AT U R E S T O RY

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portion of the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit for certain organizations was decreased by 8.7 percent pending the end of the fiscal year or intervening Congressional action.

Flexible spending account (FSA) limits: While most small businesses don’t provide FSAs for their employees, those that do should note the new employee contribution cap of $2,500, effective in 2013.

W-2 reporting: The ACA requires employers to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan on an employee’s Form W-2. Many employers are eligible for transition relief for tax year 2012 and beyond, until the IRS issues final guidance for that reporting requirement.

The amount reported does not affect tax liability, as the value of the employer-excludible contribution to health coverage continues to be excludible from an employee’s income and is not taxable. The reporting is for informational purposes only, to show employees the value of their health care benefits so they can be more informed consumers.

AROUND THE CORNER: WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2014

Insurance market changes: The health insurance market will undergo several reforms in 2014.

•Plansmustguaranteeavailabilityandrenewal of coverage regardless of health status.

•Youngadultsmayremainontheirparents’ insurance until age 26.

•Premiumratingbasedonhealthstatus will be prohibited.

•Adultsmaynotbeexcludedfroma plan because of a pre-existing condition.

•Planswithamedicallossratioofless than 80 percent will be required to give rebates to enrollees.

Open enrollment for small business health insurance exchanges: Businesses with fewer than 50 FTEs (or 100 FTEs, in select states) will be able to purchase insurance through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchange, which is designed to provide an easier way to compare prices and purchase plans. Employers can also purchase insurance outside of the exchange.

Employer Shared Responsibility: Employers with more than 50 FTEs will be required to offer health coverage to their full-time employees and are subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions. Those employers will likely be liable for financial penalties if any of their full-time employees receives a tax credit to help pay for coverage on an exchange because:

•Theemployerdoesn’tofferhealthcoverage.

•Theemployeroffershealthcoverage to less than 95 percent of its full-time employees, and as such a full-time employee wasn’t offered coverage.

•Thehealthcoverageofferedbytheemployer isn’t affordable.

•Thehealthcoverageofferedbytheemployer isn’t adequate.

Remember, if you’re a small business with less than 50 FTEs or an employer who offers adequate and affordable health coverage, you will not be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions.

Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, phase two: Small businesses with fewer than 25 FTEs that purchase insurance through the SHOP exchange can receive a tax credit for up to 50 percent of their contribution toward insurance premiums. Tax-exempt small businesses can receive a credit of 35 percent.

THE LONG HAUL: 2015 AND BEYONDEmployer Shared Responsibility

payments: Employer Shared Responsibility liability for 2014 will begin being assessed in 2015. The IRS will contact employers to inform them of any potential liability and provide them an opportunity to respond before liability is assessed or notice and demand for payment is made.

It is important to note that while part-time employees factor into the

FEATURE STORY C O N T I N U E D F RO M PAG E 1 2

determination of employer size, there is no penalty for not offering coverage to part-time employees. So if an employer with 40 full-time and 20 half-time employees fails to provide health coverage and is assessed the Employer Shared Responsibility payment, the amount due would be $2,000 times 10 employees – 40 full-time employees minus the 30-employee exclusion – or $20,000.

Additional ACA provisions scheduled for 2015 and beyond include:

•Expandingtheparametersofemployer-provided health care to include dependents.

•Auto-enrollmentforcompanieswithmore than 200 employees.

•Implementationofanti-discrimination provisions, which would prevent employers from offering different packages to employees based on seniority, job title/classification, compensation level or race/gender.

•Choiceofhealthplansforsmallbusiness employees.

•Abilityforallbusinesseswith100or fewer FTEs to purchase insurance through the SHOP exchange (effective in 2016).

•Abilityforbusinesseswithmorethan 100 FTEs to purchase insurance through the SHOP exchange (effective in 2017).

LOST? WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK FOR DIRECTIONS

The ACA represents a major change in the way many businesses operate, and there are more than a few gray areas, so small businesses might find themselves with more questions than answers.

Your best bet is to maintain a healthy relationship with your advisors: bankers, accountants, lawyers and association executives and partners. They’ll help keep you in the loop on any major changes that take effect and help you adjust your course as needed to ensure you don’t encounter any hazards along the way.

Auctions and dealers looking for additional information regarding the ACA can view an online presentation developed by NAAA and the National Federation for Independent Business. Visit http://www.naaa.com/pages/naaa_events/events.html for more.

Through December, National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA) members can also purchase a health insurance plan and lock in the plan and rate until the end of 2014. By locking in your plan today, you could save thousands in 2014.

Visit NIADAHealthPlans.com or call 888-308-9340 for additional information. Not a member? Visit www.niada.com today!

BY NIADA STAFF FROM INFORMATION PROVIDED BY NAAA

• Ensure employee health coverage meets the minimum coverage threshold. It must cover at least 60 percent of an employee’s medical costs; the balance can be made up of deductibles, co-pays, etc.

• Provide verification of health coverage.

Businesses with less than 50 FTEs are exempt from the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions of the ACA. If you have more than 50 FTEs, here’s a quick checklist for 2014.

• Keep track of full-time and full-time equivalent employee counts.

• Offer health coverage to at least 95 percent of full-time employees no later than 90 days after start of employment.

• Ensure employee health coverage meets affordability standards. For employee-only coverage, premiums that are no more than 9.5 percent of total wages as stated on the employee’s W-2.

2014

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K E E P I N G Y O U I N F O R M E D W I T H T H E L A T E S T G O V E R N M E N T A L I S S U E S A N D A C T I V I T Y I N T H E U S E D C A R I N D U S T R Y

Here’s a rundown of some of the latest governmental issues and activity affecting the used car industry from NIADA lobbyist Sante Esposito and NIADA regulatory counsel Shaun Petersen.

LEGISLATIVE REPORTH.R. 749, Eliminate Privacy Notice

Confusion ActThis bill, known as H.R. 5817 when

it was introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) during the last Congress, was passed by the House without amendment on March 12 and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to begin its journey through the Senate.

The bill amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt from its annual privacy policy notice requirement any financial institution that provides nonpublic personal information only in accordance with specified requirements, and has not changed its policies and

practices with regard to disclosing nonpublic personal information from those noted in the most recent disclosure sent to consumers.

On March 21, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced companion bill S.635, the Privacy Notice Modernization Act of 2013, with 11 cosponsors, that bill was also referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

REGULATORY REPORTConsumer Financial Protection BureauRule on Administration of Civil Penalty

Fund (CPF): The CFPB issued a final rule and proposed revisions to the rule governing the bureau’s CPF. The Dodd-Frank Act established the fund for the CFPB to deposit civil penalties collected in enforcement actions.

The penalties collected are to be used for payments to the victims of activities for which the penalty was imposed. In certain circumstances, the CFPB can use the funds

for education and financial literacy programs. The fund cannot be used for general operating expenses.

The CFPB said because the rule is “interpretative and procedural and relates to benefits,” it becomes effective when it is filed in the Federal Register. But the bureau also said it “believes public input on the final rule would be valuable,” so it is accepting comments, which are due within 60 days of publishing the rule in the Federal Register.

Office of Financial Institutions and Business Liaison: The CFPB announced the creation of a new office to enhance communication and collaboration between bank and nonbank trade associations, businesses and financial institutions. Dan Smith, the former director for industry and state relations for Freddie Mac, has been named the assistant director in charge of the new office.

Supreme Court Review: Though the CFPB is not a party to the case, the government

NIADA Government Report

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Department of JusticeThe Department of Justice brought

charges against an individual in North Carolina for odometer tampering. The DOJ claims the defendant bought vehicles though online advertisements and replaced the odometers with odometers reading a lower mileage. One of the vehicles subject to the investigation is claimed to have been “rolled back” more than 100,000 miles.

Pending State LegislationOhio: HB 128 would amend portions

of the salvage motor vehicle laws, specifically allowing the sale of salvage vehicles to persons other than motor

WASHINGTON UPDATE

vehicle salvage dealers. California: SB 686 would prohibit dealers

from selling, renting, loaning or leasing for a term of less than four months any vehicle subject to an open safety recall.

AB 964 would prohibit dealers from advertising a vehicle as certified if there is an open safety recall. The bill would also require dealers to provide a written disclosure document informing the consumer if any of nine specific facts exist, and would require dealers to conduct a vehicle inspection and provide an inspection report of the components inspected.

AB 501 would change the definition of a tire broker to exclude a vehicle dealer or other retailer primarily engaged in the retail sale, service and installation of tires.

Case Law UpdatesA California appeals court upheld a

preprinted arbitration provision in a sales contract. The consumer claimed he had not read nor was he aware of the arbitration provision, thus making the provision unconscionable. The court rejected the claim, highlighting the fact that there was a provision, in all caps, above his signature that alerted him to the arbitration provision along with the fact that preprinted arbitration provisions are standard in the industry.

has sought review by the Supreme Court of the decision in Noel Canning v. NLRB, in which the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals declared the President’s appointments of members to the National Labor Relations Board to be unconstitutional because the Senate was in session.

That is significant because Richard Cordray was appointed director of the CFPB at the same time the NLRB members were appointed. If the Supreme Court affirms the Canning decision, it could have impact on Cordray’s appointment.

Internal Revenue Service Emergency extensions: The tax filing

deadline for residents of Suffolk County, Mass., was extended by three months after the Boston Marathon bombing. Residents automatically receive the extension, and taxpayers outside Suffolk County whose tax preparer lives in Suffolk can also qualify for an extension by calling 1-866-562-5277.

In addition, taxpayers in the South and Midwest affected by a severe storm near the April 15 filing deadline can qualify for late payment penalty relief if they can show reasonable cause why they were unable to file their taxes by the deadline. Taxpayers in the affected areas who receive penalty notices should contact the IRS.

In addition, taxpayers in the South and Midwest affected by a severe storm near the April 15 filing deadline can qualify for late payment penalty relief if they can show reasonable cause why they were unable to file their taxes by the deadline.

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W H E N L O O K I N G A T Q U A L I T Y O F L E A D S , D E A L E R S N E E D T O F I R S T L O O K A T T H E Q U A L I T Y O F T H E I R P R O C E S S E S T O H A N D L E T H E M

One look around today’s automotive retail marketplace reveals some fascinating changes that have taken place over the last five to seven years.

There are fewer franchise dealerships, and some former franchises have transitioned to become independent dealers. Consumers are more educated than ever, conducting hours of research online before ever stepping into a dealership. More consumers are keeping the vehicles longer, which is contributing to greater competition for pre-owned vehicles in many markets.

So how do you compete?For independent dealers, the Internet

is the ultimate equalizer to compete with larger franchise dealers. So having a strategic plan for how you showcase vehicles, connect with consumers and uncover more sales opportunities needs to be top priority.

Where you showcase your vehicles is just as important as how. That can be a confusing decision as you look at various third-party sites and advertisers.

Most dealers have embraced the concept of generating exposure and interest on the Internet via solo third-party car-shopping sites and larger third-party network sites, or even driving traffic to their own websites via SEO and SEM programs.

All of those achieve the goal of generating leads. But when it comes to really “working” the leads, they fall short.

A 2013 Pied Piper Management study discovered dealers are doing a better, more effective job of handling Internet leads, but there is still more to be done.

According to the study, mishandling a lead happens when dealerships send generic responses to customers via email that do not answer their specific questions. Another issue is dealers being understaffed, making it difficult to get back to online customers quickly. Not responding is a major snub to your customer.

As more car shoppers become online shoppers, the study shows dealerships with effective strategies to respond quickly and send personalized responses that answer customers’ specific inquiries ultimately sell more cars – well, duh!

While it’s easy to say, “Respond better and answer questions faster,” the reality is it’s not that simple to attract online shoppers and entice them to complete the contact forms on various websites,

including your own.Winning more online customers actually

begins much earlier in the sales and marketing process. When done effectively, using the Internet not only helps you compete, it can actually become the core of your business.

Case Study: How Internet Leads Help a Pennsylvania Dealership Succeed in Today’s Market

Devy Auto Park is a fixture in its Freeport, Pa., community. Since opening in 1923 – it moved to its present location in 1953 – Devy Auto Park has seen its share of evolution and revolution in the automotive retail industry.

To compete in 2013, Devy Auto Park transformed from a longtime Chevy franchise dealership to a premier independent dealership.

Most of Devy’s customers are Internet-based, and many travel from several hours away to do business with the dealership. A few key strategies have helped Devy attract and retain so many online customers, particularly those who see the value in traveling to buy a car from Devy.

Best practice 1: Effective online merchandising. Imagine your physical showroom. Attractive, well-placed vehicles tempt shoppers to stop in, have a look and “kick the tires.”

Now imagine your online showroom. The first key to effectively winning online customers is to tempt them into your online showroom. Plenty of photographs, sizzling descriptions and virtual tours all mimic a physical showroom and go a long way toward attracting customers.

But your physical showroom doesn’t stand on its own. You advertise in a variety of media to let potential customers know not only what vehicles you have, but where they can find you and how they can contact you.

The same approach applies to your online showroom. Effective online merchandising is definitely about having a great website to showcase your vehicles, but it’s equally important to draw customers from a strategic online marketing mix that includes a variety of third-party websites.

Today’s online shoppers spend a significant amount of time researching to find the perfect vehicle across many websites. Shoppers’ searches are rather organic, looking at dozens of vehicles, arriving at dealers’ websites and then

sorting through the vehicles there. Great merchandising on both your website and your third-party sites is absolutely critical.

Best practice 2: Great vehicles backed up with a warranty and vehicle history report. Whereas traditional car shoppers can literally kick the tires in your physical showroom, online customers don’t have that same luxury. But the advice is the same for both groups of shoppers. Dealerships should work hard to recondition vehicles really well, warranty them and provide vehicle history reports.

The vehicle history report actually benefits both the customer and the dealership. Online shoppers are savvy enough to demand the reports. They want the opportunity to know whether the vehicle is right for them or not.

And by providing the reports up front, the dealership saves a lot of time on the back end. That is, the dealership’s Internet manager would devote a lot of time to answering inquiries that can be resolved with a history report.

Additionally, the reports can boost the confidence in and the credibility of the vehicle and your dealership.

Best practice 3: Establish a process for responding to and following up with customers. Anyone who’s coaching you on handling Internet leads will tell you to respond to customer inquiries quickly. What’s more important than a quick response, however, is the quality of the response.

The Pied Piper researchers used mystery shoppers to measure how quickly and how well Internet managers responded to customer inquiries. The mystery shoppers provided a phone number and asked a question about a vehicle, then waited.

For the purposes of the study, it wasn’t enough to receive a generic auto-response. Researchers would “only stop the clock if [the dealerships] answer our question or send a second response,” Pied Piper president Fran O’Hagen explained.

Devy Auto Park takes that level of response one step further. All Internet leads go into the dealership’s customer relationship management (CRM) tool, which generates automatic but customizable email responses for customer inquiries.

Devy can customize the email responder with the customer’s name, and the CRM will populate vehicle information, such as which vehicle the customer asked about and whether it’s still available.

A Case Study for Success

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MARKETING MATTERS

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to know if those investments are paying off. Which site delivers the most leads? Which sites offer the most exposure? What’s the cost per lead? Cost per sale?

Third-party websites have a range of pricing structures and CRM analysis lets dealers like Devy Auto Park determine which sites offer the most exposure for the lowest cost per lead/sale so they can devote their marketing expenses profitably.

MARKETING MATTERS

Effective Merchandising, High-Quality Vehicles and Tried-and-True Customer Responses Get Results

According to Pied Piper’s O’Hagen, “Dealers who handle Internet leads effectively sell a lot more vehicles than dealers who do not.”

Getting good, quality Internet leads is important, but how the dealership’s staff responds to and engages customers is more important. Effective merchandising, high-quality vehicles and tried-and true customer response processes are critical to handling leads effectively and ultimately winning more customers.

Finding the right partner to showcase your vehicles is really a matter of ROI. Look for partners who understand your local market and can provide you with the most exposure for the best price. But also look for the right partner who knows what it means to be a “partner” – someone who will work to help you with your follow-up strategy and help you sell more cars.

BY KIM JENNETT AND STEVE DEVEREAUXKIM JENNETT IS AN AWARD WINNING CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND BRAND STRATEGY FOR DEALIX, A DIVISION OF ADP DEALER SERVICES. SHE CAN BE REACHED AT [email protected] OR 408-375-4758. STEVE DEVEREAUX, VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES FOR DEVY AUTO PARK, CAN BE REACHED AT (724) 295-2171.

An additional benefit to relying on a CRM is the ability to track where leads come from. That is, if you’re merchandising your vehicles through a variety of third-party websites, you want to know if those investments are paying off. Which site delivers the most leads? Which sites offer the most exposure? What’s the cost per lead? Cost per sale?

If a customer asks a specific question, Devy employees answer it in the first paragraph of the email. After that, the email tells the Devy story and asks for an appointment. Devy’s CRM lets managers track email responses, ensuring effective follow up as well as open rates. It’s an interesting twist that helps the dealership be more effective at responding to and following up with customers.

The CRM also reminds Devy salespeople to continue to follow up with the customer. For Devy, that means daily attempts for the first four days after receiving the lead, then again on day seven, 14, and 30. The automatic reminders are integrated into the dealership’s process, and lead to 100 percent response rates from Devy employees to Internet leads.

Do you respond by phone or email? There’s really no right answer. Devy’s online form asks customers to indicate a preference for contact method, but if there’s no response through one channel, they’ll try the other option.

An additional benefit to relying on a CRM is the ability to track where leads come from. That is, if you’re merchandising your vehicles through a variety of third-party websites, you want

THE KEYtempt them

into your online showroom.

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A B U S I N E S S P L A N I S E S S E N T I A L T O M A K E S U R E YO U R D E A L E R S H I P I S R E A DY F O R W H AT ’ S A H E A D

Well here you are, almost halfway through the year. Are you where you thought you would be?

Have you sold as many vehicles, made as much gross profit on each sale and, most important, made as much dealership net profit as you expected?

If you have, congratulations. Now is the perfect time to review what led to your success so you can repeat it. If you haven’t then now is a great time – before it’s too late – to figure out how you plan to reach your sales and net profit goals for the rest of the year.

Didn’t have a plan? If you failed to make a solid business plan for your dealership, including financial goals for yourself and your family for retirement, it’s not too late to finish the year strong and head into 2014 on the path to financial success.

As the saying goes, “Rarely does a man plan to fail. Typically a man fails to plan.”

Sound familiar?Why do so many independent dealers

fail to plan? While there doesn’t seem to be one particular reason for failing to create a business plan, over the years I have heard many.

“I don’t have the time to plan,” I’m told. Or, “I’m not sure what all goes into a business plan.” Some dealers tell me nobody is going to follow the plan anyway, so what’s the point of having one? And, of course, there is the fear of being held accountable to yourself and your employees.

But a business plan is not an option. It’s a necessity.

In order to make a business plan, it’s helpful to understand exactly what one is.

A business plan is the road you want your company to take to get your company “there” – wherever “there” is for you. It is not something that is written in stone. It’s a document that helps to place checks and balances on yourself to see if you are headed “there” – in the direction of that place you want your business to be.

It’s a document you should evaluate and review each month. It’s something that helps open your eyes to any necessary changes along the way.

The business plan should identify your company and who leads the company. It should identify what you sell – cars, trucks, specialty vehicles,

exotics, wholesale, etc. – and include a flow chart identifying who is responsible for what.

While it might appear to be a rather daunting task, your plan should also identify your market with a brief market analysis, and, of course, it should also include a cash-flow analysis, a sales analysis and, most important, a profit analysis.

It’s amazing how many dealers take the time to project sales and gross but fail to project net profit before taxes. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I think a ton of sales is great. But profit is even better.

A business plan is not just something you write up in order to get money from a bank. That is not what it’s all about, though it is helpful to have on hand just in case you need to get a capital loan when you first get started in business.

No, this is about a business plan that helps you in your day-to-day operations, a document designed to keep you on track toward reaching your business goals and objectives.

What you must remember is a good business plan is a “living” document – it’s something you review regularly, no less than once per month. The business plan you wrote up for the bank when you first opened your doors is most likely a “dead” document – you wrote it for the bank, got the loan you needed, shoved the business plan in a cabinet somewhere and haven’t looked at it since.

Your business plan is not about warm and fuzzy thoughts or idealistic hopes and wishes. The business plan you create needs to have measurable benchmarks.

That, by the way, is one of the advantages NIADA members receive when they join an NIADA 20 Group – being able to measure many areas of their dealership against industry benchmarks as well as their own performance benchmarks. NIADA 20 Group dealers have a composite by which they can compare themselves to themselves as well as to their peers.

It is impossible in this space to cover all of the essential components of a good, living business plan (executive summary, company description, market analysis and flow chart). To get into the details, your best bet is to become an NIADA Certified Master Dealer – more on that later.

But to give you an idea, we can provide

an outline of some of the basic questions that have to be answered in the financial component of your business plan.

•Whatareyouroperatingcapitalneeds? Do you have enough cash on hand to cover at least 2 1/2 months of operating expenses? Don’t forget if you have a service department you’ll need an additional of cash in the amount of at least two weeks of technician pay.

•Whatareyousalesdollarobjectivesfor the year – units sold retail and units sold wholesale, broken down by cars, trucks and others.

•Whatareyourunitsalesobjectivesforthe year, once again broken down by cars and trucks, retail, wholesale and other?

•Whatareyourunitsalesgrossprojections?

•Howmuchaveragegrossprofitareyoumaking compared to your sales dollars generated? Is the percentage too high, preventing you from being competitive? Is it too low, causing you to lose net profit?

•Whatareyourprojectedmonthlyoperating expenses? Do you know what they should be compared to the gross profit generated? There is often a big difference between what your business expenses are and what they should be. Are you keeping 20 percent or 40 percent of your gross profit?

The unit sales gross projections are important when you consider you have the opportunity to calculate your net earning potential if you are aware of your net profit on sales.

Assuming you have calculated the above with any degree of accuracy, you will need to determine how much inventory you will need to keep on hand in order to achieve your profit and sales objectives.

An element that often gets left out of a business plan is personnel. It’s not enough to project sales, gross profit and net profit objectives for the year. You must also consider whether you have a sufficient number of staff members in the right positions with the right skills and training to help you to reach your objectives.

Simply suggesting each employee will “just need to do more” isn’t the best solution. The living business plan must account for vacations, illnesses, terminations and resignations, as well as needed promotions of employees.

Understaffing of independent dealerships is one of the leading contributing factors for the excuse, “I

Predict Your Own FutureLONG-RANGE PLANNING

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don’t have time to work a business plan,” or, “I would like to get out of the store and attend more training and educational events but I can’t afford to leave the dealership.” Or worse yet, “I know it’s important to get out of the dealership more and get more involved with my community but I just don’t have the time or energy because it’s just me.”

You might have even told yourself, “I know I need a few more staff members but I just don’t want to increase my payroll.”

It’s sort of that chicken or the egg thing. Do you hire more people to get the job done or wait until you’re really in need of people as you’re getting the job done?

Many lending institutions require a business plan projection for years one through five, but it can be very difficult to estimate with any hint of accuracy what your business projections are going to look like in five years. If you find that to be a problem, it might be prudent for the time being to begin with a short-term business plan of one year.

Remember, this is a living document. It’s meant to move and change as the market and your business needs change.

If you’re still having trouble getting started, NIADA’s Certified Master Dealer course could be the answer to developing an effective business plan for your dealership. CMD’s learn how to manage their business by the numbers for sustainable results month after month, year after year.

For ongoing peer-to-peer learning and support you’ll also want to check out the new NIADA Dealer 20 Groups to learn how your colleagues who face the same day-to-day issues manage their dealerships to success.

The next CMD class is coming up this fall, and new 20 Groups are forming right now. For more information on both programs, contact me at [email protected], or NIADA director of education Georgia Brown at 1-800-682-3837 or [email protected].

BY JOE LESCOTAJOE LESCOTA IS DIRECTOR OF DEALER OPERATIONS FOR THE NATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION AND INSTRUCTOR FOR NIADA’S CERTIFIED MASTER DEALER PROGRAM. HE CAN BE REACHED AT [email protected].

JOIN US!

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T H E WO R L D M OV E S FA S T E R E V E RY DAY. A R E YO U R E A DY F O R W H AT T O M O R R OW B R I N G S ?

As many state legislative sessions wrap up at midyear, lenders and dealers must begin watching for legislative summaries – and maybe new legislation and requirements that will be taking effect soon.

Facing a regulatory landscape that continually seems to move faster and grow in complexity, dealers must be even more vigilant in making sure laws and regulations are being embedded within their business.

In some cases, the laws and regulations tell us exactly what needs to be done. For example, a disclosure using specific words in a specific type size must be given to consumers at a specific time. But in other areas, the laws and regulations require dealers to create and follow reasonable practices based on their unique business conditions.

Those types of requirements can be challenging to meet because they evolve as your business and the industry changes. Certain areas, though, deserve continual focus, including regular reviews of policies, procedures and processes.

Information/Data SecuritySome of the most obvious risks for

dealerships are related to information and data security. Dealers must view identity theft as an accident that’s always waiting to happen because of to the various types of personal and financial information they manage for their customers.

Hundreds of people can walk through dealers’ sales floors, which in many cases are open, with some sales desks located in the showroom. Is your staff diligent about making sure sensitive customer information isn’t left sitting out on a desk or up on a computer screen so anyone walking by can view it? Is anyone within earshot when a potential customer is verbally providing personal information?

That includes not only dealership visitors, but also employees who should not have access to specific data.

In short, your information security program needs to start on the sales lot and in the showroom.

Your Red Flags program should already address potential security risks, at least as they relate to potential identify theft. The Red Flags Rule

requires each dealer to have a program designed to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft in connection with opening or maintaining an account involving an extension of credit.

Reasonable program activities will evolve as technology and business practices change and as identity theft techniques and vulnerabilities change. So compliance with the Red Flags Rule will always be an evolving standard.

Make sure you have data security and ID theft programs and policies. Make sure you follow them. And make sure you regularly review and update them – even if there isn’t a law or regulation change reminding you to do so.

Employee SecurityAlong those same lines, dealers need to

be mindful of processes related to employee security. It must be clearly defined which employees have access to what.

In your dealership, are F&I files password-protected so only certain employees can access them? Sales team members might need limited access to information to determine a potential buyer’s creditworthiness, but does the receptionist really need access to the same information and tools? Are there clear parameters for who has access to different types of information? Are those policies communicated and understood among employees?

Employee security also involves background checks and other operational issues related to hiring and firing employees.

Dealerships should use background checks in their hiring process in addition to checking references and other representations a candidate provides. Be thorough. For example, instead of just doing a criminal record check for the county where the applicant lives or the dealership is located, consider expanding it to the entire state. You should also review states of prior residence for the past several years.

Remember to re-run background checks (or at least the criminal background check) periodically to note any changes. If an employee is arrested after employment begins, he or she might not tell you about it. If you don’t re-run criminal background checks, how will you find out an existing employee was convicted of misdemeanor shoplifting or DWI (with suspension of driver’s license)?

Depending on the employee’s role, that might be critical employment-related information.

Content SecurityWhile the risks mentioned so far might

seem somewhat obvious, other risks are more subtle, such as access to template documentation. Though blank standard documentation might not contain personal information about customers, they could present opportunities for criminals.

For example, even without access to customer personal data, a thief might be able to create fraudulent transactions if he or she has access to preprinted retail sales contracts or the software that generates them. Dealers should consider restricting access to blank standard documents even though they don’t contain personal customer data.

Information RetentionA critical area of focus for customer

personal information is protecting it at the time it’s provided by credit applicants and the points the information is transmitted to others as part of the credit analysis process. But dealers also need to focus on their retention of that information during the credit processing period and afterward.

Red Flags programs should include procedures to protect personal information during and after the credit process and transaction closing. Protecting that information long after the sale requires as much vigilance as the protection you provide during the credit processing phase.

All of this reminds us some compliance requirements evolve with changing business practices and technologies. It’s important to regularly review compliance efforts for these kinds of requirements even if they aren’t revised by law or regulation changes this year.

The theme of this year’s NIADA Convention and Expo is “New Strategies for Tomorrow.” The world moves faster every day. Are you ready for what tomorrow brings? Knowing your dealership is continually working to mitigate business and compliance risks can bring peace of mind when considering your own preparedness.

BY CHIP ZYVOLOSKICHIP ZYVOLOSKI IS A SENIOR ATTORNEY FOR INDIRECT LENDING AT WOLTERS KLUWER FINANCIAL SERVICES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.WOLTERSKLUWERFS.COM/INDIRECT.

COMPLIANCE OVERDRIVE

Is it Time to Review Your Dealership’s Compliance Practices?

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Download - Tennessee Dealer Connect June July 2013

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