DEALERS ASSOCIATION PENNSYLVANIA • MARYLAND • DELAWARE 1501 North Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17102 (717) 238-9002 | midatlanticiada.org (717) 238-9002 | midatlanticiada.org
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Bert Straub, President 1st Choice Auto LLC, Fairview, PA bertcstraub@gmail.com
Dan Limongelli, President-Elect
Jo Dan Motors, Plains, PA jodanmotors@gmail.com
Danielle Royer, Treasurer Royer’s 322 Motors, DuBois, PA royers322motors@gmail.com
Michael Mansour, Secretary Car Connection, New Castle, PA mike@carconnection1.com
Noah Melamed, Chairman Ticket to Ride Auto, Lancaster, PA nmelamed@yourttr.com
BOARD MEMBERS
Clint Weaver
America's Auto Auction, Harrisburg, PA clint.weaver@americasautoauction.com
Lisa Cohowicz
North East Pennsylvania Auto Auction, Scranton, PA lisac@nepautoauction.com
Beth Melamed Ticket to Ride Auto, Lancaster, PA bmelamed@yourttr.com
Gregg Pachik
Manheim Philadelphia, Hatfield, PA gregg.pachik@manheim.com
Kerri Rotunda
America’s Auto Auction Erie, Corry, PA kerrir@corryade.com
Tom Campbell
Reliable Car Connection, Allentown, PA tcampbell@reliablecarconnection.com
Gunnar Horst
Advantage Auto Sales & Credit, Quakertown, PA gunnarh@wefinanceyou123.com
Jashan Singh-Singh Automotive Sales LLC, Millersville, PA jashanf1@gmail.com
Melissa Rowan
Red White and Blue Autos, Inc., Ashland, PA melissa@rwbautos.com
Tom Brandis, Executive Director tom@midatlanticiada.org | (215) 805-2034
Kathy Sabaski, Deputy Executive Director kathy@midatlanticiada.org | (267) 733-5402
Copyright 2025
FEATURES
Unlocking Your Success: How to Create a Desktop Scoreboard to Drive Productivity
Staying successful in a busy world can be easier by identifying specific actions that lead to your goals and integrating them into a fun routine. This approach helps you set realistic targets and track your progress, making it simpler to achieve your objectives, whether it’s boosting sales, improving workflow, or enhancing customer connections.
A Tale of Two Dealers
Don't wait for a legal challenge to recognize the importance of compliance! Investing in a strong compliance program can save your business time, money, and headaches, ensuring you're prepared when scrutiny arises.
Update on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)
The CTA has been a source of confusion and concern for many, but recent developments indicate a shift. Key changes and implcations for MidAtlantic Dealers.
14
When Speed Meets Strategy - Is Your Website Pulling Its Weight?
Is your dealership's website living up to its potential? Discover how a dealership transformed its online presence with a custom redesign, resulting in a staggering 263% increase in users and heightened engagement.
Collections - The Gorilla in the Room
Transform your collections process! Implement proven strategies to reduce delinquency rates and empower your team. Don't let fear hold you back—unlock your potential for success today!
WAIT...THERE'S MORE!
2|MidAtlantic Staff Listing
2|President’s Message
3|Executive Director’s Message
10| Annual Sponsors
16|Vendor Spotlight: Cartuul
17|Membership Focus by Cyndi
18|First Impressions and Value
21|Dealer Setup Fees
24|Preferred Auctions VIEW THIS MAGAZINE ONLINE
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MIDATLANTIC STAFF
TOMMY BRANDIS
Executive Director (215) 805-2034 tom@midatlanticiada.org
KATHY SABASKI
Deputy Executive Director (717) 238-9002 kathy@midatlanticiada.org
Dealer Set-Up Unit (717) 317-1966 nicole@midatlanticiada.org
BRENDA BAUGHER
Lead Title Clerk (717) 238-9002 brenda@midatlanticiada.org
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
YOU'RE INVITED:
NIADA State Presidents Committee Meeting at the 2025 National Convention
As we gear up for the 2025 NIADA National Convention, I want to personally extend an invitation to attend-and contribute to-the upcoming NIADA State Presidents Committee (SPC) Meeting. Your voice and perspective are essential to shaping a stronger, more unified future for independent dealers across the country.
SPC Meeting Details:
•Date: Monday, June 23, 2025
•Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
•Location: Fontainebleau Las Vegas
You do not need to be a State President to attend.
This is an open meeting, and we welcome participation from anyone who is passionate about supporting and strengthening the state association network.
Why This Meeting Matters
The SPC meeting is more than just a time block on the schedule-it's a strategic gathering of voices from across the country who are committed to the future of our industry. Whether you're a seasoned association leader or a new member looking to engage, this is your opportunity to be part of a conversation that drives real impact.
We're currently finalizing the agenda, and we want your input. Have a question, challenge, or success story to share? Let us know! Your contributions will help make this session more relevant, collaborative, and inspiring for everyone involved.
Part of a Bigger Picture
The SPC meeting is just one highlight of the NIADA 2025 National Convention, where independent dealers will:
CONNECT with peers and industry thought leaders
LEARN valuable strategies across all models-Retail, Subprime, BHPH, LHPH
INITIATE lasting partnerships with top vendors and service providers
DIVERSIFY their perspective through powerful education tracks
RECOGNIZE outstanding leaders and contributors in our community
How may we help you?
Learn more about your Association staff members serving you! Our friendly and knowledgeable staff is always here to help members. Call or email us today!
The official agenda is only the beginning - and, as we all know in the car business, everything is subject to change. If you have any last-minute topics, updates, or stories worth sharing, now's the time to speak up.
Looking forward to seeing you in Las Vegas and making this a powerful week of connection, collaboration, and progress.
See you at NIADA 2025!
Sincerely,
ADVERVTISE WITHIN
To advertise in the MidAtlantic Dealer News magazine, please send a request via email to tom@midatlanticiada.org
“Bert” Straub President, MidAtlantic IADA
Robert
Message from the Executive Director
Hello Dealers,
Welcome to May!!!
Spring is here, the tax season (a week for most) is behind us, and we are hopefully executing and/or adjusting our business plans and settling into a groove for the rest of 2025. The next few months are always an exciting time for the MidAtlantic staff. We have a full calendar of auction visits planned throughout the summer. We just recently joined Bel Air Auto Auction, celebrating their 78th anniversary. As always, it was an amazing event. Representatives from NIADA joined us. Current President Michael Darrow and 20 Group Moderator John Dismukes enjoyed chatting with dealers and some vendors in attendance for the huge sale.
I must tell you, the gang at Bel Air is top-notch and takes great pride in their auction. For those who have attended, I am sure you would agree. If you haven’t had the chance, I recommend joining them on a Thursday in the future. We also had the opportunity to attend AAA Harrisburg’s 43rd anniversary and spring fling on April 3rd. Clint and his TEAM know how to throw a party. We always enjoy visiting them. Fortunately, they are only about 10 minutes from our headquarters, so we get to visit often.
TOM BRANDIS Executive Director
About the time you are reading this article, we will be attending our 2nd annual “West Coast Bash”. This year it is at Manheim Pittsburgh. We will be holding an open board meeting and a PennDOT certification class. Our annual sponsor, Buckeye Dealership Consulting, joined us for this special event. Hopefully we saw you there!
Please check out the Preferred Auctions page in this magazine. By scanning the QR code, you will be directed to the auction page of our website which will then allow you to click on the live link for the auction of your choice. Circle their anniversary sale on the calendar and we will see you then.
Speaking of circling dates on your calendar, the 3rd annual MidAtlantic Convention and Vendor Tailgate will be held on October 19-20, 2025, at Caesar’s Palace, Atlantic City. The agenda is really coming together, and I promise you that this will be the best yet! All dealers are welcome, members of any IADA can attend for only $95. Check out our website for updates.
If you have any questions, concerns or ideas, I can be reached tom@ midatlanticiada.org or my direct number, which is always on, 215805-2034.
Tommy
How to Create a Desktop Scoreboard to Drive Productivity
By Bill Elizondo, Buckeye Insurance
In today’s busy world, staying on top of your game can feel like a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be! By pinpointing the specific actions that lead to success, you can turn your goals into a fun, manageable routine. We’re going to break down how to identify those key behaviors, set realistic targets, and keep track of your progress in a way that actually keeps you motivated. Whether you’re aiming to up your sales, improve your workflow, or connect better with customers, this laid-back approach can help you hit those goals with a lot more ease. Let’s dive in and make things happen!
Step 1: Identify Key Behaviors That Drive Results
Start by listing the specific actions that consistently lead to success in your role. Examples may include:
Making a set number of customer calls per day
Following up on all leads within 24 hours
Scheduling service appointments or test drives
Posting inventory or promotions on social media
Step 2: Set Daily or Weekly Targets
Assign realistic, measurable goals to each behavior. For instance:
20 sales calls per day
10 follow-up emails by noon
3 social media updates per week
Step 3: Choose a Visual Tool
Select a platform that fits your work style. You can use:
A set of marbles or pens
An Excel or Google sheets tracker
A digital whiteboard app or a real whiteboard
A custom dashboard, CRM widget, or a thermometer with a sliding arrow
Step 4: Build Your Scoreboard
Use two jars, one with all the marbles and the other to fit all the marbles as you finish your calls. Create a simple layout with behaviors listed on the left and tracking columns across the week. Make the data visual and engaging.
Step 5: Keep It Visible
Place your scoreboard where you’ll see it constantly—on your desk, desktop background, pinned tab, or even as your homepage. The goal is to stay visually connected to your goals all day.
Step 6: Review and Adjust Weekly
At the end of each week, review what you accomplished. Which behaviors led to real results? Adjust your scoreboard as needed to keep it aligned with your top priorities.
Bill Elizondo is the National Sales Manager at Buckeye Dealership Consulting with a specific focus on leading the company’s sales efforts in the independent and franchise automotive spaces. Throughout his 34-year career, Bill has cultivated his expertise in training and leading high-performing sales teams, collections, and operations within the subprime and BHPH markets. Notably, he has held successful tenures with the nation’s largest publicly traded BHPH organization, America’s Car-Mart, overseeing 29 dealerships, and with Superior Auto, managing the sales performance of 68 dealerships. Prior to joining Buckeye Dealership Consulting, he served as a 20 Group Moderator for the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA). His leadership and comprehensive understanding of every BHPH discipline have consistently enhanced operational performance across his diverse roles.
A TALE OF TWO DEALERS
BY STEVE LEVINE
For this month's article, I thought I'd share some personal experiences to illustrate why it is so important for dealers and finance companies to invest their time and resources in compliance. Dealer "A" and its related finance company received a demand letter from a very active consumer trial lawyer regarding the sale and financing of a vehicle. The letter attacked everything from the disclosures made in the sale process, the quality of the vehicle in relation to its value, and the actions of the RFC in servicing and collecting on the account, and threatened that a lawsuit was imminent.
Luckily, Dealer "A" knew a thing or two about compliance. It had chosen to get its documents reviewed yearly, had written policies and procedures and a documented training program, and even had someone in charge of compliance who conducted spot checks on various matters. Dealer "A" even held quarterly compliance meetings with us (again, documented) and had its personnel interact with us on a regular basis on things like customer complaints and operational issues that arise.
Needless to say, when the attorney demand letter arrived, Dealer "A" didn't panic, it had me look into the matter and craft a reply that included information about its compliance program, training initiatives, and why it was in a strong position to defend this matter, should the attorney choose to proceed. The attorney went "dead in the water" after that first salvo and was never heard from again. While I can't be sure, I like to think that the attorney was discouraged from pursuing the matter. After all, there are lots of cases out there, and maybe he moved along and chose to pursue an easier target when he saw that Dealer "A" had its compliance house in order.
Contrast that to Dealer "B", who only came to me after receiving a similar demand letter. This dealer never took the time to weave true compliance into its operations. Like a lot of dealers, the owner shared with me that he meant to pay more attention to compliance, but it always got pushed back when there were more pressing business issues. As a result, it had vaguely written policies that didn't match what personnel did; there was no proper training strategy, just new hire training on how to sell cars and use the various systems, and a review of the deal jackets showed some sloppiness and inconsistencies.
Unfortunately for Dealer "B", there wasn't a whole lot of ammunition to discourage the consumer's lawyer, and it wound up spending lots of time defending the lawsuit. Remember, lawsuits aren't just expensive, they are a distraction to personnel and can weigh down the entire business. While this wasn't a "bet the company" kind of case, it disrupted the dealer for several months, created financial pressure, and encouraged some "copy-cat" complaints when other customers learned of the lawsuit. On the bright side, though, after learning the hard way, Dealer "B" began to pay more attention to compliance and figured out that an ounce of prevention is more pleasant than a pound of cure.
Whether it's consumer lawyers, the Department of Banking or, the Attorney General, or even your own bankers or other capital sources, you'd better believe that at some point, someone is going to put your commitment to compliance under the microscope.
You'll be in a much better position to survive that scrutiny when you tackle compliance on a regular basis and make it a part of your daily consciousness. Don't know where to get started? Feel free to reach out to me at info@ignitecp.com.
If you have been following the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), you’ve been on a rollercoaster for the last year. Thankfully, it looks like that rollercoaster is coming to an end. On March 2, 2025 the US Department of Treasury issued guidance that it will not be enforcing the CTA’s Beneficial Ownership Reporting (BOI) requirements against any US citizens or domestic reporting companies. The Treasury Department does not have the ability to repeal the act, only Congress can do that, but Treasury is working on a rule to narrow the scope of BOI Reporting requirements.
The CTA was passed by Congress in 2021 and was to begin enforcement on January 1, 2024. The goal of the CTA was to cut down on money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, and tax fraud by having almost all for-profit entities disclose who owns or controls the company. In order to meet the CTA’s goal of cracking down on financial crimes, it required almost all small and medium sized businesses to file a beneficial ownership report within 30 days of being formed or January 1, 2025 for any company that existed prior to 1/1/24. The CTA required any changes in ownership or control to be reported within 30 days of change.
Almost immediately after being passed by Congress it was challenged as unconstitutional. The CTA has been stayed by various court temporary restraining orders and injunctions since March 2024 and a series of starts and stops in December 2024, leading to an incredibly confusion roll out.
your entity was created in the US, you currently will not be penalized for noncompliance. If you are not a US Citizen and your entity was formed outside the US (i.e. reinsurance company) you may still be subject to penalties and should file a BOI report.
If
What does this mean for MidAtlantic Dealers? If you are a US
or
This year, we’re celebrating 80 incredible years of our successful partnership. Thank you, MidAtlantic dealers, for making our journey together so amazing. millions more line up outside our doors, our mission has always been yours. With you driving us forward, we’re already geared up for the next 80 years. Take a trip down memory lane and see what’s next at manheim.com/80years. Our MidAtlantic locations celebrate 80 years of Manheim
When Speed Meets Strategy – Is Your Website Pulling Its Weight?
Dealer sees exponential improvement with a new, custom website.
by Kendra Brown, Dream Team Media Co.
For used car dealerships, your website is more than just a virtual storefront—it's your hardest-working, 24/7 salesperson. Unlike your human sales team, it doesn’t take breaks, vacations, or call in sick. But here’s the catch—just like any salesperson, it has to perform to deliver results.
This article will guide you through why your website is essential to your dealership’s success and how to ensure it’s working for you, not against you. It will outline a case study of a dealer who improved overall marketing performance by addressing the often overlooked culprit: a weak website.
Why Your Website is Your Most Important Sales Tool
Today's car buyers spend nearly 13 hours researching their vehicle purchase online, with 72% using a mobile device during the process. If your website isn’t optimized to meet their needs, you may be losing sales before potential customers even walk through your door.
Here’s why a top-performing website matters:
First Impressions Count: Over 75% of customers judge a business’s credibility based on its website.
Lead Generation Powerhouse: A high-performing website can capture leads through forms, calls-to-action, and live chat, feeding your sales pipeline around the clock.
Lower Ad Spend: Your website performance is paramount to gaining organic traffic and keeping your Google Ad spend low.
Simply put, your website isn’t just a place to list your cars—it’s the digital front line of your dealership’s sales process and can lead to more significant margins by reducing ad spend.
Let’s take a real-world example of how one dealership in Alabama turned things around with the right website strategy.
A buy-here-pay-here operator in Alabama was receiving marketing services from The Dream Team Media Company starting in February 2024. The services included Google Ads management and Social Media Marketing, which included Facebook Advertising. Digital marketing and advertising performance relies heavily on website performance, making this case the ideal example to illustrate this point.
In July 2024, we observed a significant change in Google Ads performance. We decided to stop paid search ads and focus on social media, where activity was booming. The dealership’s owner indicated that the lead
Ready to upgrade your site from a digital brochure to a 24/7 lead generator? Contact Us at letsgo@dreamteammediaco.com.
volume started to drop off at the end of July, when we turned the ads off. The first thought anyone would have would be to turn the ads back on. However, turning the ads back on did not improve the significant change in website traffic. We investigated further.
Diagnosing the Real Issue: Website and Server Failures
We looked into their Google Analytics data and found that website traffic had significantly dropped. However, it didn’t drop until a month after we stopped Google Ads, and the most significant drop in traffic was from organic search. This led us to investigate the website's performance.
Ultimately, we discovered a server problem where the dealer’s website was not served to all devices and browsers. This explained why Google Ads' performance suffered. After a few more months of trying to get their website provider to fix the issue, without success, we began to build our tested and proven mobile-first, high-performing website for this dealer. Since this dealer provides in-house lending
opportunities, we opted for a finance-focused website design with custom content and out-of-the-box SEO for maximum performance.
The Results of a Strategic Redesign
The new website drove an immediate 263% increase in total users. This increase compares total users in December 2024 to total users in January 2025, with no increase in ad spend.
Here are the results with a new website from The Dream Team, without changing any other factors in their marketing.
263% increase in total users
558% increase in new users
204,245% increase in average engagement time per active user
The Key Takeaway: Design and Inventory Feed Are Not Enough
A great-looking website that doesn’t load or convert is like a salesperson who never shows up for work. Here are some key metrics and tools to monitor your website’s performance.
•Page Speed Insights at pagespeed. web.dev is an online tool showing you how well your website performs in terms of speed, user experience, SEO, and compliance.
•Google Search Console is available to get updates and monitor your website’s performance from Google's perspective.
•Google Analytics will show you which sources are driving traffic to your website. You want to see more organic traffic than paid traffic. If paid traffic is the largest driver of traffic, it could mean you are in a highly competitive market or your website is underperforming, requiring you to spend more money on ads.
Here is a simplified timeline of what happened:
» Feb 2024: Marketing services began.
» July 2024: Google Ads paused due to strong social engagement.
» January 2025: Massive traffic and engagement increases observed.
Revolutionize Your Dealership with Cartuul: The All-in-One Reconditioning and Task Management Platform
VENDOR SPOTLIGHT
Running a successful car dealership means staying on top of countless moving partsvehicles in reconditioning, tracking keys and dealer tags, and ensuring that every task is completed on time. Managing all this can feel overwhelming, but Cartuul is here to change that.
Cartuul is a cutting-edge reconditioning software tailored specif ically for used car dealerships, bringing all your tasks and processes into one platf orm. From reducing your time to frontline to increasing your customer satisfaction, Cartuul gives you real-time visibility across your entire operation. This means minizing lost sales and maximizing efficiency and productivity.
What sets Cartuul apart is its flexibility. Every dealership operates differently, so Cartuul adapts to your preferred workflow. Whether you prioritize a process-oriented, task-oriented, or hybrid approach, Cartuul ensures that your team can stay on top of every detail with ease. Dealerships that embrace streamlined, eff icient processes stand to increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction, andultimately, boost profits.
Simplify your dealership's operations and take control of your reconditioning process with Cartuul-a platform built to fit your dealership's unique needs, no matter how big or small.
JOIN MidAtlantic IADA
Hi Everyone,
I hope winter is finally behind us. Spring brings new possibilities and an increase in car sales, which is great for our business!
I've already noticed convertibles out and about. Did you know that they are associated with freedom and fun, but their appeal has declined in recent decades? People tend to buy more cars in the spring and fall. Spring is associated with tax refunds and warmer weather, making people more inclined to spend on a new vehicle.
So, it's a great time of year for our dealers, no matter what type of vehicle you like to drive. Our dealers need us during this amazing time of year. Whether it's helping them with their title work, getting them an Issuing Agent contract, or starting a new dealer with Nicole's help, we're here to assist.
Bottom line: you need us, and we need you. Please call me at 717-238-9002, Option 1, and ask me questions about how much we can help you and how much we do for our dealers.
$399.00 a year is less than $1.09 a day to improve your business. Who can't afford that? Also, remember you get two memberships in one. You also get membership with NIADA included in the $399.00.
Give me a call, and I'll explain how much you need us! Plus, I would love to talk to you!
How First Impressions Can Impact Your Company’s Value
By Mark W. Burkkholder, Peachtree Planning
When potential acquirers first evaluate your business, most will quickly categorize it into a specific industry. This initial classification can significantly impact the value they place on your business. Some industries are inherently perceived as more valuable than others, and if your business is placed in a less favorable category, it can be challenging to change that perception.
When Jeremy Parker was raising money for Swag.com, he ran into investors who were left with the impression that Swag.com was a simple distributor of promotional products, which is an industry plagued by low valuations.
Parker tried to make the case that Swag.com was more than a middleman, but investors weren’t buying it. They lumped Swag. com into the promotional products category and offered Parker a low single-digit multiple of EBITDA for a slice of his business.
Parker regrouped and began positioning the business as an e-commerce play with an unforgettable domain name, worldclass merchandising, and one of the most elegant direct-toconsumer (DTC) buying experiences online. Investors began to
How to Look Like a Valuable Business
see the company differently. No longer a simple distributor of “trinkets and trash,” Swag.com began to be seen as a technology company and a digital commerce leader. Instead of a low single-digital multiple of profit, Parker attracted an acquisition offer valuing his $30 million company at a healthy multiple ofrevenue.
Once an acquirer has categorized your business into a particular industry, it can be challenging to shift that perception.If your business doesn’t fit neatly into their preferred categories, it can be difficult to change their initial impression.
Additionally, acquirers often compare your business to others within the same industry. If they have already placed you in a less favorable industry, they might use lower benchmarks and valuation multiples from that industry, making it harder to argue for a higher valuation. Furthermore, the initial narrative you present about your business can stick. If this narrative places you in a lower-valued industry, subsequent efforts to reframe your business may be met with skepticism.
To help ensure your business is categorized favorably from the start, consider these strategies:
1.Clear Positioning: Clearly articulate your business’s value proposition and industry position. Avoid ambiguous descriptions that might lead to misclassification. Be explicit about where your business fits and why it should be valued accordingly.
2.Highlight Industry Trends:Emphasize positive trends in your industry and how your business is positioned to capitalize on them. Use data and market analysis to back up your claims and shift perceptions.
3.Put Your Best Foot Forward:If your business spans multiple industries, highlight the most favorable one. Demonstrate how your company leverages the strengths of high-value industries, and downplay associations with lower-value ones.
4.Leverage Third-Party Validation:Use endorsements, industry awards, and analyst reports to support your positioning. Third-party validation can lend credibility to your claims and help shift acquirer perceptions.
When selling your company, perception is everything. The category investors place your business in can make or break the deal.
MidAtlantice IADA 1501 North Front Street Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17102
MidAtlantic IADA offers comprehensive dealer services, including assistance with setting up your first dealership, managing licenses, and facilitating agent contracts for title and registration transactions. We also provide guidance on obtaining the necessary finance licenses from the Pennsylvania Department of Banking to support customer vehicle purchase financing.
(Repair or Tow, Motorcycle. Trailer, Salvage plates, etc.)
$500$66 per plate
PennDOT ONLY$1,000$66 per plate
(Dealer, Salvage, Trailer, etc. plate)
$33 per Motorcycle plate
$60 PennDOT One-time Recovery Fund fee
DAS (per request)
$25$ application fee
ALL FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. ADDITIONAL CHARGES WILL APPLY IF CHANGES ARE MADE DURING APPLICATION PROCESS.
Collections - The Gorilla in the Room
Gene Daughtry
Auto Master Systems
The tax season has passed, and the summer of 2025 begins. I am not sure what to expect for the next several months. Despite what anybody may think to the contrary…… the election went the way it needed to. The economy and the outlook of people everywhere is a sigh of relief and like a huge weight has been lifted, even with the deportation and tariff fears. Things seem calmer than they have in a while. No COVID, interest rates and prices are slowly coming down and attitudes are going up.
As usual, I start the year being in dozens of dealerships doing some type of training or consulting (either onsite or online) and watching the changes take place. I have been working with several dealers for the past several months on collections and sales. Most of my time these days is helping coach collection teams and managers.
After 30 plus years of day-to-day BHPH operations I have about figured out that team building and training is the most important part of our success. Whether your operation is you and your significant other or if you have 100 employees, y’all have to communicate with each other, support each other’s tasks and remember that there isn’t a car or customer more important than the people you “go into
battle” with. Yes, it is a bit like battle. Your team against all the customers. Y’all are focusing on dozens, hundreds or thousands of accounts trying to keep the balls in the air and many of the customers are individually trying to NOT pay. For 30 years I have said “there is a handbook out there on how to avoid paying us but I cannot seem to find a copy”.
I have been working with several collection operations, large and small, this past year. It seems as I go in and look at reports. I see dealers starting the week at 35-40% delinquent and working all week to get near 20 to 28% delinquent. In each case I see 90 to 93% Recency on those accounts. That means that the collectors are taking a lot of partial payments. The Delinquency number and the Recency number should be about 10% apart or less by the end of the day Friday. Recency should always be in the 90’s.
The issue often is the fear of repossessions. Our customers are basically like puppies or children, they need training and boundaries. When the collections department is afraid of repossessing, they are training the customers that paying the whole payment isn’t necessary to keep their vehicle.
You can definitely look more at collections as a cause of problems, if:
1.You have underwriting that looks at the payment vs the net income under 25%
2.You are confirming good Stability of the customer in your market area
3.You have a sound vehicle, good reconditioning and a reasonable after sale repair policy
When you have the above items having a policy of where the end of the road is for any loan (usually around 30 days delinquent) the collectors learn where to start warning customers about reaching that point. 30 days past due, the collectors can no longer help them keep the car.
What we do is start each morning with an audit of the portfolio numbers. How many accounts are delinquent and of those how many already have a promise to pay? We compare those numbers to yesterday. Then we look at the collectors’ call activity from the previous day. How many notes were made? How many promise to pays were made? When I read through a notes report, I always find some that make me ask questions. We meet as a group, and I ask each collector about 2-3 specific accounts to see what prompted the note entered and I often hear more of the story than what was written. I call that out, why are you telling me more information than I am reading? “If it isn’t in the notes it didn’t happen” has always been the mantra for collections. We go through this each day so that as a group we can discuss the thinking from different scenarios and what might have been better to say or action to take. I always have more questions I ask after each answer. I want collectors to be the same, inquisitive and trying to get the full picture.
When the meeting is over each day the team heads to their workstations and open their que but instead of trying to reach everyone on the list the collectors are working a different specific group each day.
A simple list by day is:
Monday - focus on the 1-to-3-day accounts. Don’t just call once but make multiple attempts to reach this list. It is low hanging fruit and we do not want people that were due Friday to be the 7 to 14 day delinquents later.
Tuesday – focus on the 5-to-18-day delinquent list. There will be call backs from Monday and the daily issues to handle but instead of looking at the entire list we are working in a more focused way.
Wednesday – This is “skip” day. I have them work the 20 plus accounts. Same as every day, put more time in on each account. Really spend time trying to reach each of these accounts. Depending on the operation accounts generally are disabled, out for repo, pending an insurance claim or in impound. The idea is to dedicate some time each week and focus on these accounts, can we “move the ball” today, get them off the list?
Thursday – Now we will work for the weekend. The account managers will work their 3 to 15 day delinquent accounts. This list should be short if you do not work any accounts with a promise to pay already setup. If we can get the promise to pay count over 60% versus the Friday morning delinquent account total, we will have a better Friday night number.
Friday – This is like Game Day! Positive morning meeting, generally just 15 minutes of discussing where we are with delinquent accounts that morning, what delinquent % we want by end of day and remind the team they have bonuses (hopefully) and that I want each of them to maximize the rewards available. The account managers will work 1-to-14-day delinquent accounts as they have time to call. We also look at the number of their due today accounts in the afternoon. If they have been on track all week the 1 to 14 day accounts have 60% promise to pay’s already set so the list is short. After
lunch time they begin to focus on the due today accounts. How many are left on that list?
Saturday – a partial team in at 8 am for 3-4 hours to take calls and work a few accounts 1 to 2 day delinquent and broken promises from the week.
There is quite a bit of specific account coaching going on each morning. If the team knows what I am auditing then the
collectors change their behavior if they are trying to improve. I always try to be a coach, not an authoritarian. In the daily battle of “customers against us” our team needs to be confident of what they can say and the actions they can take. As the coach and the department manager we need to help the team be positive, feel we have their backs and work to keep red tape from increasing the grind.
