Motor finance is key to manufacturers and dealers’ success

The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), the leading trade association for the motor finance sector in the UK, released its latest figures, showing that 61.5% of consumers buying a new car in the year to November used motor finance provided through dealers, almost ten percentage points up from November 2010. This suggests that dealer motor finance is continuing to grow in popularity.

Comparing car sales figures from November 2011 with November 2010, the FLA indicated that consumer demand for dealer finance led to a rise of 6% in the number of new cars bought and 4% in used cars.

“This shows how important motor finance is for the success of a dealership,” comments Nigel Cook, Douglas Stafford’s Chief Executive. “And it is not always easy, as it relies on building confidence between the customer and the sales executive. The sales executive has to introduce the range of financial products on offer, explain their benefits, understand the customer’s requirements and budget constraints; he or she needs to provide a comprehensive finance presentation which must remain customer friendly. There is an increased need to focus on quality of service and process.

“Video mystery shopping is a powerful tool for manufacturers and dealer groups to benchmark the ability of their sales force in creating a rapport with customers, understanding their objectives and providing the most appropriate finance solutions to close the deal. The videos provide hard evidence which can be used to highlight any best practices, which can then be used to identify improvement opportunities. This is the first step before creating a coaching programme tailored to the need of the organisation,” adds Nigel.

Douglas Stafford is the leader in providing video mystery shopping and performance coaching to the automotive industry. The company works with 47% of the UK’s automotive manufacturers and many dealers and dealer groups.

For more information on how Douglas Stafford can help develop your sales teams, call us on 0800 7831913 or go to www.douglasstafford.com.