OHIO INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION
DEALER INDEPENDENT
MAY/JUNE 2019
NEWS
FINDING GOOD CHEAP CARS PART 3: NEW TECHNOLOGY
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WWW.OHIADA.ORG MAY/JUNE 2019 INDEPENDENT DEALER NEWS 1
ONLINE MARKETING
| By Adam Tobias
HOW TO BUILD A BETTER DEALERSHIP WEBSITE
3
STEPS
In the increasingly competitive car dealership industry, brand loyalty is more important than ever. It’s also harder than ever to build. Cutting through the noise requires a clear message and focus on the customer experience. Standing out and building a loyal customer base may seem impossible. But small and mid-sized dealerships around the country are punching back and delivering amazing experiences that win lifetime customers. Brand loyalty is still possible for dealerships to attain. And when they do, the benefits are incalculable. EXAMPLE: A
A dealer’s website is their first impression with a potential customer. That’s where our brand loyalty journey begins. The Purpose of Every Dealership Website Dealership websites have one job: Get customers to visit the dealership. Car buyers today spend over 60 percent of their time conducting research online and visit only 1.2 dealerships on average. If your website doesn’t convince a buyer to visit your dealership, you have lost a deal, and potentially a lifetime customer. The problem is most dealers try to do too much with their website. Instead of focusing on their sole job – getting customers into the dealership – dealers load their sites with financial services, their life story, and vehicles that customers don’t want to see. For this reason, most dealership websites are hard to navigate. The customer doesn’t know what to do, so they leave your site and go on to the next one. The best dealership websites – those that effectively drive customers to the dealership – show customers only the information they need to know. Everything else is a distraction. IMPROVING YOUR WEBSITE IN 3 STEPS Here are three elements that matter most for your website. By focusing on these three elements, you can cut out the junk that distracts customers and turns them away.
“Amber and the team were extremely helpful. No pressure and they were attentive to our needs. Great experience. We will definitely be back for our next purchase. Amber answered all our questions, even met us on her day off and followed up the next day via text to ensure we were happy. Financing was quick and painless. The whole process was under two hours.” Reviews that seem over-the-top, or even fake, can do more harm than good. Dealerships should encourage customers to leave honest reviews. Never create fake testimonials or encourage customers to write
Element 1: Value Proposition Oli Gardner is a master of building great websites. As co-founder of Unbounce, Oli spends his days thinking about and testing how websites can convert more users into customers. In a recent podcast, Oli discussed dealership websites and the importance of clearly communicating your value proposition to your customers: “If you can’t communicate [your value proposition] quickly, your competitor will,” said Oli. “If you can’t communicate quickly, your competitor will.”
EXAMPLE: B
Oli said you have less than five seconds to make your value proposition clear to visitors. If you don’t, they will move on to the next site. When a customer first visits your website, they have one question on their mind: What can you do for me? The answer to that question is your value proposition. Dealerships should put their value proposition at the top of their homepage. Remove other messages that might distract from it, including financing deals, weekend sales, and messages from the dealer. Most dealers struggle to do this, but when they do, the difference is clear. The dealership website in “Example A” is easy to read and has a clear value proposition: “Family owned for 35 years. 5 minute approvals.” Your value proposition is a signal to your target customer they are in the right place. Remove clutter from the homepage so your most important message stands out. Element 2: Testimonials/Social Proof Customers are always on the lookout for scams and bad companies. They want to see proof you’ve made customers happy in the past. Testimonials are the best way to put a wary customer’s mind at ease. Testimonials should be honest, authentic, believable and relatable. Here’s an example of an excellent testimonial for a dealership in Oregon:
“favorable” reviews. People can sniff out inauthenticity a mile away. They will steer clear of your dealership and find another. Element 3: Call to Action Button Finally, your website needs a call to action: a clearly-defined next step for customers to take. Most websites look like “Example B.” This homepage has at least 10 different calls to action, with everything from “Shop inventory” to “Claim your Offer!” With so many elements vying for your customer’s attention, the action they’re most likely to take is leaving your site. When it comes to CTAs, clarity is king. Your homepage should have no more than three “actions” for customers to take. Ideally, your website offers a single CTA. Brand loyalty starts with the dealership website. If you promise an excellent car-buying experience, make sure your website provides an excellent experience, too. Dealership websites should be clear, trustworthy, and easy to navigate. Focus on the most important elements of your site and remove the clutter. Dealers who do this will be best positioned to build brand loyalty and earn lifetime customers. Adam Tobias is the co-founder and COO of Dealercue, which provides dealerships with real-time, intelligent, market-driven vehicle appraisal, pricing, inventory management, and sourcing solutions. He can be reached at adam@dealercue.com.
WWW.OHIADA.ORG MAY/JUNE 2019 INDEPENDENT DEALER NEWS 3
ASSOCIATION NEWS
PREFERRED PARTNERS
MAY/JUNE INSIDE
2019
03.......How to Build a Better Dealership Website 06............................................. OHSA Compliance 08........................................... Director’s Message 10.................................. Finding Good Cheap Cars 12........................... Poker Tournament Highlights 14................................NIADA Government Report 18...................Be the Coach Your People Deserve
ADVERTISERS INDEX
AutoZone............................................................. 7 BacklotCars........................................................15 Columbus Fair AA ............................................IFC Corry Auto Dealers Exchange.......................... BC Manheim ............................................................. 11 Micro 21................................................................4 NextGear Capital ............................................ 8-9 Value Auto Auction ......................................... IBC vAuto ................................................................... 5
WHAT’S NEW
LIVE WEBCAST OF WAAC M AY 1 0 O N N I A DA .T V Catch all the exciting competition from the World Auto Auctioneer Championship! Auctioneers and ringmen from across the country will vie for the top titles and you don’t want to miss it. Tune in to NIADA.tv on May 10 for the free live webcast.
OFFICE
For more information, contact OIADA at (614) 863-5800 or www.ohiada.org
NIADA HEADQUARTERS
NATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION WWW.NIADA.COM • WWW.NIADA.TV 2521 BROWN BLVD. • ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203 PHONE (817) 640-3838
For advertising information contact: Troy Graff (800) 682-3837 or troy@niada.com. Independent Dealer News is published bimonthly by the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association Services Corporation, 2521 Brown Blvd., Arlington, TX 76006-5203. 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 authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Ohio Independent Automobile Dealers Association or NIADA. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or their identification as members of NIADA, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured. Copyright © 2019 by NIADA Services, Inc.
STATE MAGAZINE MGR./SALES Troy Graff • troy@niada.com EDITORS Jacinda Timmerman • jacinda@niada.com Andy Friedlander • andy@niada.com MAGAZINE LAYOUT Jeffrey McQuirk • jeffrey@niada.com PRINTING Nieman Printing
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700 Credit ACV Auctions ADESA Cincinnati / Dayton, Inc. ADESA Cleveland Auto Auction ADESA Mercer AFC-Automotive Finance Corp - Columbus AFC-Automotive Finance Corp - Franklin AFC-Automotive Finance Corp - Ohio AFC-Automotive Finance Corp- Perrysburg AFC-Automotive Finance Corp.- Cleveland AFC-Automotive Finance Corp.- Corporate American Guardian Group of Companies AutoZone AutoTrader CARFAX Car-Ware
Comsoft Columbus Fair Auto Auction Electronic Merchant Systems Frazer Computing, Inc. Integrity Warranty LLC Manheim Cincinnati Auto Auction Manheim Ohio Auto Auction NextGear PASSTIME Phoenix Financial Solutions Inc. Pro Credit Express / ProMax ProGuard Warranty Inc. Protective Asset Protection Stolly Insurance Group The Milby Group Insurance Agency, Inc. UIS Insurance & Investments
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive Director Wendy Rinehart OIADA 614-863-5800
Past Chairman
Mark Meadows Miracle Motor Mart 614-337-0037
Chairman
David Adkins Wilmington Auto Sales, Inc. 937-382-7714
President
Scott Welch Lock 20 Auto, Ltd 740-498-8811
Treasurer
Craig Leitwein Gahanna Auto Sales 614-475-7148
Secretary
Scott Shook Shook Auto Inc. 330-339-5711
Board Members Jay North Jay North, Llc 937-325-3748
Lev Shafer Shafer Auto Group Columbus, OH 614-654-2525 Lisa Dugger Madison Motors London, OH 740-490-0028 Randy Shirk Randy Shirk’s Northpointe Auto 419-729-2688
Robert Fahey Fairdale Auto Sales 740-432-4185 Thomas Onesti Car Port 330-726-6633 Thomas Smith Smitty’s Auto Sales 937-981-4317
COMPLIANCE MATTERS | By Adam Crowell
OHSA COMPLIANCE
YOUR
DEALERSHIP
By this time of the year, if you are a used motor vehicle dealer with more than 10 employees (yes, your 1099 salespeople are likely to actually be considered employees and should be re-classified as such), you should have removed the OSHA Form 300A that was posted at your facility. Some of you might be asking, “What is an OSHA Form 300A?” It is the “Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses” form the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires to be posted annually from February 1 through April 30 in an area of your facility where employees will see it. It looks like the sample pictured. The OSHA 300A summarizes all of the work incidents in which there were injuries, skin disorders, respiratory conditions, poisonings, hearing losses, and illnesses that resulted in death, days away from work, a job transfer or restriction, medical treatment beyond first aid, or other incidents that are required to be recorded on the OSHA Form 300 and the OSHA Form 301. The OSHA Form 300 is the “Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses” listing each recordable incident that occurred during a calendar year, and the OSHA Form 301 is the “Injury and Illness Incident
NEVER
WANTS
TO
BE
Report” for each such incident. All of these forms must be maintained for at least five years, and each incident must be included on the 300 and 301 within seven days of the incident. If your dealership has 10 employees or less, do not let these recordkeeping requirements lull you into thinking the OSHA regulations do not apply to you. Even if your dealership only has one employee, OSHA still has the ability to cite your dealership for safety and health violations. These fines are steep and increase each year. For the remainder of 2019, OSHA may issue citations of up to: • $13,260 per violation for “other-thanserious” violations, “serious” violations, and “posting requirements” violations. • $132,260 per violation for “willful” or “repeated” violations (and the OSHA lookback period for repeated violations is unlimited) that could easily bankrupt your dealership. • $500,000 if someone is killed at the dealership. • $13,260 per day if OSHA sets an abatement date for a spotted violation and the issue is not remediated.
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CITED
BY
OSHA
To make matters worse, when a workrelated death occurs within 30 days of an incident or an amputation, loss of an eye, or in-patient hospitalization occurs within 24 hours of an incident, not only must the incident be recorded, it must be reported to OSHA within hours. Specifically, OSHA must be notified of a: • Qualifying work-related death within eight hours. • Qualifying amputation, loss of an eye, or in-patient hospitalization within 24 hours. If a report is made to OSHA, one can expect OSHA to visit the dealership and cite the facility for violations related to the incident along with any unrelated violations OSHA may find. Separately, OSHA can randomly visit your dealership and issue citations because of anonymous tips, if an inspector noticed a violation from the road, or other reasons. Importantly, OSHA is not just limited to citing the dealership. OSHA can cite individuals (i.e., managers and owners) and criminal liability may be imposed. If a rule, standard, or regulation is willfully violated, an employee can be fined up to: • $10,000 and imprisoned up to six
AUCTION NEWS
months for a first-time violation, or for making a false statement, representation, or certification in any record or report that is required to be maintained. • $20,000 and imprisoned up to one year for repeat violations. • $250,000 in the case of a death. Considering a non-serious violation from years prior can be used as the catalyst for a repeat violation fine of $132,260, and considering the potential civil and criminal fines and penalties for first-time violations, it is obvious your dealership never wants to be cited by OSHA. The best way to mitigate that risk is to create a culture of safety at your dealership through education, training, auditing, and remediation of safety and health violations. Beyond preventing fines and penalties, developing a safety culture can save your employees from serious injury or death – and that is what is most important. Adam Crowell is president and general counsel of ComplyNet. ComplyNet is an automotive industry leader in environmental health and safety, sales and finance, human resources, and information security compliance management solutions. For more information, contact Adam at 614.634.8843 or adam. crowell@complynet.com.
TURN AUCTIONS ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH AKRON AUTO AUCTION MOBILE CHANNEL FOR AKRON’S INVENTORY Turn Auctions, a mobile-based wholesale auction platform, announced a new partnership with Akron Auto Auction to provide a mobile channel for Akron’s inventory. Turn offers 15-minute wholesale auctions via its iOS and Android app. The first auctions of Akron inventory began on February 7, 2019. At the completion of a sale, Akron will inspect the vehicle and arrange transportation. Akron is the second independent auction to launch on Turn, following the Greater Rockford Auto Auction in November 2018. “We’re always looking at every avenue to help our customers buy and sell profitably,” said Akron Auto Auction president Chad Bailey. “When we learned that Greater Rockford, our ServNet partner, was successfully using Turn to move inventory, we
thought it would be another great avenue to offer to our customers.” Turn Auctions’ co-founder Ryan Clark said, “Turn is very excited for our new partnership with Akron Auto Auction. Akron has been a leader among independent auto auctions in utilizing multiple sales channels for its customers and we’re happy to provide a mobile channel for them.” Turn expects to add additional independent auctions and other inventory sources to its platform in the coming weeks. The Turn Auctions app is available by searching for “Turn Auctions” in the App Store or Google Play. For more information on Turn Auction and the Akron Auto Auction, please visit www.turnauctions.com and www.akronautoauction.com.
WWW.OHIADA.ORG MAY/JUNE 2019 INDEPENDENT DEALER NEWS 7
ASSOCIATION NEWS | By Wendy Rinehart
ASSOCIATION NEWS
BEING NICE COULD COST YOU A LOT OF MONEY
THANK
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Are you a nice person? Most of us like to believe we are. As dealers, our reputation is important to us. We like to make sure our customers are happy and we have a great name in the community. However, being nice can come at a price at times. When you sell a customer an “as is” vehicle, you have them sign the completed FTC Buyers Guide so they know it’s “as is.” You also have an “as is” addendum with it explaining further so there is no doubt the vehicle is “as is.” But what happens when the customer comes back the next day with a minor problem? Do you run out and fix it, maybe have them take it over to your mechanic and have something adjusted at no cost? Better yet, do you have them get it fixed and bring you the receipt so you can reimburse them? Are you being a “nice guy/gal?” Did you know being nice without the proper forms could be implying a warranty? Yep, that’s right. You could be implying a lifetime, bumper to bumper warranty just for being nice! Yikes! How do you keep that from happening? You need to do one of two things. You can repair whatever you want,
reimburse however much you want, and help however you want if you fill out a goodwill form (also known as goodwill repair form or goodwill gesture form). This is a form you can order from a forms company or that might be in your DMS system. It basically states the customer bought the vehicle “as is” and what you’re doing is out of the kindness of your heart or as goodwill – you are not implying a warranty. The form should include a disclaimer of warranty. Fill it out and have the customer sign it before any work is done or before any money is given as a reimbursement. A second option is you can charge the customer for the repair on a written work order or repair order. Now this may sound like you aren’t being nice since you’re charging the customer for work, but the beauty of this option is you can decide how much you want to charge. Maybe you want to do $500 worth of work and charge them $50, or less. It’s up to you. As long as the work is stated on the repair order and the customer pays to have it done, you’re not implying a warranty. Take the time to do the paperwork. Being nice is a great feeling – just make sure you’re not costing yourself a lot of money when you do it.
CONTRIBUTORS TO SALVAGE LEGAL FUND YOU
OIADA would like to thank the following contributors to our salvage legal fund. Without the support of these members, the association would not have been able to continue the fight. If you’d like to help, please contact the office at 614-863-5800. · Hoover’s Truck & Equipment · Preston Chevrolet · Bob Caldwell Automotive · OADA · Powell Performance Auto · Car Source LLC · Gahanna Auto Sales · Miracle Motor Mart · North Coast Auto · Reel’s Auto Sales · Friedman Auto Lease · Lambert Motors · Frazer Computing · Columbus Luxury Cars · Low Cost Cars · Akron Auto Auction · East Richland Sales ER’s · Country Truck Sales · VIP Auto Sales & Service · Carfax · Phoenix Financial · Zimmy’s Auto Sales · Independent Motorsports · Global Auto Leasing
ASSOCIATION NEWS
NEW AND RENEWING MEMBERS
THANK
YOU
4 Wheels LLC 440 Auto Sales LLC ACS Sales and Leasing ADESA Cleveland Auto Auction ADESA Mercer ADESA Queen City AFC-Automotive Finance Corp.Cleveland Ally SmartAuction Alpha Warranty Services American Auto Sales America’s Auto Auction - Pittsburg Ary’s Auto Sales Inc. Auto Express of Hamilton Auto Outlet Auto Tech Sales LLC AutoMoss Auto Sales LLC Automotive Connection Becks Auto Group LLC Best N Value Auto Sales Best Value Auto Outlet LLC Better Cars, Inc. Bill’s & Son Auto Bingo’s Auto Sales LLC Bosca Enterprises, LLC Brian T. Courtney Auto Sales Buckeye Dealership Consulting Carfax CarMax Auto Superstores CARS Protection Plus Car-Ware Carzone Preowned Vehicles LLC Cat’s Sales-Leasing Corp
CBI ChiroCar LLC City-Wide Auto Credit Clark’s Auto Sales Classics and More LLC Columbus Wheelhouse LLC Cruisin Classics Daniel Auto Sales Deiderick Motors Dixie Imports, Inc. D’Lux Motors, Inc. DM Motors Inc. Drew’s Auto LLC DW Lift Sales, Inc. Empire Auto Connection LLC Fidelity Auto Credit Inc. Fink’s Quality Used Cars First Choice Auto Inc. Freedom Warranty Global Auto Leasing LLC God’s Grace Auto LLC Hagge Auto Sales HBK CPAs & Consultants Imperial Auto Sales LLC In Cars We Trust Independent Motorsports Isaaks Auto Sales LLC J & K Auto Sales LLC J B Auto Sales LLC Jaime Auto Sales LLC Jay’s Auto Sales Inc. JD Byrider - Boardman JET Auto Group LLC
Joe Kidd Automotive JTR Automotive LLC King Motors KRG Diversified Company LLC Krug Auto Sales Kyko Auto Sales LLC Route 33 Auto Sales Lee’s Auto Group LLC Legacy Automotive, LLC Licking County Auto Auction LLC Lock 20 Auto, Ltd Low Cost Cars of Ohio Inc. M & J Auto Sales Mac Murray & Shuster LLP Master Auto LLC Matthes Quality Cars LLC Meador Motors LLC Mershon’s World of Cars Michael Ray Auto Group Inc. Midwest Auto & Truck 2 LLC Mid-Western Auto Sales Inc. Monaco Auto Collection MotorTime Auto Sales MyEzAutoBroker.com LLC Nationwide Acceptance LLC Newark Auto LLC Northeast Auto Sales LLC Omega Auto Sales One Auto Sales One Stop Auto Sales Paley Auto Group Phoenix Auto Inc. Platinum Auto Group Inc.
Portage Motorcars LLC Preferred Used Cars & Leasing, Inc. ProGuard Warranty Inc. Protective Asset Protection Quality Car Sales LLC Rainbow Truck Parts LLC Randy Shirk’s Northpointe Auto Sales LLC Ray’s Body Shop LLC Reliable Auto Finance Remy’s Auto Group, Inc. Rick’s Auto Sales, Inc. RPM Auto Sales R’S First Motor Sales Inc. Ruby Automotive Group, LLC Shoemaker’s A-1 Auto Inc. Six Mile Turn Auto Sales Speedy Autos Streetwise Motors Symmes Auto Sales Inc. TeamRay Motorsports, Inc. The Auto Livery The Steel Fab Shop The Wilson Motorcar Company Theis Motor Co. Tint Works, LLC Top Quality Auto LLC UIS Insurance & Investments United Auto Credit Urban Motors LLC Value Auto Auction LLC Valumax
MARKET PERSPECTIVE | By Doug Hadden
FINDING GOOD CHEAP CARS
PART
3:
NEW
COVER STORY
TECHNOLOGY
In the first installment of this three-part series, we looked at how to take advantage of upstream online auctions. Upstream is just a fancy way of saying “before the vehicle is shipped to physical auction.” We focused on OLOCs (One-Owner, Low-Mileage, Off-lease Cars) and learned how to acquire affordable cars your customers want, without having to go to a physical auction. In the second installment, we looked at buying real-time in multiple lanes, at multiple auctions, right from your desktop, laptop or phone! Since these articles, I have received a lot of great feedback and even trained some folks on how to buy cars live online – including easily accessible options like ADESA’s simulcast platform that allows dealers to bid virtually, in real time, on cars in the lane. One dealer said, “I may never go to a physical auction again.” Another dealer I worked with loves going to the physical auction. After training, he was standing in the auction lane bidding on cars as they drove through while also on his phone – bidding on cars at the same auction, at the same time, but in different lanes, and even checking proxy bids on cars at other auctions. Technology is opening new doors of opportunity for dealers, giving them a competitive edge like no other. This month we will look at new technology that is changing the way we buy and sell wholesale vehicles. When I owned my pre-owned lot many, many years ago, besides attending two local auctions every week, I spent every Monday morning stopping at Starbucks buying coffee and pastries I would take to my favorite used car manager who ran a large new car franchise. I usually arrived at the store as soon as the service department opened the front gates so I could look at and book out all the weekend trades before the
UCM arrived. I would list what I wanted to pay for each car and what it needed for reconditioning on my yellow pad, head to his office and wait. We would grind out prices and two or three hours later I would call some drivers and get my new inventory to reconditioning. Not only did I have to get up at the crack of dawn, pay too much for a couple of rundown cars to get the ones I wanted (the old “package deal”), but I also burnt half a day away from my lot. Needless to say, this wasn’t a very efficient use of my time or inventory dollars. Fast forward to last week. I’m sitting at lunch with a friend who owns a small preowned lot, talking about how hard it is to find good cheap cars. His phone gives off a chirp. He quickly taps his phone, scrolls through a couple of screens, pounds out some numbers on his phone calculator, taps his phone one more time and gets back to our conversation. What was he doing? He was bidding on a car that was traded in at a new car franchise less than two hours ago. That’s right, sitting at lunch bidding on fresh trades and in the time it took to eat his burger, he owned the car! There are a few companies in this stillgrowing, dealer-to-dealer digital auction space. I’m most familiar with ADESA’s sister company TradeRev, a mobile app that sends notifications to your phone as new car franchise dealers launch cars to a 45-minute on-demand, digital auction. You can view multiple photos, watch videos and even listen to the engine run. Settings allow you to customize your experience, enabling you to create alerts for only the types of cars you want – so you spend less time looking and more time buying. Think about the efficiencies this technology brings to the industry. With built-in artificial intelligence and
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machine learning, you can find the right car at the right price, in a transparent and fair process, all in about an hour. You can have funding, titling and transport pre-arranged in the app so when you win a car it quickly appears on your lot. And what about the seller? We know the longer you keep a car in stock the less gross you get – the dreaded “lot rot” is real. Even when you hit a home run on an aged unit, if you do the math on a profit-per-day basis, the ROI is weak at best. What would wholesaling a trade the same day it’s brought into inventory do for the average inventory turn time? It’s a win-win for both buyer and seller! The industry is changing, but so is the technology we use to run our operations. If you have not embraced buying cars upstream, live online from your PC, laptop or phone, or the newest app-driven one-hour, on-demand auction, you may want to rethink your business plan. I’m not saying you can’t continue doing what you’re doing now and be profitable. I’m saying there is technology out there that can and will help you be more efficient – which leads to higher profits with less effort. Mastering these new, high-tech systems and apps is so easy there is no reason not to give them a try. I’ll even help you get started. Email me at Doug.Hadden@ADESA.com and I will set up some time for training you on one or all of the new technologies discussed in these articles. Once you get comfortable using the new tech, not only will you be more efficient and profitable, you may also have time left over to do other things you haven’t been able to do, like spending more time with family and friends! Until next time – have fun and sell cars! Doug Hadden is executive director of dealer consulting services for ADESA Auctions Inc. He can be reached atDoug. Hadden@adesa.com.
ASSOCIATION NEWS
5On Friday, March 15, dealers and vendors came together at the York Golf Course for the annual OIADA dinner and Texas Hold ‘em tournament. The guests enjoyed a grilled steak dinner and door prizes before the tournament. The lucky loser lounge offered guests a place to relax and enjoy some March Madness pre-games while remaining participants played on. The final table was seated and it looked like it could take all night to get a winner. After the table got down to seven players, they decided to split the prize money and call it a great night! Congratulations to Charles Coffman, Ken Coffman, Marc Carman, Dave Loctefeld, Steve Zuk, Travis Turner, and Mike Suchland. Special thanks to our sponsors who made the successful night possible! ACV ADESA Cincinnati AFC American Guardian Warranty Allison Harrison Law Carfax Car-Ware Comsoft Corry Auto Dealer Exchange Dealerslink Freedom Warranty Guardian Finance Manheim Cincinnati Manheim Ohio Minute Men HR Nationwide Acceptance NextGear Capital Peak Performance Phoenix Financial ProGuard Warranty Stolly Insurance The Milby Group Value Auto Auction
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WWW.OHIADA.ORG MAY/JUNE 2019 INDEPENDENT DEALER NEWS 13
WASHINGTON UPDATE | By Shaun Petersen
GOVERNMENT REPORT NIADA is your voice in Washington D.C., advocating for independent dealers, the used vehicle industry and small business. Here’s a look at the latest news and NIADA efforts regarding legislative, regulatory, PAC and grass roots activities.
LEGISLATIVE Privacy a priority: Privacy issues have become a high priority on Capitol Hill in the wake of a recent report from the Government Accountability Office that recommended Congress consider enacting a federal Internet privacy law. The GAO found no comprehensive U.S. Internet privacy law governs private companies’ collection, use or sale of users’ data and said Congress should take action to protect consumers. Andrew Smith, director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, testified last month before the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, describing the FTC’s role in overseeing the data security practices of credit reporting agencies and enforcing data security laws. Those laws include the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires CRAs to provide consumer reports only to entities that have a permissible purpose for receiving them, and the Gramm-LeachBliley Act, which requires CRAs and other institutions to safeguard nonpublic personal information. Smith testified that the FTC favors comprehensive data security legislation that would give it additional tools such as civil penalty authority, jurisdiction over common carriers and nonprofits, and targeted rulemaking authority. Small business advocate: On March 27, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship unanimously approved the nomination of David C. Tryon as chief counsel for advocacy of the Small Business Administration. If approved by the full Senate, Tryon will be responsible for educating lawmakers and regulators as an advocate for small business in the federal government’s agencies and rulemaking processes. NIADA was among 30 small business organizations that signed a letter sent to committee chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and committee members in support of Tryon’s nomination. The Small Business Administration is an important ally to NIADA and independent dealerships within the federal government. SBA has participated in the NIADA National Policy Conference and has worked with NIADA on a number of issues relevant to dealers. With Tryon in the advocate role, SBA will be better positioned to advance the interests of independent dealers and small businesses.
David C. Tryon
REGULATORY On March 7, the Department of Labor issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would make more than a million more American workers eligible for overtime. The new rule would increase the salary threshold for employees to be exempt from overtime requirements by almost $12,000 per year, to $35,308 per year ($679 per week). Currently, employees with a salary of less than $23,660 per year ($455 per week) must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week, while workers making at least that salary level can be eligible for overtime based on their job duties. The new rule is intended to update the threshold – last set in 2004 – using current wage data projected to Jan. 1, 2020. DOL is seeking public comment on the rule, and specifically on its proposal calling for periodic reviews to update the salary threshold. DOL said it developed the proposal with extensive public input from six in-person listening sessions held around the nation and more than 200,000 comments as part of a request for information in 2017. The proposed rule maintains the current rule’s overtime protection for police officers, firefighters, paramedics and nurses, as well as non-management productionline employees and non-management employees in maintenance, construction and similar occupations. The proposal does not include automatic adjustments to the salary threshold. NIADA is reviewing the details of the proposal and will submit appropriate comments. We encourage dealers to consider commenting as well. For more information, visit www.dol.gov/ whd/overtime2019. Comments about the proposed rule can be submitted at www. regulations.gov, in the rulemaking docket RIN 1235-AA20.
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PAC NIADA-PAC hosted Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) at a business roundtable April 25 at Big Tex Auto Mart in Dallas. A contingent of about 20 dealers and association leaders gave Rep. McHenry a tour of the dealership, explaining how the used car business works, the services it provides and the obstacles faced by independent dealers every day, and discussed many of the issues currently being considered by Congress that impact the industry. McHenry is the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, whose jurisdiction includes oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. NIADA and our PAC encourage association members to invite your elected representatives – at the federal, state and local levels – to visit your dealership. It is the single most effective thing you can do as a dealer to educate those representatives about what you do, how your business works and how the laws and regulations they create affect you and your business in the real world. Erika and Robert Blankenship
GRASS ROOTS Texas IADA is supporting a bill that has been introduced in the state legislature that would eliminate a form that limits a customer’s choice of where to title a vehicle and give dealers the authority to transfer the vehicle’s title in any of the state’s counties. As part of TIADA’s lobbying efforts, Erika Blankenship testified before the Texas House’s Transportation Committee in support of the bill. Blankenship and her husband Robert are owners of RLB Texas Auto Center in Austin – winner of NIADA’s National Quality Dealer award in 2017. She serves as chair of TIADA’s legislative committee and is a member of the NIADA legislative and regulatory affairs committee. Shaun Petersen is NIADA’s senior vice president of legal and government affairs.
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WWW.OHIADA.ORG MAY/JUNE 2019 INDEPENDENT DEALER NEWS 17
BE THE COACH YOUR PEOPLE DESERVE MANAGEMENT MATTERS | By Dave Anderson
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Ken Blanchard called feedback the “breakfast of champions,” and rightfully so. We all need feedback to grow and develop to our fullest potential. When done properly, coaching those on your team and giving them quality feedback is one of the highest return uses of your time. However, when it comes to giving feedback, many leaders today are more of a critic than a coach. They point out what’s wrong without offering the individual any coaching that would allow them to adjust and bring better performance day in and day out. Criticism without coaching doesn’t elevate people – it frustrates people. What follows are some key principles of coaching, and some steps to make sure you’re the coach your people deserve, and not just a critic of them. But first, let’s discuss what it means to be a critic and what it means to be a coach so you can better assess your style of giving feedback. A critic is defined as “one who expresses displeasure or an unfavorable opinion about someone or something.” Simply put, criticism without coaching is merely expressing displeasure and leaving it at that – not exactly the balanced feedback “breakfast” necessary to grow, develop, and invest in the people on our team. A coach, on the other hand, is “someone who gives private teaching, a trainer or coach.” Make no mistake, a coach will also express displeasure concerning poor behaviors or performance, but the difference is he or she will also provide instruction on how to improve. With a better understanding of what it means to be a critic and a coach, let’s look further at the differences between them. To improve performance, a coach will provide feedback concerning poor performance and immediately follow it up by redefining a performance expectation. The coach will do this both conversationally and sincerely, without getting personal, profane, loud, or reminding the offender of their past flaws and faults as the critic does. To improve performance a good
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coach will show the person what good performance looks like. By redefining the performance expectation with the individual, you’re setting the standard. By modeling and demonstrating the good performance you’re looking for, you’re setting the example. To further reinforce his or her point, the coach will explain why it’s important to perform the task or duty in the manner prescribed. A great demonstration of what you’re looking for, by itself, is not enough to help coach the individual to greater levels of performance. This is why the best leaders in any field explain the “why” behind it. They understand people are more likely to apply the “how,” and live with the “what,” if they first understand the “why.” To test the individual’s comprehension of the feedback and the example demonstrated, a coach will ask the person to perform the task again to demonstrate their understanding of the proper technique. The only way you can know for sure that people get it is to test them, and let them show you they’ve got it. If the person requires further training to be able to perform the task or create the desired outcome, the coach will provide the resources necessary to support the person. Strong cultures understand talent doesn’t arrive fully developed, and a ferocious dedication must be made to training, coaching, and mentoring employees. Identifying and resourcing a team member’s growth by providing tools, experience, mentors, training or additional practice are key ways the coach supports and helps build the skillset necessary for the person to perform well. Once the performance improves, a coach will reinforce the change or improved behavior. This is because behaviors that are reinforced and rewarded are more likely to be repeated. But remember, the longer you wait to reinforce the behavior, the less impact it has. Reinforce often and quickly when you’re trying to influence behavioral and performance changes.
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If necessary, the coach will establish consequences for the performer if the poor behavior or performance continues. If you want to change a behavior, you must change the consequence for that behavior. As the saying goes, “If nothing changes, nothing changes.” Even when establishing consequences, a good coach will affirm belief in the performer and his or her ability. This is because the coach understands the consequence being established is something they’re doing for the person, not to the person. The sole objective of a consequence is to improve performance. In summary, a critic is good at finding and pointing out faults or flaws. While a coach does likewise, his or her primary objective is to create the structure and tools necessary to eliminate the flaws. The coach is not just a “finder” but a “fixer.” With these points in mind, are you more of a critic or a coach? If you were to randomly survey team members on your coaching and feedback abilities, would they agree? If not, or if you’re unsure, the good news is you can fix that by bringing more focus to applying the principles shared here and adding value to your people, so they in turn can add more value to the organization. If you have good people who are being hamstrung by criticism without coaching, don’t expect them to endure or stay in your ranks for long. They won’t put up with the abuse, nor should they. Step up and be the coach they deserve – don’t wait until it’s too late to do so. Dave Anderson, “Mr. Accountability,” is a leading international speaker on personal and corporate performance improvement. He is also the author of 14 books and host of the podcast, The Game Changer Life.