Paul Faletti, President & CEO
Trevor Robinson, VP, Client Solutions and Business Development
Paul Faletti, President & CEO
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Paul Faletti, President and CEO of NCM Associates said he liked what he was hearing from dealers at the NADA Show. “Dealers are coming in very informed, they are asking the right questions. They’ve done their research and are at the point where they really know what they want,” said Faletti.
Faletti said dealers know that with declining new car sales they need to focus on tightening and improving their operations and being part of a 20 Group and additional training are part of that. “I think dealers have a pretty good idea of where they stand at this point and the progressive ones now are doing something about it. What’s nice to see is the commitment to our training businesses. It’s one of the fastest growing areas of our business and has been for the past couple of years,” said Faletti.
Trevor Robinson, VP, Client Solutions and Business Development
Trevor Robinson, NCM’s VP, Client Solutions and Business Development said the company has been rapidly growing its Canadian operations. “We’ve continued to grow our ability in the Canadian market. We spent most of last year buttoning up the data side of it and now it’s a full court press on getting Canadian clients,” said Robinson.
Robinson said the company’s data from across all Canadian dealerships gives it the ability to help dealerships benchmark their performance against other peers.
He said before jumping in to a 20 Group, however, the company wants to really have a frank conversation with a dealership or dealer group about what they are looking to achieve. “They literally just don’t know what’s available to them. We’re working our way through it and we’re seeing a lot of positive impact.” he said.
Sometimes dealers are eager to dive in and join, but have to recognize it’s a commitment, and they have to be in for the right reasons. There are no silver bullets or easy fixes, particularly if a dealership is struggling when they come aboard.
In terms of the types of issues dealers are exploring, Faletti said they are focusing more on human capital, making sure they are maximizing their value and getting what they need out of their people, and boosting retention. They are also trying to do a better job managing the world of OEM incentives, since it has such a profound impact on their operations and profitability. Faletti said one group hired someone full time just to make sure they are maximizing their incentive program opportunities and hitting all the OEM targets. “The amount of money that’s tied up in that is incredible,” said Faletti.
Dealers are also taking a closer look at how deals flow throughout the dealership, and the impact of digital retailing on their operations, where customers are at least starting some of the deal online and then arrive in the physical store. “How prepared is your sales team for that? What does that look like from an F&I perspective?” said Faletti, including looking at the impact of one point of contact through sales and all the way through F&I.
A challenge for dealers at large shows like NADA, is that there are hundreds of providers of “shiny widgets” but dealers are going to be tightening their belts and need to pick carefully. Being in a peer-to-peer group with other dealers can be a good place to share war stories about which tools are effectives, and which companies provide good support to dealerships.
Return to NADA Show 2020
