I picked up a newsletter one of my competitors sends out to his dealers(my dealers :) It really talked a lot about building relationships. It struck me funny though that after all the relationship talk - the memo itself was about giving away rate.
What is relationship? Is it making exceptions for the dealer? Buying DEEP? The memo talked about trips to Boro-Boro - gift cards - debit cards etc... Are those relationship building tools or do they become expectations to F&I managers?
To me, relationships are built around putting deals together that make sense. How many of you have dealers calling you on crappy deals to re-hash? I think my best relationships are to the point where the dealer knows what deals to call on and what deals don't make sense.
I always hear...lower rates and buy deeper. Maybe it is really more about getting the dealer to ask " What type of deals do you buy?" Setting expectations and following through. With all the technology, score cards, and automation... does it still fall back on job time, car credit, and home ownership? Does that make sense?
