SucMany dealers are taking advantage of special finance lead programs to sell to people with special or sub-prime financing needs. Recent studies show that 20 percent of consumers now fall into the subprime category, and that number is only increasing. If your dealership is not equipped to handle these clients, your potential sales are seriously limited. cess in this field is not merely a matter of receiving leads and operating as if they were prime credit customers. There are four basic elements that must be in place at a dealership to successfully capitalize on special finance leads.

1. Have a variety of lenders. Most dealerships that have success with special finance work with between six and ten lenders. The key to maximizing your profit is getting as many people approved as possible and prioritizing your list of lenders. Working with your preferred lenders as much as possible allows you to take advantage of lower fees. Working with your lower priority lenders allows you to close as many deals as possible thereby increasing your volume to make up for higher fees.

2. Have a dedicated special finance department or personnel. You need at least one person who is aware of how to reach the leads, get them in the store, find the appropriate vehicle, and find the appropriate lender and financing solutions.

3. Have appropriate inventory. Make sure your inventory matches not only your customers budgets but also your lenders requirements.

4. Generate enough lead volume and have a system in place to manage it. Success with special finance leads is a numbers game. You should be aiming to close between seven twelve percent of your leads. Wasting time with too few leads or mismanaging leads will lead to unsatisfactory results. Make sure that you have a suitable CRM or take advantage of some of the lead providers lead management systems to keep track of contact attempts, schedule interviews, prioritize leads, and measure closing ratios. Using lead management systems also helps lead providers identify high quality lead sources-further increasing the quality of the leads your dealership receives.

Once you have the basics in place, there are a few tips your special finance personnel can take advantage of: Call the leads work numbers first. These leads are special finance customers and thus may have creditors calling frequently to their home phone numbers. Many of them wont answers numbers they dont recognize. Often, however, they answer every call at work. This is a great way of avoiding repeat, time-wasting calls that lead to no where.

Get people in the store before you pull their credit score. People often have more purchasing power than meets the eye when one merely pulls a credit report. Once they are in the store, you can inquire into potential co-signers, discuss larger down payments, and increase purchasing motivation by showing the client the vehicle they could soon be driving.

Patrick Brooks is a sales executive with Modern Consumer and Driverloans.com. He can be reached at 646-442-0665 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .