Articles for BHPH Experts
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Brent Carmichael - The hottest topic right now in the BHPH world has to be inventory. Not only where but what to buy, how to find it and how to purchase it.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Mark Dubois - No doubt you’ve heard the expression, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The flip side of that expression is more likely what we encounter in real life: If it ain’t working, fix it. At a recent buy here pay here performance analysis meeting in Tampa, Fla. I surveyed the dealers in attendance and asked them, “What is the single biggest challenge facing your buy here pay here business today?
Friday, July 02, 2010
Brent Carmichael - The Internet is the greatest invention since, well, ever! I don’t know how we as a society ever survived without it. When it comes to buy here pay here, not taking advantage of this wondrous tool will almost ensure a short and lackluster future in our industry.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Brent Carmichael - Is a CRM right for you? Maybe a BDC is what you need. Whether they realize it or not, all BHPH dealers have some form of both, or at least they’d better if they want to survive.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Brent Carmichael - For those of us in the BHPH world, the weather for 2010 looks to be mostly sunny with a few clouds here and there and a slight chance of a shower or two (very similar to what we saw in 2009).
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Brent Carmichael - The main focus for BHPH dealers in the NCM BHPH 20 Groups program for 2009 was cash management. They looked to maximize cash flow to fund growth and/or reduce reliance on borrowed capital.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Ben Donnarumma - What do you do when your buy here pay here customer stops paying for their vehicle? The first thing to do is expect it to happen. BHPH is a high-risk business where we actually loan money (through financing a vehicle) to people with terrible credit.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Brent Carmichael - Merriam-Webster defines advertising as “the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements.” It defines marketing as “the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.” Similar, but different.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
The summer is behind you. You’ve put your hot dogs on ice and packed up your cotton candy machine. Unfortunately, your soda fountain isn’t the only thing that has run dry at your store. In fact, you haven’t seen an “up” since your last balloon shriveled up and died.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Today’s dealership climate differs drastically from that of several years ago. We have seen the resurgence in the popularity of BHPH across the spectrum.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Brent Carmichael - Availability of cash is definitely not as prevalent as this time last year. The good news is that it is still available in the BHPH industry unlike some of the other unfortunate industries. It’s just not as easy to find or secure, not to mention afford, since the rates we enjoyed a year ago no longer exist ...
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Brent Carmichael - An effective BHPH Web site should have two primary goals: 1) to generate leads in the form of credit applications and/or contact information and 2) to collect money. Trying to do or be more will be counterproductive. Research has shown that today’s surfers have a tendency to exit sites that are too ...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Brent Carmichael - How would your collection department CSI (Customer Service Index/Indicator) measure up to everyone else’s in the BHPH industry? Most BHPH operators haven’t given it a second thought. As yet, there hasn’t been a...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Ryan Linnehan - Just as there are many methods of communication for dealing with your spouse, there are also lots of ways we can communicate with customers, all of which are important, but some are more...
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Ryan Linnehan - They say, “Hindsight is 20/20.” Well, I’m not sure who “they” are, but “they” do bring up a good point. The passage of time will often provide us with a new perspective as we review the results of what has already happened. Not only that, but ...
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Brent Carmichael - It’s that time of year again. Time to make hay while the sun is shining, so to speak. It’s tax time. And if the competition for those tax dollars hasn’t challenged BHPH dealers enough, the current economic conditions have not made the pursuit ...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Ryan Linnehan - I realize I may be a little older than the demographic of your typical letter-writer, but you know what they say. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Even though the economy has been very naughty this year, I can show you all...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
More than likely, most dealers haven’t been the only game in town for many years now. That increase in competition has spurred many dealers to adapt their business models over time. While having flexible financing options...
Friday, October 24, 2008
Brent Carmichael - Technology touches many facets of the buy here pay here industry. Video surveillance, starter interrupt/GPS and software are the most popular areas for technological discussion in BHPH. These three areas seem to be ...
Friday, October 03, 2008
To be honest, it can be a sobering meeting, and one to which no one will probably look forward. As a matter of fact, the easy thing to do is just put off having the discussion, cross your fingers and hope such disastrous events never occur...