< PreviousOCADA ScholarshipSpotlight YYour association continues to invest in future technician employees, by awarding college scholarships to motivated high school seniors who are interested in an automotive career. In 2016, Eddie Cortez was a Junior in the High School Inc. Automotive Academy at Valley High School and started an internship at Fletcher Jones Motorcars. After a year, his Shop Foreman Ed Montanez came to him and said “Take a college class, pass it and you’re hired.” So he applied for an OCADA scholarship and the Board was happy to support his continued education goal with a scholarship that Eddie used to attend evening classes in Santa Ana College’s auto program.OCADA members can connect with other entry-level technicians by attending one of OCADA‘s recruiting events at Orange County Community College campuses, connecting with your local high school or by searching for student profiles on OCAutoJobs.com. In fact, dealers using these programs have collectively hired more than 150 technicians thanks to these free services provided by your association. Please contact Kim McPhaul, Member Services Manager at (949) 428-5050 or Kim@ocada.org for more information.Eddie Cortez, 2017 OCADA Scholarship Recipient, Technician-in-Training at Fletcher Jones Motorcars, and Santa Ana College student20CONCERNED WITH THE COST, COMPLIANCE AND SERVICING OF YOUR DEALERSHIPS’ INSURANCE?EPIC CAN HELP WITH YOUR BENEFIT AND BUSINESS INSURANCE NEEDS• CNCDA's only licensed broker for Health and Business insurance• The largest insurer of auto dealers in the state• The only broker with proprietary products specific to dealerships • 15TH largest brokerage firm in the nationWe know dealerships have specific needs and issues, we are here to help. Please contact us for a free evaluation of your insurance and HR/compliance packages.EPIC IS© EDGEWOOD PARTNERS INSURANCE CENTER | CA LICENSE 0B29370EPICBROKERS.COMAlison McCallum 949.417.9136alison.mccallum@epicbrokers.comEric Kitei 949.417.9145eric.kitei@epicbrokers.com48 OF LAST YEAR’S SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS ARE NOW WORKING AT DEALERSHIPS!lslcpas.com | (714) 672-0022BreaSacramento“We have a fantastic relationship with the LSL team. They keep our interests top of mind and maintain a positive reputation in the industry.” Santa Ana-CRAIG WHETTER, President, David Wilson Automotive Group (relationship since 1983) Donald Slater, CPA Automotive Services Partner donald.slater@lslcpas.comMike Mangold, CPA Automotive Services Partner mike.mangold@lslcpas.comDavid Myers, CPA Automotive Tax Partnerdave.myers@lslcpas.comNew Auto Tech Training Program Provides Military Discipline & Second ChancesSince 2008, the California National Guard has run the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base. The Academy is a 5 ½ month intervention program for 16-18 year-old at-risk youth where students live in barracks and attend on-base classes to graduate from high school and turn their lives around. This voluntary program has given over 4,000 southern California youth a second chance. It is a partnership of the Federal and California governments and the Orange County Department of Education, with an 83% success rate. California Jobs Challenge is a pilot program designed for graduates of the Youth Challenge Academy to gain a skillset to enter the workforce. Students must be high school graduates, drug-free, have no felonies, and U.S. citizens (can pass a background check and complete an I-9 form). In the Jobs Challenge, students will continue to adhere to the military cadre structure they followed at the Youth Challenge Academy – including 5:00 AM wake up, three meals a day, structured study halls and volunteer commitments on weekends. This 5-month program will place 24 students in Auto Fundamentals, Electrical 1, Electrical 2, and A/C courses at Cypress College to prepare them to test for the A6 and A7 certifications. The goal of the program is for all students to be hired at a livable wage upon successful completion. To learn more about the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy and California Jobs Challenge, please contact Sergeant Jose Ramos at (951) 231-5960 or ramos.j@sunburstyouthacademy.com. He is happy to answer questions about the program or to offer a tour of the new facility. 2122How is your dealership attracting and retaining good employees? An area many times overlooked or not effectively communicated is your dealership’s benefit package. Dealerships spend a large portion of their budget on employee benefits and many times it is not fully understood or appreciated by your employees. How can you change this to benefit your dealership?ASKALISONATTRACTING & RETAINING GOOD EMPLOYEESEffectively communicating the value of your Dealership’s benefit package is key.1. Provide something other than your insurance carrier’s pre-packaged insurance kits.There is no such thing as effective plug-and-play benefits communication. You need to work with partners who understand your industry and your unique employee population. A good partner will provide your dealership with effective communication and support so employees understand the VALUE of working at your dealership. 2. Communicate your dealership’s benefits in a format employees can understand.Most employees don’t understand benefits/insurance lingo and we live in a time of information overload. Ensure you communicate your benefits in a short and effective manner to have the greatest impact on your current and future employees. An easy to read benefit brochure and well thought out benefit slide presentation will more effectively communicate your benefits and their value.3. The communication of your benefits should be aimed at building your benefits brand and your dealership being known as a great place to work. If communications about benefits are only distributed at open enrollment, your employees will be overwhelmed and you’re guaranteed to have some degree of confusion. It’s best to communicate year-round as well as have information available online making your benefits easily accessible. Be sure to communicate what your benefits are really about - your employees. Employees will not see them as benefits unless they understand and place value in them. EPIC can help your dealership attract and retain good employees and show OCADA members how to effectively communicate the value of your employee benefits package. EPIC ranks among the top 15 retail insurance brokers in the United States and is the largest insurer of auto dealers in the state.Alison McCallum has been in the employee benefits industry for over 20 years. She is a Principal with EPIC insurance Brokers and Consultants, the CNCDA-licensed broker. With this partnership EPIC offers unique services available to OCADA dealer members at no cost. Contact Alison at (949)417-9136 or alison.mccallum@epicbrokers.com.LOS ANGELES | ONTARIO | SAN DIEGO | SACRAMENTO | OAKLAND | scalirasmussen.comAvoiding litigation when it’s possible. Protecting you when it isn’t. •Franchise Advice & Litigation •Labor & Employment •Regulatory & Licensing •Complex Litigation •General Counsel Services •Mergers & AcquisitionsOur Customers Say It Best…“WhenCoreyCorbinandJonLayne,fromZurich,askedustojusthearthemoutaboutwhatimpacttheybelievedtheycouldmakeonourF&Idepartment,wewerehesitant.WewerealreadydoingagoodjobwithPVRandproductpenetration,andfigured‘ifit‘aintbroke,don’tfixit.’Weeventuallydecidedthatitcouldn’thurttolisten.I’msoincrediblygladwedid!”“InjusttwomonthsofdoingbusinesswithZurich,CoreyandJonhaveincreasedourPVRbyover$400,andincreasedouroverallVSCpenetrationby13%.Theyconductthemselvesmorelikeconsultantsthanvendors,andareworkingwithmetoimpacteverydepartmentinthedealership.Ifyou’veneverconsideredevenlisteningtoanotherF&Icompany,doyourselfafavorandgiveCoreyandJon30-minutesofyourtime.Itmightbethebestdecisionyoumakeallyear!”–JessyOchoa,GeneralManager,PerrisValleyAutoGroupTo schedule your 30-minutes, contact Corey Corbin at 603-892-097124OC Auto Show Fundraiser - Spread the Word!When your local high school teams and student groups request a donation, you don’t ever have to say NO! Simply refer them to OCStudentFundraising.com to learn about OC’s Best Student Fundraiser—student groups keep 100% of their proceeds! For many years now OCADA has hosted a fundraiser in conjunction with the Orange County International Auto Show that provides student groups and teams the opportunity to raise funds and keep 100% of their proceeds! While we are proud that the fundraiser has helped Orange County students raise over $500,000, we would like to share this opportunity with more students and we need your help! Please share information about the Auto Show Ticket Fundraiser with your local high schools and let them know this fundraiser is unique because students actually keep the entire $12 of every $12 ticket they sell (rather than a portion of their sales like most fundraisers). The fundraiser runs August 14 – September 27 and the average team raises $1,200! OVER $500,000 DONATED2525Three Fundamental Skills to Improve Your F&I DepartmentsBy Corey E. Corbin, Zurich Insurance GroupBack in May of this year one of my client-dealerships decided to add a third F&I manager to their team. Rather than spend weeks searching for just the right candidate, who would not only have experience but would fit the culture of their store, I recommended that they promote from within. They agreed with me and, after interviewing a number of internal candidates, a selection was made and the six weeks of training began.The training was conducted over the course of five weeks in the dealership, and culminated with the new F&I manager attending and graduating from one of our three-day total immersion F&I skills workshops.I always enjoy training “rookies”, because it gives me the opportunity to teach and stress the importance of basic F&I skills – skills that are often times either lacking or non-existent in F&I managers today. Here are three fundamental skills your F&I managers should possess, that could improve the overall performance and profitability of your F&I departments:1. Product Knowledge.This is undoubtedly an area where every F&I manager could use ongoing training. Certainly the adage “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” holds true. I assist with the training and development of dozens of F&I managers on a monthly basis, and I’m still always surprised how often I have to conduct refresher training on product knowledge and nomenclature.For example: too many F&I managers still call a vehicle service contract an “extended warranty”. This is not only factually incorrect, but the use of that term may get you into legal trouble. That’s because the Federal Trade Commission actually defines the term “warranty” as something that is free and comes with a product. A vehicle service contract and a warranty, therefore, are very different. The warranty that comes with a vehicle is free. The vehicle service contract is not free, and is optional, and therefore can’t legally be called a warranty.I’m also often surprised by F&I managers who don’t understand the differences in coverages of their vehicle service contracts (or any other F&I product, for that matter). As an example of this, I will often quiz an F&I manager to explain the difference between an “exclusionary coverage” and a “stated coverage” policy. More often than not, I get the “blank stare”.The importance of understanding the basic, and finer points, of what your F&I products actually do for your customers, can’t be underscored enough. You certainly wouldn’t let your technicians work on customer cars without a thorough knowledge of an engine; similarly we should also ensure our F&I managers have a thorough knowledge of what they offer in their department. If an F&I manager doesn’t understand their products, how will your customers? And customers won’t buy what they don’t understand!2. Lender Programs and Deal Structuring.With tools like Dealer Track and Route One at our disposal, the art of structuring deals to maximize profit (especially F&I profit) has seemingly become lost. It’s too easy to enter a few data points, hit the “send” button, and hope – like a gambler at a Vegas slot machine – that a great approval will find its way onto the computer screen!Invariably this approach leads to lost revenue. Let me share an example:While reviewing a deal with an F&I manager recently, I was looking at the three approvals they received on an offering. The three lender call backs all had 26varying terms and conditions, but one came back with a much lower buy rate than the other two, and allowed for a 2-point mark-up for the dealership, as well as an additional $2,000 for F&I products. Without hesitation, the F&I manager said that’s the lender they were going to send the deal to. When I asked why, they said “because I can make two-points of reserve and still have a little room for a vehicle service contract and GAP”. What that F&I manager didn’t realize was that they were passing up on a call that, when structured according to the lender’s standard guidelines, allowed for a generous flat fee and for a total of $4,000 for F&I products. When we structured out the loan under each call back, using the lender that allowed for a 2-point rate mark-up actually resulted in $430 less in F&I profit (due to the low limit on F&I product allowance).The response from the F&I manager: “I didn’t realize that program was available from that lender”. The manager further stated that they typically use the approvals they get with the lowest buy-rates and try to work with those. The lesson here is simple – if you don’t have a thorough knowledge of your lenders’ programs, and don’t really know how to structure a deal, you could be losing hundreds or thousands of dollars every month!3. The 300% Rule and a structured sales process.Without a doubt, this is the one area of opportunity that exists in every dealership operating today. If your F&I mangers (either individually or collectively) aren’t adhering to the 300% Rule, and using a structured sales process in conjunction with it, then you are most certainly leaving invaluable dollars on the table.First, the 300% Rule: Offer 100% of your F&I products, to 100% of your customers, 100% of the time. I would venture a guess that in no dealership is every customer explained the benefits of every product all the time.Contemplate this scenario: it’s an hour past closing, the sales desk has just closed a deal, and the older couple indicates that they are simply going to write a check for the amount due. Do you have faith that your F&I manager(s) are going to go through the process and offer their products (and perhaps they will), or are they going to quickly type up a few forms, receipt the check, and get out of the store? Certainly the latter happens more often than we’d like to admit.A recent Automotive News article reviewed the quarterly F&I results for the “public” dealer groups operating nationally. In that story Group One Automotive stated that the number-one factor contributing to the increase they realized this year was due to a structured process, and that their year over year increase in PVR was north of $160!I can personally attest to the effectiveness of the 300% Rule and a structured sales process. My newest client-dealership has realized a significant PVR increase since we began training, and enforcing the use of, our Streamlined Selling System. Their PVR increased from a 2019 Q1 average of $1406, to Q2 average of $1738.If your current F&I provider isn’t developing these skills (among others) in your F&I managers, they should be. The next time your F&I representative visits your store ask him or her what, specifically, they’re doing to help develop the knowledge, skills and abilities of your F&I teams. The only thing you have to lose is additional profit!Corey E. Corbin is the Southern California Regional Finance Executive for Zurich Insurance Group, a leading provider of income development, F&I products, and consultative training services for franchise automotive dealerships in the United States. WELCOME TO OUR NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBERSCars.com is an automotive digital marketplace connecting car shoppers with dealers. Please contact Jamila Smith at 213.326.4965 or jamsmith@cars.comIngram Interactive is a training company specializing in all aspects of dealership profitability. We can help you increase revenue in Floor Sales, Internet Sales, Phone Sales, Service Drive Up Sales, Data Mining, Appointment Creation and Conversion. Take a smarter approach to selling by utilizing our specialized programs: Sales Genius, Service Genius, and BDC Genius! We have trained many #1 dealerships both in Orange County and across the US and Canada. Stop spending more on leads and convert the opportunities you already have into paying customers. Please contact Joe Ingram at 949.505.5400 or joe@ingraminteractive.com.Portfolio – Ryan Hanlon has been forming and managing reinsurance companies with Portfolio since 2004 and currently serving as Managing Director for the company. Portfolio is the largest manager of dealer owned reinsurance companies in the industry, with 1,200 companies currently under management for clients who own 2,000 rooftops. Ryan and his team have formed and currently manage 100+ dealer owned reinsurance companies for clients in 15 states. Ryan has spoken extensively on dealer participation structures and reinsurance to groups and industry functions, and recently published a highly regarded white paper on reinsurance structures in the current tax environment. Please contact Ryan Hanlon at 805.275.2023 or ryan@portfolioco.com27orange county3737 Birch St., Suite 220 Newport Beach, CA 92660RENEW ANY AND ALL OFYOUR VEHICLES — TODAYFROM THE MAKERSOF DMVDESKSKIP THE DMV. RENEW HASSLE-FREE.Driver by Vitu takes the stress out of vehicle registration. Thanks to our revolutionary electronic tracking and renewal system — accessible on any device and platform — we notify you of alerts and outstanding violations, and remind you of your registration renewal due date. 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