In BHPH the Sales Process is Underwriting

“Hi! What brings you to Best Ride today?”

In BHPH, we start the sales process out like any other car store. In the almost 20 years I have been involved in sales, I find that this is the point where our process begins to differ from big stores. In regular retail, you “up” the customer, qualify, land them on a vehicle, do a proper walk-around, trial close, work the numbers, close and try to get the loan picked up by a finance company. In our operation, we greet and qualify the customer, but our qualifying process means asking the customer to come inside and fill out a credit application before we begin selling a car.

In BHPH, the sales process is more about underwriting than selling. At Best Ride, our salespeople know information-gathering is a large part of their job. Our business is not selling cars. We are in the loan business, and we are building a portfolio. The information gathered is very important to underwriting and collections.

Of course, flexibility and perception are part of the training. When you are dealing in sales you have to be flexible. Some customers will not come in until they have decided on a vehicle. Some want details of the transaction before they will provide you with documents for verification. Our salespeople are trained to understand customers’ perceptions. Most customers who come to the store are uncomfortable; they are afraid of confrontation. They don’t want to tell the story with the bad news again, or they have a chip on their shoulder from their last experience of buying or trying to buy. Our salespeople are always working to get the customer inside, so we can begin to determine what we have. In BHPH, you have to know with whom you are dealing before you can put that vehicle on the street. The sales process is where that takes place.

The basic rules we follow are:

1. Don’t sell them something they cannot afford.

2. Don’t take the customer’s word for anything.

3. Only sell to people from your area.

4.  Be honest with yourself in your underwriting

In our operation, we take a detailed credit application and pull a bureau. We get a lot of information at that point. We ask for proof of income for the household. No proof, no deal. We ask for utility bills to help verify residence, and we can see how they pay for the basics. We get seven to 10 personal references (name, address, phone numbers and relationship) that we check. Employers and landlords are called. We have a score sheet as a guideline that includes a cash flow worksheet to help us understand the customer’s tolerance for new debt. Nobody rolls without insurance verification. Obviously, we aren’t spotting cars.

There are BHPH dealers who sell low-price cars and roll almost anyone who applies. Some BHPH dealers use shut-off devices or GPS units to increase confidence in their loan approvals. There are 1,000 ways to skin a cat in BHPH, so your process and underwriting should reflect your risk tolerance. Our operation does not use any devices, and we sell vehicles at ACVs between $6,000 and $10,000.

No matter what price vehicle you are selling or what your risk tolerance, your sales process and underwriting are critical, and you need to VERIFY, VERIFY, VERIFY!