Craig Neville, chief commercial officer at Angle Auto Finance puts it this way:

He says the fact that consumers are researching both cars and finance online is old news. But what is different today is that the continuing lag in the delivery of cars means that research by buyers is now continuing even after the sale. 

Mr Neville said: “The sources of this research are more and more likely to be less traditional ones – such as influencers on Tik Tok or YouTube and Instagram reels; all with their own perspectives of what’s best. 

He added that with minimal follow-up processes in place and delivery times that exceed most 90-day approval periods, locking in a finance sale is more challenging than ever.

Craig Neville

“The current inflationary environment further compounds the issue,” he said. 

“It is the first time many business managers have faced increasing interest rates. Customers are more rate focused than ever and tend to benchmark against mortgage rates. This sets unrealistic expectations. 

It means today’s business managers need to negotiate, educate and reassure customers in equal measure, he said. 

Compounding this challenge is industry turnover. On average, business managers have less experience. 

According to the Australian Industry Group, 9.5 per cent of the Australian workforce changed their employer or the business they operated in during the year to February 2023. This was the highest annual rate of turnover since 2012. 

“For business managers and dealerships this number is often higher again. So this turnover creates an ongoing need to learn and keep up-to-date with various financier systems and policies.”

Mr Neville said that delivering a good business manager and employee experience requires the right level of support in dealerships and that auto financiers have an important role to play in supporting dealerships and business managers as they navigate these challenges. 

Mr Neville said that Angle Auto Finance had created a portal for dealership BMs which was design to produce processes with BMs in mind.“With our new dealer portal, we’ve created a quoting and application system that’s intuitive and easy to use. We know that the faster a new business manager can get comfortable using a new system the better for the dealership and the financier,” he said. 

“But a simple finance system is really only one component. Effective new business manager onboarding, combined with continued professional development, pays dividends in terms of employee satisfaction and retention.” 

According to the Harvard Business Review, on average, companies lose 17 per cent of their new hires during the first three months.

Mr Neville said it was this data as well as feedback from dealer groups about the challenges of business-manager turnover that led Angle Auto to develop its Angle Edge dealer performance training program which is an end-to-end new business manager orientation program that assists BMs in their road to a finance sale. 

He said its reach is beyond standard accreditation; focusing additionally on the skill sets required for business managers to succeed. 

“Addressing today’s unique selling environment, the Angle Edge program includes:

• Modules on understanding and operating within the competitive landscape
• Selling value over price to increase conversion
• Managing customer repayment expectations for stock delays
• Talking repayments and value to contextualise rate concerns and objectives
• Using market updates and financial literacy as follow up tools to keep customers engaged.

“It equips BMs with the toolkit necessary to confidently face into a sales conversation,” Mr Neville. 

He said that Angle Auto viewed the Angle Edge portal as “an important investment in dealer partnerships. It recognises the fact that if our dealers win, we win.”

“As supply conditions normalise, finance penetration will again be a key driver of dealership returns. Now is the time to upskill business managers to confidently quote every customer and close the gap between quotes and conversions,” he said.

By John Mellor