To illustrate one approach to his dealership’s success, there’s an example Scott Fink uses that most of us can likely relate to — whether we’re in the dealership world or not.
If he was traveling to a new city and a friend recommends a restaurant, that’s where Fink is eating, period — the referral is that important.
“If my friend told me that’s where I need to go, that’s where I’m going to go,” said Fink, the president, chief executive officer and owner of Hyundai of New Port Richey and several other Florida dealerships. “And we take that same simple philosophy, and we put it into everything we do.”
That philosophy Fink refers to — putting the customer first and recognizing the power of referrals — is the linchpin of his dealership’s success.
And it appears to have paid off: Fink and his team at Hyundai of New Port Richey have been named Auto Remarketing’s 2014 CPO Dealer of the Year, presented by NCM Associates.
Hyundai of New Port Richey will be presented the award at 4 p.m. (PST) today at CPO | The Pre-Owned Conference as part of Used Car Week.
Troy Morgan, who is the service manager of the dealership’s stand-alone CPO sales center, is accepting the award on site at the event. Then at 10:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday, Morgan will join a panel discussion on the “Top 10 Things You Can Do Now to Improve Your Store and Create a CPO Sales Champion.”
“I would say, in a nutshell, our growth and our success is directly related to our business philosophy, which is, the customer has to come first,” Fink said. “And we don’t say that just to say that. We recognize that vocal advocate is going to touch more and recommend more than any amount of advertising on direct-mail, TV and radio that I could ever do.”
This philosophy, Fink says, dates back to when he started the business.
Fink — who began his auto industry career working for Ford before moving into the retail side in 1989 —opened Hyundai of New Port Richey in 2003 with his team after being awarded an open-point from Hyundai.
“This was an open-point in a county that had no Hyundai representation. So the entire units in operation for the brand in my primary market area was about 125. So, I said to my operational partner and I said to my team, ‘Our job, from Day 1 is to build a vocal army of advocates that are going to go out and help us sell this brand.’
“And that’s what we’ve done,” he added. “And honestly, that’s what we continue to do.”
Lessons Learned from Accounting
Fink got started in the car business in 1985, working for Ford Motor Co. He would move into the retail side four years later when he went into a partnership to buy a Mitsubishi dealership in Clearwater, Fla., before eventually buying a neighboring Toyota dealership.
Following successful runs, Fink said, the stores were both sold to Sonic Automotive. And after opening Hyundai of New Port Richey in 2003, they were awarded open-points for Hyundai of Wesley Chapel and Mazda of Wesley Chapel, opened a stand-alone certified used-car location, and bought a Chevrolet store. They also bought and sold a Hyundai dealership in DeLand, Fla.
Interestingly enough, Fink’s educational background in is accounting — and that’s something that has proved to be quite important in the car business.
“I think the biggest thing is the fact that — and I think it’s different today — but when I first started in the car business working for Ford Motor Co., a lot of the dealers were maybe sales managers or came from the sales side of the business, and they weren’t necessarily very comfortable or experienced with financial statements … or the overall financial aspect of running a business,” Fink said.
“When I started at Ford in 1985, 30 years ago, the business was not nearly as complex as it is today. And I’ll be the first to tell you that it’s a very, very difficult business to operate efficiently and effectively unless you have a strong financial background or you have people around you that are strong financially,” he continued.
“So, I’ve been able to be successful because I have a pretty good grip on the financial aspect of the business.”
Leading Hyundai Dealers
Fink’s career path has also taken him to this role: he is the current chair of Hyundai’s national dealer council, and has served in this role for more than six years.
In this capacity, Fink has been able to meet twice with the chairman and CEO of Hyundai Motor Co. When asked what he learned from Chung Mong Koo, Fink — who spoke with the Hyundai chairman and CEO through an interpreter at a breakfast in Korea — said he spoke highly of the company’s U.S. dealer base.
“He was very appreciate of the dealers, and the dealer council and the effort that the dealers in America put forth to not only excel the Hyundai brand and product, but to represent it so appropriately,” Fink said.
In 28 years with Ally Financial, Robert Stahl has done a little bit of everything.
He has worked a repo lot, had multiple leadership tenures in remarketing, ventured into subprime finance and was involved in helping the SmartAuction online platform get off the ground.
But one lesson that has stuck with Stahl since his first job at Ally in the repo and collections arena is this: it’s the car and the customer that matter.
That mindset, plus many others, has led to a successful three-decade career in the auto business and high respect from his peers in the business. And Auto Remarketing and Used Car Week are recognizing Stahl as the 2014 National Remarketing Executive of the Year, presented by ServNet.
“The main thing that I have to keep telling myself is that it’s all about the car. That’s a slogan that we’ve used a lot around here, and we mention it a number of times when we start looking at new technologies or new innovation or consider pursuing this direction or that direction … it’s all about your relationship with the dealers and vendors,” said Stahl, who is executive vice president of remarketing at Ally Financial.
“For the most part, over the years, I’ve learned that dealers are going to go where the cars are at,” he continued. “And I think that’s what made SmartAuction a success; we had cars that they wanted — off-lease cars, repossessions and GM cars. And regardless of where they’re at, as long as you’ve got a good supply, dealers are going to show up and buy them.”
Stahl is being honored with the award on Nov. 12 during the National Remarketing Conference at Used Car Week in Las Vegas.
“The National Remarketing Executive of the Year, presented by ServNet, is highly respected within the remarketing industry. Auto Remarketing and the National Remarketing Conference are very proud to be a part of this tradition and proud of this year’s recipient, Robert Stahl,” said Bill Zadeits, publisher of Auto Remarketing and Used Car Week conference chair.
Patty Stanley, who is the owner of Carolina & Indiana Auto Auctions and the president of ServNet, had this to say about Stahl.
“ServNet congratulates Robert Stahl as National Remarketing Executive of the Year,” she said. “Robert has been a partner and friend of our industry for many years, and we applaud his tireless efforts to maximize remarketing opportunities.”
R. Charles Nichols, owner of BSCAmerica Auctions and chairman of the board at ServNet, added: “In the auto finance sector for most if not all of his career, Robert has quietly and unselfishly pushed the remarketing industry in new and creative channels, all while serving his company, investors and the dealers they serve.”
For our complete feature on Stahl, stay tuned to the digital and print editions of the Nov. 1 Used Car Week Special Conference Issue of Auto Remarketing.
Do you have questions about how to generate leads, online and otherwise?
Are you unsure about the effectiveness of your marketing and advertising strategy?
How can you improve your social media strategy?
If you’re a dealer (and even if you’re not!) and any of these questions linger at your store, Used Car Week’s next DealerChat can help.
Featuring digital marketing expert and CPO Forum speaker Paul Potratz, the fourth installment of this entertaining and information Twitter discussion series is set for 2 p.m. (EST) to 3 p.m. on Wednesday (tomorrow!).
Along with Potratz, the team at Used Car Week, Auto Remarketing and SubPrime Auto Finance News will be on-hand to help answer your questions about digital marketing, the Used Car Week conferences and much more.
Have specific questions you would like to see answered?
Tune in and use the hashtag #DealerChat on Wednesday (again, between 2:00 p.m. (EST) and 3:00 p.m.) Conference organizers will be on hand to answer all of your conference questions, quandaries and inquiries.
If you've never participated in a tweet chat before, it’s easier than finding the bar at one of our conference!
We recommend you filter #DealerChat through TweetChat.com, which will make following the conversation easy as pie. An example of how we will be asking and answering questions throughout the chat can be found here.
And as mentioned in our most recent DealerChat, we are still taking song requests for the RockNRoll after party at Used Car Week on Nov. 12. They can be sent to @UsedCarWeek, @autoremkting or @AR_JoeOverby on Twitter.
(Requests for 80s big hair bands are not only accepted, they are encouraged!)
Continuing the series of honors that will be handed out during Used Car Week, Auto Remarketing announced the winner of the Re3 Executive of the Year Award.
The honor is going to Karen Nelson, who is senior vice president and call center director for Crescent Bank, a Louisiana-based subprime auto finance company. As a result of her performance dating back to 2003, Nelson was named the Re3 Executive of the Year, an honor sponsored by Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems.
“Leaders from throughout the industry told us how Karen Nelson epitomizes what it means to be a top professional in the repossession, recovery and remarketing industries,” said Bill Zadeits, publisher of Auto Remarketing and chairman of Used Car Week. “Karen’s leadership has helped Crescent Bank navigate a challenging collections landscape as competitive and regulatory pressures increased.
“It’s an honor to welcome Karen to the Re3 Conference at Used Car Week and have her join Jeff Haynes of BBVA Compass as a winner of the Re3 Executive of the Year Award recipient,” Zadeits continued. “Congratulations go out to Karen and the rest of Crescent Bank team for this accolade.”
Leveraging the tools and personnel Nelson has available certainly caught the attention of Steve Norwood, who is the co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems. Norwood will be presenting the Re3 Executive of the Year award to Nelson during the Re3 Conference at Used Car Week.
“Karen Nelson represents the best of what we look for in an executive of the year,” Norwood said. “As senior vice president at Crescent Bank, Karen is responsible for several aspects of Crescent’s call center and recovery operations.
“Managing a national portfolio of loans for both prime and subprime markets can be challenging,” he continued. “Karen juggles being a senior executive, team leader and mother to her children with the enormous task of managing a large collection team, numerous contractors and the various regulatory aspects related to collections and the servicing for a large automotive portfolio.
“Her leadership, innovation and out-of-the-box thinking have enabled Crescent Bank to become a major servicer and originator of loans,” Norwood went on to say. “We could not be prouder of her achievements and wish her continued success along with our congratulations in being recognized as this year’s Re3 Executive of the Year.”
Nelson will be honored during the Re3 Conference, which is scheduled for Nov. 12 at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas. The Re3 Conference — presented by Digital Recognition Network and Primeritus Financial Services — is the Used Car Week event that focuses on repossessions, recoveries and remarketing.
The Re3 Conference takes place halfway through Used Car Week, which also includes the CPO Forum, the SubPrime Forum and the National Remarketing Conference.
It’s not too late to register for the Re3 Conference or any of the other Used Car Week events. Registration details and conference agendas can be found at www.usedcarweek.biz.
