Continuing education provider Auction Academy — which starts sessions for its two-year program on April 6 — announced that this is the first year it has opened enrollment to commercial account representatives and dealers.
Auction Academy’s program began as a course of study just for the children of independent auction owners in 2012.
“We have successfully expanded and diversified each class group to date, and this is a logical progression in a move to include all industry groups that participate in wholesale automotive remarketing. This grew from interest in the coursework from different segments of the industry,” Penny Wanna, Auction Academy president, said in a news release.
Participants who join the program next month will make up Auction Academy’s fifth class group.
“So much information is shared among the student participants that a more diverse Class Group will further enhance and elevate the experience for everyone. We truly feel the addition of commercial account and dealer participants to the group will continue to make Auction Academy a very unique training and learning experience,” Wanna added.
The program’s curriculum entails an overview of the auto auction process and features visits to multiple auction sites and auction and remarketing process presentations delivered by industry experts, according to Auction Academy.
In the last five years, Auction Academy said it has provided training to all levels of staff at independent auctions which have included participants from Manheim and ADESA as well as related industry services such as transport, reconditioning services and floor plan companies.
Enrollment is currently open for the two-year program. The first of eight quarterly sessions begin on April 6 in Nashville, Tenn.
TPC Management Co. developed the continuing education program for professionals in the auto auction industry.
For more information about the program or registration materials contact Wanna at (615) 591-4544 or pwanna@auctionacedemy.net.
On Monday, Helion Automotive Technologies announced the release of its new free eBook for auto dealerships, titled “Three Service Department Pain Points, Solved! How Faulty IT Infrastructures are Causing Dealerships to Lose Revenue, Lose Customers and Lose Employee Buy-In.”
The eBook highlights problems service departments face when their networks don’t support new technologies that depend on substantial amounts of bandwidth, according to Helion.
"When I tell dealers they need to upgrade their networks, the thing I hear the most is that they just upgraded two years ago and they don't understand why it needs to be done again," said Helion founder and president Erik Nachbahr in a news release.
"The reason is because of the Internet of Things, and the number of connected devices has nearly tripled in the last three years. This trend is accelerating and bandwidth requirements are expected to nearly triple again in the next few years. Most dealers are really behind the curve in where they need to be right now and to prepare for the future."
Furthermore, Helion said the ebook offers specific recommendations and minimum benchmarks for dealerships' IT networks, along with internet, WiFi and network switches.
Insights from industry experts are in the book as well, and they include Chip King of CallRevu, Jeff Cowan of PROTALK and Michael Roppo of WithumSmith+Brown.
To download “Three Service Department Pain Points, Solved!” go to http://bit.ly/2iPbOUu.
On Thursday, NCM Associates and The Rawls Group, a provider of long-term strategic and succession planning, announced the launch of the NCM-Rawls Dealer Executive Program, their new leadership development educational program for current and future dealers.
“Rapid changes in our industry, such as autonomous cars, ride-sharing companies and the electrification of vehicles, mean we need to adopt new approaches to training and leadership to help our clients succeed,” NCM president and chief executive officer Paul Faletti Jr. said in a news release.
“This new program does just that, leveraging the retail automotive expertise at NCM and The Rawls Group’s succession planning knowledge to ensure current and incoming dealer principals have the tools and skills needed to lead their dealerships into the future," Faletti continued.
At the start of the program students will take an assessment that identifies their natural leadership style.
“This tool then serves as the cornerstone for faculty and students to develop deeper insight using each student’s natural communication style to build rapport and engage, foster buy-in, and lead those around them,” NCM Associates said..
Once students get a grasp of their leadership style, the curriculum of the program will shift to dealership sustainability training through interactive discussions and coaching around issues dealers and successors commonly encounter, according to the company.
“Our experience confirms that manufacturers are implementing more stringent requirements regarding the attitude, knowledge, and experience of successor dealers,” Rawls Group chief executive officer Loyd Rawls siad.
“As succession planners dedicated to the totality of issues impacting continued prosperity of a dealership, we have been actively involved in all nuances influencing successor development and preparation," Rawls added.
Risk management and training provider Recovery Industry Services Company (RISC) recently announced its 10th continuing education course is now available completely online with special 50-percent discount on registration.
The latest course covers anti-corruption/bribery matters as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The material is designed to benefit professional recovery agents and recovery agency owners in meeting current and future compliance mandates.
RISC went on to emphasize the new online course also will assist collateral recovery professionals in understanding how anti-corruption/bribery safeguards and ADA legislation affect a collateral recovery business, both in the field and in the office.
The CE 10 course is priced at $49 through Feb. 5.
“When choosing a continuing education provider, it’s vital to evaluate the program’s effectiveness in preparing collateral recovery professionals to be successful in the courts and on the streets,” said RISC president Stamatis Ferarolis, a licensed training instructor for collateral recovery specialists nationwide and co-author of the Field Recovery Specialist Operations Manual.
“For decades, the RISC team has been dedicated to developing compliance solutions exclusively for the collateral recovery industry,” Ferarolis continued. “Through education, training and technology, we prepare you for continued career growth in a rapidly evolving profession.”
The anti-corruption/bribery section of the course explains how to identify these criminal offenses and prevent them from occurring in a collateral recovery business. Ferarolis highly recommended that recovery agency owners ensure their employees receive ongoing, mandatory training specific to anti-corruption/bribery and that this training be documented.
The Americans with Disabilities Act Section of the course examines how this civil rights law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, including in the area of employment. The course material provides recovery agencies with guidance in formulating their corporate operational policies in compliance with federal law.
RISC’s continuing education courses are designed to meet current lender and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) compliance mandates in areas such as data security, field recovery procedures and the Uniform Commercial Code. The training provided is applicable in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.
Each course is offered online, including final testing, and a certificate of completion is issued upon successful completion of each continuing education course. Additionally, the newest material is accredited for eight hours of continuing education requirements in Louisiana.
To learn more about RISC’s continuing education programs and other services, e-mail support@RiscUS.com, call (866) 996-7472 or visit www.RiscUS.com.
Auction Academy, a continuing education program for auto auction professionals developed by TPC Management Company, had a busy third quarter.
The Academy’s Class Group 4 completed the seventh of eight quarterly sessions with a trip to Dallas, where members were hosted by America’s Auto Auction and its chief executive officer, Ben Lange, who led the group on a tour of America’s flagship auction there.
The group also visited the headquarters of Santander/Chrysler Capital, where Brent Huisman and his team gave a review of the remarketing program for the two companies’ portfolios.
Classroom sessions during the Dallas trip also included presentations by Michael Daseke of Liquid Motors; John Poteet, Ph.D, managing partner of Louisiana’s First Choice Auto Auction who discussed his Ph.D Dissertation, Who Owns Your Customer; and Steve Jordan, chief executive officer of NIADA, who discussed the role of trade associations and the impact that independent dealers have on the industry.
The session wrapped up with a tour of Union Pacific’s automotive facility near Dallas by ShipCarsNow.
“I cannot express enough gratitude to the many industry executives who take their time to share their experience and expertise with our Academy groups all over the country,” said Pierre Pons, the chief executive officer of Auction Academy. “For instance, Ben Lange of America’s Auto Auction not only believes in the program enough to have two students in this Class Group, but also shares his own insights with the group and welcomes the class to his Dallas auction on sale day!”
The Class Group 4’s next and final meeting will be Nov. 15-18 during the NAAA/NRC conference as part of Used Car Week at the Red Rock Resort, Spa and Casino in Las Vegas. The event will mark the group’s graduation from Auction Academy.
Registration is now open for Class Group 5 of the two-year program, which will kick off its eight-session program in the spring.
New this year is Auction Academy’s One Day Seminar Series. In late September, Auction Academy held its Fleet/Lease Session in Franklin, Tenn., where 35 attendees from as many Independent Auctions around the country heard presentations and participated in discussions on various aspects of the commercial account business.
Presenting and leading the discussions were Steve Leslie of Cherokee Media Group, Mike Antich of Bobit Business Media, Jeff Roberts of OVE, Brent Ramel of Smart Auction, Joe Miller of AutoIMS, Kevin Wilson of United Auto Recovery and Memphis Auto Auction, Dan Diedrich of Auction Edge and Terry Mollica of Metrogistics.
The session began with a discussion of two case studies on compliance, led by Bob Sullivan of XLerate Auction Group and Joe Lemonds of Carolina Auto Auction.
The final Seminar Series of the year will take place Dec. 5-6 in Nashville and will feature a full-scale compliance session.
“In planning both our two-year program and the shorter focused Seminar Series, we continue to cover topics that are critical to the overall development of leaders in our industry and success of their auctions,” said Randall McCathren, chief operating officer of Auction Academy.
“The enthusiastic participation from all corners of the industry confirms that Auction Academy plays a critical role in the remarketing industry and has raised the bar for career education.”
Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems (CARS) — again the sponsor of this year’s Re3 Executive of the Year Award to be handed out at Used Car Week — is hosting a free one-hour webinar to dive deeper into the topic of legal options when repossession fails.
In conjunction with Pamela Dotson, corporate counsel for LCS Financial Services Corp. and managing attorney of Stawiarski & Associates, CARS will examine the possibilities of leveraging a replevin and its potential benefits.
The free session, titled “When Repos Don’t Work…What’s Next?”, is set for 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 19.
Dotson plans to explain the differences between a replevin and repossession and when each tactic should be utilized. She also intends to mention the costs associated with these actions.
Dotson is licensed to practice in Colorado and in the U.S. District and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Colorado. She spent seven years litigating credit card, mortgage, student loan, auto deficiency, auto replevin and insurance subrogation cases prior to joining LCS Financial in 2014.
Registration for this webinar can be completed here.
The American International Automobile Dealers Association has launched a pro-trade campaign that is being accompanied by a series of ads as well as a new logo for the 46-year old group serving 9,500 international nameplate automobile franchised stores.
“Our organization is comprised of businesses that serve communities across the United States and rely on a healthy global marketplace,” said AIADA chairman Greg Kaminsky, owner of Toyota of El Cajon, Calif. “Yet, much of the debate about trade paints it and globalization as a threat to American prosperity. It’s just not the case and this campaign seeks to make that clear.”
According to analysis by AIADA and the Association of Global Automakers, vehicles that consumers typically think of as imported actually comprise more than half of all U.S. vehicles sales, 56 percent of which are built in the United States.
AIADA claimed there are 9,500 international dealer franchises selling 8.3 million vehicles a year, creating 570,000 jobs here at home and supporting a payroll of $32 billion.
“Our message to Capitol Hill and the next administration is that when you put partisan battles and political rhetoric aside, the fact that remains is how open markets and free enterprise have contributed to the types of international commerce that lead to a flourishing domestic and global economy,” AIADA president Cody Lusk said.
The campaign will consist of outreach and advocacy in Washington, D.C., as well as targeted markets throughout the country. A series of ads will appear in Automotive News tapping into the campaign’s core themes of trade promoting consumer choice, job growth and a healthy economy.
AIADA has also updated its logo to highlight their role as the primary advocate for international nameplate dealers in Washington, D.C.
TrueCar provided an update on its Dealer Pledge initiative Sunday, detailing the checkmarks it has made on the to-do list so far this year while also sharing a handful of steps planned for the third and fourth quarters.
In late March, the company revealed a series of sweeping changes to its product offerings, data policies, billing model and practices, consumer-facing advertising and website messaging — plus plans to hire more than 100 field services consultants to help dealers get the most out of TrueCar.
In Sunday’s news release, TrueCar — in addition to recapping the steps it has already taken as part of the Pledge — listed the following as the steps it plans to take in the third and fourth quarters:
- Rolling out optional subscription billing in Pay Per Sale states
- Enabling dealers to price new cars at the VIN level
- Enhancing dealer branding opportunities on TrueCar
- Including fees and accessories in the Estimated TrueCar Price to enhance transparency
- Launching new TV ads promoting used cars and the benefits of buying from a TrueCar Certified Dealer
- Hosting regional Dealer Summit Workshops to maximize your performance
“We are encouraged by early dealer feedback related to the execution of our Dealer Pledge commitment, but recognize we’ve only scratched the surface,” president and chief executive officer Chip Perry said in a news release.
“We are committed to better serving consumers and dealers through a transparent marketplace and look forward to fulfilling our Pledge as we continue to make meaningful enhancements across the business,” he said.
A full update on the Pledge is provided in this video from TrueCar vice president of dealer marketing Kerri Wise.
Wise is scheduled to be a speaker at this year's Used Car Week Conferences, which are being held Nov. 14-18 in Las Vegas.
The National Automobile Dealers Association has launched a new educational and training program geared toward dealership leadership and management personnel.
Students in the NADA Academy Plus program will receive six weeks of instruction over a 12-month period, with each week focusing on a different aspect of a dealership’s business. Those include financial management, parts, service, pre-owned vehicle sales, new-vehicle sales and business leadership.
“NADA Academy Plus is a rapid, fast-track program designed to align industry best practices with a dealership's vision, goals and objectives,” Jim Schoonover, senior director of education and consulting for NADA Dealership Operations, said in a news release. “It's unique in that it encompasses all of NADA's educational and consulting offerings in one program.”
NADA Dealership Operations senior vice president Peter Fong said: “By sending a department manager or director to attend with a full-time student, the dealership is going to accelerate its results. Implementing new processes to improve profitability becomes easier when your key leaders are on the same page.”
The first class will begin in October; NADA is currently taking applications. More information can be found at www.nada.org/academyplus or by calling (800) 557-6232.
Auction Academy, a continuing education program developed by TPC Management Co. for professionals in the auto industry, reports that the first half of the 2016 academic year has been a success.
In February, Auction Academy rolled out a full schedule of its new quarterly Seminar Series, the first of which was its Dealer Sales session. Thirty dealer sales managers from independent auctions gathered in Nashville for a daylong look at issues facing the dealer consignment business segment.
“As with all of the Seminar Series sessions, the real magic starts in the afternoon when the presenters depart and the attendees can openly and candidly talk among themselves,” said Auction Academy chief operating officer Randall McCathren. “The conversations cover best practices, and the application of unique solutions from one auction to solve a problem at another. It is by far the most dynamic setting I have ever seen for industry discussions.”
The Academy’s Spring Session, held in May in Nashville, drew 34 digital/Internet managers from independent auto auctions who learned about some of the industry’s leading online platforms and service providers including OVE, Openlane, Smart Auction, Auction Edge, Xcira, AutoIMS and Liquid Motors.
Auction Academy marked the graduation of its Class Group 3 during the CAR Conference in Las Vegas, following the completion of its two-year curriculum.
Class Group 4, the largest Auction Academy Group to date, met in Birmingham, Ala., in February for a session hosted at the AutoTec corporate headquarters that featured field trips to ABC Birmingham and ADESA Birmingham. Class Group 4 met again in May at State Line Auto Auction in Waverly, N.Y., for training that included in-depth reviews from each of the auction’s department managers reviewing how each area of the business operates.
The remaining Seminar Series sessions are planned for Nashville: the Fleet/Lease Managers’ Session Sept. 26-27 and the Compliance Session Dec. 5-6.
Additonally, the Class 4 Group will head to Dallas Aug. 24-26 for its seventh session, which is hosted by America’s Auto Auction and will include presentations from American Honda Finance and Santander/Chrysler Credit. This group will graduate during its final session Nov. 14-17 in Las Vegas, in conjunction with this year’s National Remarketing Conference/NAAA Convention.
