ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – American Auto Guardian, Inc. (“AAGI”) announced its partnership with United Development Systems, Inc. (“UDS”). This strategic affiliation will provide a more local presence of the seven-year winner of Top F&I Trainer in the nation.

As part of its corporate evolution, AAGI’s Performance Services department has been created. This department will encompass the on-going, two-day Agent Certification workshop held throughout the calendar year, as well as, the F&I Certification Training.

AAGI has planned three F&I Certification Training sessions at their Arlington Heights, IL location. Each session will be five days in length, taught by UDS staff. The program will include a focus on presentation skills and techniques, lender relations and advanced management skills. Additionally, participants will engage in role playing and critiquing of their performance by UDS staff.

Jeff Teuscher, Vice President of Sales and head of AAGI’s Performance Services, said, “This is the most comprehensive training available in the market, and we are pleased to be able to present the program as part of our services to our agent and dealer base. Our responsibility is not strictly to administer contracts, but to assist our client base with gaining the tools necessary for success. AAGI’s adage continues to be…We Succeed Only When You Do!®”

COLLEYVILLE -The Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals (AFIP) announced that Judy Vann Karstadt, President of JV Solutions and NJCAR Academy Director of Training, is the first person in the United States to successfully complete the newly released AFIP Certification Program Master Course final exam.

In his congratulatory remarks, AFIP Executive Director David Robertson underscored the challenges of posting a score of 80 percent or higher on the sanctioning body’s most stringent course of study.

“Based on the current roster of AFIP Certified F&I practitioners, captive lender field operatives, and professional trainers, less than seven percent qualify for Master Certification.” Robertson said.

Upon accepting her diploma from NJCAR’s president, Jim Appleton, Judy said, “I had to draw on three decades of automotive industry experience as well as my expertise in the Basic and Senior curricula while working as an AFIP Accredited Facilitator to pass that test. On the other hand,” Judy continued, “in the course of mastering the material, one will not only have a command of the state and federal rules, but their application to real-world F&I situations.”

Judy Vann started her automotive career in the retail environment as both sales and F&I manager for nine years. She continued her career with Pat Ryan & Associates, where she defined her F&I training experience. Judy spent the next ten years training F&I managers on ethical sales and compliance practices with New Jersey-based F&I Product Suppliers.

She formed JV Solutions six years ago, and has been working with the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers (NJCAR), as well as many large automotive dealer groups in training and AFIP Certifying their management staffs.

The dealerships who utilize JV Solutions to prepare their F&I personnel for the AFIP final exams find that the successful candidates post passing scores well above industry norms. The time demands of working F&I coupled with the years away from an academic environment make Ms. Vann’s command of the course material and practical experience the key contributors to dealership personnel scoring high marks.

HENDERSON – Retail automotive industry veteran Ron Fortt announced the launch of Automotive Retail Solutions (ARS), an independent consulting and training company providing products and services to the automotive industry. The company had been piloting in select dealerships for the past two years and is now ready to launch.

ARS’ programs include service advisor training, business development centers, service drive extended contract sales, windshield repair training, equipment, software licensing and in-store support, reported F&I and Showroom magazine.

“We assist our clients in increasing their profitability with their existing service customers,” said Fortt, ARS president. “Our all-inclusive turnkey approach increases the dealership’s net profit with virtually no out of pocket investment.”

The company trains the dealer’s service department to identify the best sales and profit opportunities. It also helps clients convey the benefits to their service customers, according to ARS, as well professionally trains the dealership staff in how to conduct repairs for the products it offers.

Fortt has more than 36 years of experience in automotive retail, and has served as treasurer of the Toyota Lexus Minority Dealers Association and on the Toyota National Dealer Council Advisory Board. He is also co-founder of OneCommand, a digital communications company specializing in the automotive industry.

McLEAN – NADA University announced it is now offering all of its legal and regulatory webinars – live and on-demand – at no cost to NADA and American Truck Dealer (ATD) members and their staffs.

Dealer members may extend this benefit to their contracted financial and legal professionals by adding those professionals as licensed users within their NADA University account.

“Dealers face an enormous challenge in staying updated and compliant on complex legal and regulatory requirements, so NADA U has responded by expanding access to critical information that will make that job a lot easier,” said Michelle Primm, managing partner of Cascade Auto Group and chair of NADA’s Dealership Operations Committee.

NADA U’s legal and regulatory webinars focus on a variety of topics, including the following:

• Credit score disclosure requirements
• The Family and Medical Leave Act
• The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new model privacy notice
• FTC Red Flags Rule
• The new Small Business Administration dealer floorplan loan program
• Organized labor issues and response
• Wage and hour compliance
• Risk-based pricing rule
• UNICAP safe harbor methods
• Comprehensive Safety Analysis program

DALLAS – EFG Companies, a financial service products administrator, announced the establishment of a professional services division that will provide dealers with training, recruiting and marketing services. The division will be led by Chuck McGraw, senior vice president.

“Our expansion is a direct result of the significant resources we invest in equipping our client engagement team to bring both strategic and business perspectives to our clients,” said John Pappanastos, CEO of EFG Companies. “As we have striven to provide the best administration in consumer protection, our training, recruiting and marketing services grew in strength from support functions to primary lines of business that will improve sales cultures for all our clients.”

EFG developed its recruitment and workforce solutions to answer the persistent and growing need for sourcing and development of staff. The company utilizes a proprietary process that combines its top performer behavioral scoring and rigorous personal interviews to place the right person in the right position.

EFG’s staff of experts then uses a custom approach to adapt training to build upon the employee’s experience and perspectives, according to the company. EFG’s trainers spend thousands of hours every year visiting and observing different businesses and developing curriculum.

“After using our top performer hiring model to provide expert hiring and recruiting services, we train recruits by utilizing the ‘Interactive Inductive Process’ or ‘Guided Discovery Model,’” McGraw said. “People learn in three ways: by seeing, hearing and doing. Our training successfully incorporates all three of these ways, leading to a fantastic learning environment.”

EFG’s Marketing Solutions team works with clients to reallocate where their advertising and marketing dollars can be best utilized to generate the highest ROI, according to the company. Their consultative approach to marketing includes strategies to implement differentiating messages in all modes of communication designed to generate leads, enhance a higher degree of word of mouth, facilitate customer loyalty and make clients’ money.

“Most automotive retailers and lending institutions have continued to use the same advertising techniques that worked for them in the 80s,” said Jennifer Threet, chief marketing officer, EFG Companies. “EFG takes advantage of its 35-year history of automotive experience to propel dealerships and lending institutions from their comfort zone into a highly integrated world where online branding and e-marketing reputation management to builds successful consumer relationships.”

ORANGE COUNTY – Subscribers to JVTN®, Joe Verde’s virtual sales training network for the automotive industry, now have access to a new course for managers and salespeople.

The new online course, “Ask The Right Questions And Close More Sales” features nine interactive chapters, with additional bonus chapters of trainer discussions on key points, a management guide for your group and individual training plan for every chapter, and a complete course workbook.

The course covers the key questions salespeople need to ask to quickly establish a relationship with the customer, avoid price discussions on the lot, identify targeted benefits for each customer, and close the sale.

“This is a critical foundation course for every salesperson because asking the right question at the right time is part of every sales process, from their initial contact to their retention calls after the sale,” said Joe Verde, president of Joe Verde Sales & Management Training, Inc.

“When they’re in front of a customer, building more rapport and identifying hot buttons is key to making targeted presentations for each customer to improve sales and profits. If they don’t learn to ask good questions, they’ll never be able to turn leads into appointments, sell, close, or even negotiate that critical win/win with today’s customer.”

Verde has developed high achievers in automotive sales since 1985 with his training process. Throughout 2012 and 2013, his company will be introducing new courses each month for JVTN® on critical topics to assist dealership managers in developing salespeople who can sell more units in the changing economy.