Web-Based Reporting: An Excellent Goal Setting Tool

If a sharpshooter is given the task of hitting a target from 50 feet away, how many times would he or she hit the bull’s eye? Now take the same sharpshooter and put a blindfold on them, and have them turn around in a circle. How many times would he or she hit the target with the blind fold on? My point is, you can’t hit a target you don’t see. If an agent doesn’t regularly set goals for their dealers and then hold them accountable to the goals, then it is just like managing that relationship with a blindfold on.

The independent agent should set monthly goals for the dealer. They should also install the tools to regularly access and hold the dealer accountable to the results. The goals should be clearly defined. A time frame should be set to achieve these goals, and they should be measurable. That means the goals must be statistically proven. They should also be documented and have a plan of action. Finally, they need to have the tools in place so everyone involved can quickly track the results, and compare whether what has been accomplished measures up to the goal that was set.

The tool that many agents use to accomplish this is a web-based reporting tool. A web-based Dealer Reporting tool can extract data daily, or in some cases real time, and provides the Agent with a tool to supply the dealer with that monitors on a daily basis the progress toward accomplishing the monthly goals.

What are the Focal points of Dealer Reporting? (ACT): Accountability, Competition, Tracking

Accountability: Dealer personnel need to be held accountable to the goals that are set. A dealer typically sets goals for the personnel to reach on a monthly basis, but by the time the end of the month rolls around it is too late to make the adjustments to ensure the goals are met.

Web-based Dealer Reporting gives the Dealer and Agent the tool to make sure the dealer personnel are held accountable daily, rather than monthly, to the goals that are set. This way, action may be taken to correct any deficiencies when they occur rather than when it is too late. That corrective action may be in the form of additional training or consulting with the dealership personnel to get them on track.

Competition: Everything in business starts with a sale. The Front end of a dealership is all about sales, beginning with the vehicle that is sold and ending with the aftermarket items that are presented to the customer. A good sales organization is one that is highly competitive. We want the personnel to strive to be the best at what they do. We want them to aim to outperform their peer group.

A Dealer reporting tools allow the dealership personnel to regularly be ranked against their counterparts in the dealership. This creates the daily competition necessary to maximize the profitability at the dealership in all areas. Sales personnel can be ranked against others, as it relates to front end sales profit or back end F&I profit. Sales Managers and F&I Managers can also be compared to promote competition and increase profitability.

Tracking: Pay Plans are an excellent way to ensure that the dealership personnel are maximizing profit opportunities and selling the products that are in the best interest of the company. This way, a dealer and agent can control the types of products that the F&I people or sales people focus on. Tracking the result regularly can easily be done with web-based Dealer reporting. The result is keeping the F&I person or Sales personnel on track during the month to make it more likely that they will hit the goals that are set.

Types of Reports

The Dealer/Agent needs a library of Reports to choose from. The reports should provide snapshots of a range of profit opportunities in the dealership. For example, report snapshots may address the dealers financing sources, the aftermarket profits options, and their sales and F&I profits.

Reports should also highlight unit sales and income totals, averages, and penetrations. Here are some examples of some of the types of Reports in a dealer’s customer reporting library:

Lender Analysis Report: This report should evaluate the totals that a lender is advancing, the income that the dealer is paid directly from the lender, and the income that is typically generated from the contracts that are approved by that lender. Web-based reporting allows these totals to be displayed and sorted by category or sub-category.

• Advance Analysis: Number of Contracts, Volume of Contracts, Average Contract written, and the percentage advanced (amount financed / sales price)
• Reserve Analysis: Average Reserve, Term, and Rate
• Profit Analysis: Gross profit, Sales Profit, F&I profit

F&I Manager Column Comparison Report: This report may highlight the following: Dollars per Retail unit, Cash units, Finance units, and Lease units. It also displays Units sold, Products sold, Penetrations, Income, and Averages.

Menu Usage Report: This type of report evaluates when an F&I Manager is using a menu or disclosure, and when they aren’t. It will tally the percentage of menus and disclosures printed, and the dollars per retail unit earned with and without a Menu. This holds the Manager accountable to using the menu and shows the dealer how much money they are losing when one is not used during the sale.

F&I Analyzer: This is a traditional F&I report that breaks out all F&I Income by New, Used, and Total. The report will also include product penetrations, and product profit averages by individual, dealership, or group.

Salesperson or Sales Manager Recap report: This report should breakout Gross profit earned on the deal including sales price, invoice or amount that the dealership has the unit in inventory for, trade value and actual cash value of trade. This should be just one of several that evaluate the Front End or sales profit.

Advantages to Web-Based Reporting

The internet has brought numerous technology efficiencies to the automotive business. Web-based reporting is one of those services that wouldn’t be possible if it were not for the power of the internet. Trying to share reporting information wasn’t practical when it was stored on individual computer hard drives.

Web-based Dealer reporting allows for a central place to store, evaluate, and share the data. This way the report can be accessed anywhere that a user has internet access. The software provider can store and access data from numerous dealers and then update and share to other dealers or agents from a central point. There is also flexibility of generating and saving the output. It can be generated as HTML, Word, Excel, or by PDF. This allows the user flexibility in how they print and use the data. Saving the information in excel, for example, allows the user the ability to form and shape the reporting data.

It is customary in the automotive industry for users to expect a simple PDF that they don’t personally have to adjust and align the report. That is usually easily done by the software provider, but sometimes it’s a little tricky since the report size can vary based on the size of the dealer group and number of products they display.

The ability to choose input variables, time periods, data sorting criteria, and output variables adds to the flexibility of Web-based dealer reporting. The user can select exactly how they want to filter the data. Whether it be by Group, Dealer, or Manager, time period, deal type, sale type, vehicle type, retail type, or product type.

Agent/Dealer involvement in ensuring data is correct

Custom reporting is not something that agents and dealers can have turned on and just walk away from without having some involvement in keeping the information current. Things change from month to month that can affect the report results. New users may be added, or new products might be added.

Of course, an agent or dealer should be able to count on the mapping process to populate to the correct field if the information doesn’t change, but there are certain items that only the dealer or user will know with certainty, as to where that piece of information should be mapped to. For example, if there is an aftermarket product added, only the Dealership will know where that product should go, whether it is a front end or back end profit item, and whether it is taxed.

Dealer reporting has come a long way with the institution of Web-based reporting. It has allowed the agent the ability to monitor the progress of their stores to create accountability, competition and tracking. An agent/dealer should expect accurate information from their provider, but not without some effort on the agent’s part.

There is much more to be gained from this tool, for the agency, as providers enhance their reporting application. The future of this product will bring better use of email, mobile, and custom applications. It will give the agent that embraces the tool consistent access to their dealers results, comparisons and analysis.