Introduction To Special Finance
Have you had trouble sleeping lately? Been watching any “trash TV” or late night infomercials? Then, without a doubt, you’ve been inundated with “Bad Credit Mania”. It seems like every time you turn your TV on, there’s somebody telling you that, regardless of how bad your credit may be, you can get approved for a loan, with no money down, for that beautiful high line import sports car, or how about that beautiful luxury SUV. And payments that are so low, you hardly have made them. Just come on in and they’ll send you home in the dream vehicle of your choice with no hassle.
If you’re an automobile dealer, or manager, you wonder how people can actually believe all this nonsense. No money down financing for bad credit customers is just another fantasy. But the dealership down the street is constantly flooded with ups, while your guys stand around drinking your coffee and littering your used car lot with their cigarette butts. Meanwhile, that other dealership seems to be busy all day and night…why, they still have ups on the lot when you’re getting ready to close.
If this sounds like your dealership, then you probably never heard of Special Finance. Maybe you have, but you’ve also heard all the horror stories that go along with it. The “skuzzy “customers, their trashed trade-ins, bad down payment checks, and all the lies they tell to try and get approved for a loan. And the banks, oh the banks you have to deal with for these people. They take forever to fund a deal, if indeed the deal gets funded at all. Seems like the only guy to make any money on these deals is your “repo-man,” if he can find these people and get your car back! Why would anyone in their right mind want to subject themselves to this kind of aggravation?
But what if I could show you that, by ignoring these customers, you effectively eliminate up to half the customers within a 30 mile radius of your dealership. Imagine that over 50% of the people living around your dealership suddenly pack up and move overnight. Would you even have built it there in the first place? Probably not, but since you’re already there, why would you even think of excluding these folks from your dealership? Contrary to what you might think, this aspect of the business can be both profitable and clean, and these customers prove themselves time and again to be some of your most loyal customers ever. They regard you and your dealership as a friend who helped them out during some tough times, and will refer friends and family with great vigor, especially those in the same circumstances. They will service their vehicles at your service department, and will take advantage of your body shop if you have one. They will come back time and again and will continue to do business with your dealership for as long as you’ll let them. They are without doubt the best word of mouth advertising you can get!
So, who is your store in the grand scheme of dealerships? Do you openly embrace sub-prime customers, and make this business your main objective? Do your people run for cover when a special finance customer hits the lot, knowing that your F&I department has no interest in these customers. Do you dabble on the outskirts of special finance, doing only those deals which require little effort?
Research shows that, when it comes to Sub-prime or Special Finance (SFI), dealerships traditionally fall in to on of four categories. We like to call it “The Dealership Four Square”:
The Bold Dealership is just that. He’s known as the special finance king. All his advertising dollars go towards the sub prime market, and you can pretty well surmise that anyone driving one of his cars probably has a credit problem. The dealership caters to sub-prime business, and as such, good credit customers may be reluctant to go there. If a 750 beacon walks in the door, he probably made a wrong turn!
The Enthusiastic Dealership is willing to do Special Finance, but is typically not ready There is no pro-active marketing for Special Finance , thus the limited business is generated from , lot traffic,” Get ME Dones” and primary F&I turn downs. The F& I Turndowns are typical when the Sales Desk has a strong deal on a vehicle and is delivered to the customer on the Sales Desk’s “OK to SPOT”. These deals have been shopped to every primary lender with no success. It is at this point (often two days later) that the Special Finance Manager gets the deal and is left with the task of salvaging a deal that was never handled properly from the beginning. These stores see the potential for sub-prime but can’t figure out how the store down the street can deliver all their turn downs. They tend to take only the easy deals, and those that require some work usually get let out after the initial round of rejections.
Why Early-Stage Startup Companies Should Hire a Lawyer
Many startup companies believe that they do not need a lawyer to help them with their business dealings. In the early stages, this may be true. However, as time goes on and your company grows, you will find yourself in situations where it is necessary to hire a business lawyer and begin to understand all the many benefits that come with hiring a lawyer for your legal needs.
The most straightforward approach to avoid any future legal issues is to employ a startup lawyer who is well-versed in your state’s company regulations and best practices. In addition, working with an attorney can help you better understand small company law. So, how can a startup lawyer help you in ensuring that your company’s launch runs smoothly?
They Know What’s Best for You
Lawyers that have experience with startups usually have worked in prestigious law firms, and as general counsel for significant corporations.
Their strategy creates more efficient, responsive, and, ultimately, more successful solutions – relies heavily on this high degree of broad legal and commercial knowledge.
They prioritize learning about a clients’ businesses and interests and obtaining the necessary outcomes as quickly as feasible.
Also, they provide an insider’s viewpoint and an intelligent methodology to produce agile, creative solutions for their clients, based on their many years of expertise as attorneys and experience dealing with corporations.
They Contribute to the Increase in the Value of Your Business
Startup attorneys help represent a wide range of entrepreneurs, operating companies, venture capital firms, and financiers in the education, fashion, finance, health care, internet, social media, technology, real estate, and television sectors.
They specialize in mergers and acquisitions as well as working with companies that have newly entered a market. They also can manage real estate, securities offerings, and SEC compliance, technology transactions, financing, employment, entertainment and media, and commercial contracts, among other things.
Focusing on success must include delivering the highest levels of representation in resolving the legal and business difficulties confronting clients now, tomorrow, and in the future, based on an unwavering dedication to the firm’s fundamental principles of quality, responsiveness, and business-centric service.
Wrapping Up
All in all, introducing a startup business can be overwhelming. You’re already charged with a host of responsibilities in which you’re untrained as a business owner. Legal problems are notoriously difficult to solve, and interpreting “legalese” is sometimes required. Experienced business lawyers know these complexities and can help you navigate them to avoid stumbling blocks.
Although many company owners wait until the last minute to deal with legal issues, they would benefit or profit greatly from hiring an experienced startup lawyer even before they begin. Reputable startup lawyers can give essential legal guidance, assist entrepreneurs in avoiding legal hazards, and improve their prospects of becoming a successful company.
Think Twice Before Getting Financial Advice From Your Bank
This startling figure comes from a recent review of the financial advice offered from the big four banks by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
Even more startling: 10% of advice was found to leave investors in an even worse financial position.
Through a “vertically integrated business model”, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ and AMP offer ‘in house’ financial advice, and collectively, control more than half of Australia’s financial planners.
It’s no surprise ASIC’s review found advisers at these banks favoured financial products that connected to their parent company, with 68% of client’s funds invested in ‘in house’ products as oppose to external products that may have been on the firms list.
Why the banks integrated financial advice model is flawed
It’s hard to believe the banks can keep a straight face and say they can abide by the duty for advisers to act absolutely in the best interests of a client.
Under the integrated financial advice model, there are layers of different fees including adviser fees, platform fees and investment management fees adding up to 2.5-3.5%
The typical breakdown of fees is usually as follows: an adviser charge of 0.8% to 1.1%, a platform fee of between 0.4% and 0.8%, and a managed fund fee of between 0.7% and 2.1%. These fees are not only opaque, but are sufficiently high to limit the ability of the client to quickly earn real rates of return.
Layers of fees placed into the business model used by the banks means there is not necessarily an incentive for the financial advice arm to make a profit, because the profits can be made in the upstream parts of the supply chain through the banks promoting their own products.
This business model, however, is flawed, and cannot survive in a world where people are demanding greater accountability for their investments, increased transparency in relation to fees and increased control over their investments.
It is noteworthy that the truly independent financial advisory firms in Australia that offer separately managed accounts have done everything in their power to avoid using managed funds and keep fee’s competitive.
The banks have refused to admit their integrated approach to advice is fatally flawed. When the Australian Financial Review approached the Financial Services Council (FSC), a peak body that represents the ‘for-profit’ wealth managers, for a defence if the layered fee arrangements, a spokesman said no generalisations could be made.
There are fundamental flaws in the advice model, and it will be interesting to see what the upcoming royal commission into banking will do to change some of the contentious issues surround integrated financial advice.
Many financial commentators are calling for a separation of financial advice attached to banks, with obvious bias and failure to meet the best interests of clients becoming more apparent.
Chris Brycki, CEO of Stockspot, says “investors should receive fair and unbiased financial advice from experts who will act in the best interests of their client. What Australians currently get is product pushing from salespeople who are paid by the banks.”
Brycki is calling for structural reform to fix the problems caused by the dominant market power of the banks to ensure that consumers are protected, advisers are better educated and incentives are aligned.
Stockspot’s annual research into high-fee-charging funds shows thousands of customers of banks are being recommended bank aligned investment products despite the potential of more appropriate alternatives being available.