GPS technologies help Dealers exceed financial goals

Oct. 30, 2008
By Mark Behnke

How does a BHPH Dealership protect their assets in today’s market and achieve their sales and financial goals? The answer is simple, by using state of the art GPS technology on every one of your BHPH vehicles. This is not only becoming more effective in assisting the BHPH dealership meet their goals, it is allowing them to exceed their goals. It is a MUST in today’s society. Without the use of this technology you are leaving too much to chance in an economic time that is exponentially increasing your business opportunities. GPS technology allows you to increase the number of notes you are putting on the street and to carry a higher value vehicle because you can track and recover that asset easier and more rapidly than ever before.
You are in this business to make money. The NIADA magazine article titled “Used Car Industry Report 2007” analyzed 280,000 loans over an 8 year period with a total value of $2.1 billion dollars. They found that average collections on time balance of loan was 97.30% using GPS technology vs. 72.90% without. GPS technology has proven repeatedly to be a product utilized effectively by innovative BHPH dealers to protect their rolling investments and get paid.
In the event that one of your customers becomes delinquent in their payments, the ability to pinpoint the exact location of your vehicle in a timely manner is crucial. Most of the reconditioning costs can be avoided if you can locate and reclaim your vehicle immediately before damage happens to it. Without the use of GPS technology, you still have to rely on the abilities of your repossession agent and your list of references that were provided to you by the now delinquent customer at the time of purchase. At GoldStar GPS we make this process exceptionally easy with a whole host of easy to use tools such as the ability to locate your vehicle within 20 seconds. The location information can then be viewed in two types of mapping software with three types of views; aerial, map and birds eye. Another easy to use feature is customizable GEO Fencing - a GEO Fence is a virtual perimeter that you can set around the vehicle or any geographical location that will send you an alert to your email and/or cell phone once the virtual perimeter is crossed. Add that to our patented Track SMS ™ feature which allows you to communicate directly with the device from your cell phone and you have the most comprehensive and easy to use tool to assist you in the recovery process. There are several other innovative features available as well but I think you get the point; the proper utilization of this rather inexpensive technology is a great way to reduce your risks and substantially reduce your costs of reclaiming your vehicle and reconditioning it. Not only do you expect to get paid, but you expect to get paid when the payment is due as identified in your contract with the customer. Your collectors need to utilize every tool at their disposal to assist them in achieving this goal. Should the customer make a commitment to pay and then fail to do so, they can be “reminded” by sending a command to the GPS device in the vehicle providing them with an audible buzzer warning that payment is due. This should be initiated on demand and only on the customers you have problems with, not on every vehicle and every customer. If 80% of your customers are performing as they committed, why should you have to generate reminders regarding payment to them? Focus on the 20% that are truly problems and maximize the effectiveness of your personnel. There has also been a lot of discussion lately about the use of starter interrupt technology. The question “When should a dealer use starter interrupt technology?” came up at the November 2008 NABD convention in Houston. It is definitely a tool that can assist you in your collection efforts. The dealer sends a command to the GPS device which prevents the vehicle from starting once the ignition is turned off. When properly disclosed the customer is aware that if they do not make their payment when due, the vehicle will not start. It definitely gets their attention. However, there is a much more important application of this tool; ensuring the vehicle is in the same position it was when you located it and not moved before you can recover it. Recovery costs are high enough without having to make repeated efforts to collect a vehicle. The starter disable feature can be initiated from your secure login on the GPS website or from your cell phone (if your GPS provider offers this feature). This allows your recovery personnel to disable the vehicle when they are in route to collect it. At the same time the TrackSMS feature allows access to only the vehicle you have sent them to recover while preventing access to the rest of your vehicles. Recovery personnel do not need access to your secure login and all of your accounts, only the single vehicle that you are sending them out to recover.
Utilizing GPS devices reduces repossession costs by nearly 70% as proven by the NIADA 2007 report. BHPH dealers using GPS technology are experiencing positive Return on Investment by protecting their assets on the street. Trust and Commitment is a must in all business practices today. Innovative BHPH dealers are realizing that GPS technology is maximizing their ability to protect their assets. When you make the commitment to use GPS technology make it completely. You cannot tell which customers will and which customers will not perform as promised. If you do not commit completely it will come back to haunt you when the vehicle you did not put a device in needs to be repossessed and you cannot find it or you have to spend the extra money on the conventional recovery practices. Just remember, not all GPS companies are created equal. Make sure the provider you choose offers state of the art technology along with the financial stability to be here for you in the long run. It does no good to put GPS devices on your vehicles if after 9 months the provider is no longer in business and you are stuck sitting with a lot of money on the street and devices that you cannot locate. The money you save up front by buying an inexpensive GPS device may end up costing you thousands in the end; after all at the end of the day will you sleep better knowing that you saved a few dollars of the price of a GPS device or that you can locate and recover your vehicle when you need to.
Mark Behnke
Director of Sales
866-655-882 Ext: 116
markb@goldstargps.com
www.goldstargps.com