Page 31 – NextGear Capital

Making Your Dealership Female-Friendly

October 13, 2015July 19, 2021

This dealer is improving her turn times with a car floor plan

Did you know that women make or influence 85 percent of all consumer purchases? Additionally, women buy more than half of the new cars in the U.S. and influence up to 80 percent of all car purchases. However, the majority of women say they’re not respected or comfortable at a dealership and that advertisers do not understand them.

Who’s earning and spending?
Over the next decade, it is projected that women will make up two thirds of the wealth in the U.S. and by 2028, the average American woman will earn more than the average American male. Women are also projected to control two thirds of the consumer wealth in the U.S. within the next decade. Furthermore, women spend more than $200 billion on new cars and mechanical servicing of vehicles each year.

How comfortable is a woman in your dealership?
In a recent Auto Remarketing article, research shows women want respect more than anything at a dealership. The article lists respect and trust before price as the top two items of importance to a woman when purchasing a car. Women remember and pay more attention to detail than males do – we can agree the male and female brains function differently. All things considered, how comfortable is a woman in your dealership? A woman is more likely to spend money if she’s comfortable and feels trust has been established.

Having said that, here are a few questions for you to ask yourself:

Is your advertising geared to get the attention of or offend women?
When is the last time you cleaned the women’s restroom in your dealership (pet peeve of mine personally)?
What kind of magazines are in the restroom – family oriented or ones with half disrobed females on the front cover?
Would she be comfortable taking her children to the restroom or the sitting area – sanitary and safe?
Do you have toilet paper and paper towels in the restroom?
Do you have working light bulbs or does your dealership look more like a disco with strobe lights?
Do you keep the desks and paperwork area dust and clutter-free and the chairs clean?
Do you show respect to the women that walk into your dealership, take them seriously and look them in the eye to establish trust?
Do you HEAR what their automotive needs are?

It’s in the details
I am still surprised at what I find when I walk into some dealerships. These are very basic things which would be easy to implement and ARE important in making the “purchase power majority” feel comfortable and at ease buying a car from you. Making a few minor adjustments on some of the above could go a long way in capturing more of that 80 percent influence and ultimately increase your sales!

Maintain Relevance in a Shifting Industry

September 30, 2015August 8, 2019

By Ryan Hawley, Senior Director of Strategy

The only constant in the automotive industry is CHANGE. Whether you work at a dealership, auction or finance company, it’s likely your world looks different now compared to even last year. This is just a byproduct of living in a world that’s constantly evolving.

When I purchased my first car over 20 years ago, air conditioning and a functioning tape deck were essentials that I couldn’t live without. I didn’t care about anything else as long as I could stay cool and listen to good music.

Fast forward to present-day: I couldn’t imagine life without Bluetooth®, navigation, parking assist and heated seats. I’d imagine my list of necessary features will look completely different again in another 20 years.

Our industry is a microcosm of a global society that demands bigger, stronger and faster. Speed, and ease of use, continue to influence the changes we’ve experienced across all areas of our industry. Quite frankly, it can be tiresome trying to keep pace!

So, how do we remain relevant as businesses and individuals in the midst of this constant evolution? How does a dealership maintain high sales volumes? How does an auction continue to attract wholesale buyers and sellers? And lastly, how do finance companies ensure there’s enough capital to fund it all in a timely fashion?

Regardless of the specific questions you’re asking, I think the answers rest in the following points:

Remain committed to building strong relationships. No matter how big of a role technology plays in shaping the future, people still make the difference.
Stay connected to your customers. Know what motivates your customers and understand how to keep them coming back. The biggest compliment a consumer can give your business is REPEAT business.
Dedicate time and energy to INNOVATION. Being innovative shows a willingness to adapt and an urgency to execute change. Individuals and companies should continuously seek new and/or improved ways of doing things! Keep your eyes looking ahead instead of getting caught up in the “here and now.”

As your business grows and the pace becomes hectic, these three tips will help determine whether you stay relevant or get lost in the shuffle.

Giving Employees a Voice

September 29, 2015July 8, 2021

As a company, NextGear Capital has been successful from the beginning due to one thing: innovation. We have always sought to do what others may have deemed impossible. And one way we have achieved this is by tapping into the minds of our employees and giving them a voice through Time to Shift.

In October 2013, Manheim’s Right Now initiative launched at NextGear Capital as Time to Shift. And in less than two years, this program has taken our company by storm!

Time to Shift empowers employees to cultivate ideas that impact NextGear Capital in positive ways. These ideas can impact the company by increasing revenue, improving customer service or work morale, creating work flow efficiencies or eliminating unnecessary procedures. According to NextGear Capital CFO Dave Horan, it’s important for employees to have an active voice in the company.

“If we only counted on a handful of leaders to come up with ways to improve our company, things wouldn’t move as fast,” said Horan. “But when we have hundreds of people thinking of new ideas, then we can really encourage a culture of innovation and change.”

NextGear Capital has set up the idea process to promote successful collaboration. When an employee has an idea, they submit it to Time to Shift via the company’s intranet. The idea gets assigned to a member of the Time to Shift committee, or “Crew Chief,” who function as a coach to idea submitters while offering support and assistance throughout the idea process. This includes keeping an open mind and guiding the idea submitter to the right people and departments to determine if the idea is feasible.

In November 2014, NextGear Capital celebrated its 100^th Time to Shift win. The momentum hasn’t slowed down either, as the company has already reached 187 wins to-date in 2015 – with 44 ideas still in progress. If the company continues at its current pace, it will exceed 200 wins by the end of the year, an extraordinary achievement not lost on NextGear Capital President Brian Geitner.

“What makes NextGear Capital successful is the incredible amount of passion, innovation, talent and determination on display by each employee every, single day,” said Geitner. “These numbers represent the sense of ownership and engagement our employees have in helping make our company an industry leader.”

Realizing the importance of not only recognizing ideas but employees themselves, NextGear Capital implemented a second phase of Time to Shift in mid-2014 – Peer Recognition. Through this added segment, employees now have the opportunity to recognize their peers displaying the traits that define the company’s culture. To date, 226 Peer Recognitions have been awarded.

“Time to Shift has been fantastic in promoting a culture where every employee is recognized as having invaluable insight into ways we can make the company thrive,” said Horan. “Not only have traditional barriers like titles and seniority been removed, but we’ve also put in place a team who is enthusiastic about helping an idea succeed from inception to implementation.”

NextGear Capital Celebrates Auction Partners

September 24, 2015July 8, 2021

L to R: Ed Laborio (Lynnway Auto Auction), Joan and Dave Wescott (Acadia Auto Auction), Doug Rodriquez (Tallahassee Auto Auction), Mike Clopton (Oklahoma Auto Exchange) Scott Prankie (Rochester-Syracuse Auto Auction) and NextGear Capital President Brian Geitner pose for a picture celebrating the auction partner winners

CARMEL, Ind. – NextGear Capital presented its third annual Auction Partner Awards last night in Orlando, FL during the 2015 National Auto Auction Association (NAAA) Convention. These awards recognize independently-owned auto auctions for their dedication and support of the industry.

Amidst a festive atmosphere, NextGear Capital President Brian Geitner presided over the awards presentation during an evening reception, held in conjunction with the auction industry’s premier yearly event.

“We’ve fostered many relationships with auctions over the years, helping make the floor plan process simple and efficient,” said Geitner. “However, we recognize that these relationships are a two-way street, and we wouldn’t be who we are today without the dedication, attention to detail and customer-centric focus of our auction partners.”

Four auctions were honored with the Operational Excellence award, which is given to auction partners that demonstrate excellent efficiency, top sales retention, overall operational performance and the most effective response to the needs of NextGear Capital. The Cox Automotive company also presented a Remarketer of the Year award to the auction that demonstrated the highest percentage of sales recovered based on percentage of valuation of each vehicle, the best throughput performance (number of days from when a vehicle is at the auction to days sold) and the best sales follow-up (efficient timing on getting proceeds of sales to NextGear Capital).

The 2015 Auction Partner Award winners are:

Operational Excellence Award: Acadia Auto Auction – Richmond, ME
Operational Excellence Award: Rochester-Syracuse Auto Auction – Waterloo, NY
Operational Excellence Award: Oklahoma Auto Exchange – Oklahoma City, OK
Operational Excellence Award: Lynnway Auto Auction – North Billerica, MA
Remarketer of the Year: Tallahassee Auto Auction – Tallahassee, FL
L to R: Ed Laborio (Lynnway Auto Auction), Joan and Dave Wescott (Acadia Auto Auction), Doug Rodriquez (Tallahassee Auto Auction), Mike Clopton (Oklahoma Auto Exchange) Scott Prankie (Rochester-Syracuse Auto Auction) and NextGear Capital President Brian Geitner

Community Relations Tackles Hunger

September 22, 2015July 8, 2021

September is Hunger Action Month™, a movement started by Feeding America to get everyone involved locally in the fight against hunger around the country. Hunger is all around us, and at NextGear Capital, we’re committed to working with both local and national organizations to combat this issue.

Consider the following stats (via Feeding America and Gleaners):

1 in 9 worldwide suffer from hunger. Conversely, 1 in 6 Americans and 1 in 8 Hoosiers go to bed hungry every night.
In 2013, 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 33.3 million adults and 15.8 million children
In 2013, 14 percent of households (17.5 million households) were food insecure

Each and every day, individuals have to make the decision about whether to pay bills or put food on the table. This is a choice that no one should have to make.

So how is NextGear Capital making a difference? I’m so glad you asked

Local Impact
NextGear Capital has partnered with Gleaners, a food bank in Indianapolis, in an effort to help fight hunger in our backyard. The second Friday of every month, NextGear Capital employees spend the afternoon at Gleaners, either inspecting food items for the pantry or packing BackSacks, a program that feeds over 10,000 K-6 children EVERY weekend of the school year.

So far this year, our employees have logged more than 875 volunteer hours for Gleaners while inspecting over 25,000 pounds of food and packaging 4,500 BackSacks.

Additionally, 30 of those volunteer hours have been dedicated to working on Gleaners’ committees. NextGear Capital Director of Events & Community Relations Patty Turner is not only a Gleaners board member, but she is also involved with the organization’s Advancement Committee. This year, one of the committee’s goals was to build an internal food pantry with restrooms.

Every weekend, hungry Hoosiers wait in a line outside Gleaners to claim their food. This is especially difficult during the harsh Indiana winters. As a result, the Advancement Committee worked with Gleaners staff to assess their desires, while Patty collaborated with a NextGear Capital vendor (Schott Design) to create the blueprints for this Community Pantry, which is set to open later this year! This space will include a grocery store layout, along with educational spaces where individuals can learn what to make with the food available in the cupboard that day.

National & Global Impact
Our commitment to ending world hunger extends beyond our corporate office though. Throughout the country, and even abroad, NextGear Capital employees are stepping up to assist in this fight. Whether it’s volunteering with their families or sitting on the board of their local food bank, our employees our showing their commitment to community.

In March, 108 NextGear Capital and Rioch (our mailroom partner) employees packed 10,000 meals in less than two hours for Stop Hunger Now. These packages of dehydrated rice/soy meals are fortified with essential vitamins and nutrients and only require a pot, a spoon and boiling water to prepare. The meals are sent to 71 countries who are adversely affected by hunger.

This past June, NextGear Capital employees also took part in the Cox Automotive Drive Away Hunger campaign. Teaming up with Feeding America’s nationwide network, all Cox Automotive business units spent June 15-25 collecting canned goods and other most-needed items.

Drive Away Hunger 2015 Collective Efforts
*Office*	*Pounds Donated*	*Food Bank*
US	6,835	Gleaners Food Bank of Central Indiana
Canada	328	Mississauga Fire Department Station 108 “Streetsville”
UK	260	West Cheshire Food Bank
Total	7,423

As a company, our employees donated 7,423 pounds in the US, Canada and UK! What’s more, our local donation to Gleaners was the largest corporate food drive donation in the organization’s history! Even better, Cox Automotive matched each pound with a $2 donation, totaling well over $11,000.00!

“Gleaners is so fortunate to have an invested community of corporate partners supporting our efforts to lead the fight against hunger across central and southeastern Indiana. NextGear Capital is a shining example of corporate philanthropy, lending both leadership and financial support. From Patty Turner’s active and engaged participation on our Board of Directors and Harvest Moon Gala and Board Advancement committees to a phenomenal food drive effort during the June “Drive Away Hunger” event, that brought in nearly 6,900 pounds of food to the food bank, NextGear Capital is the definition of active corporate citizenship.”
– Dave Moore, Chief Advancement Officer, Gleaners

Take Action through Spoontember
With just a few more days left in the month of September, we’re now asking you to join us in raising awareness for Hunger Action Month™ by participating in “Spoontember.”

Grab a spoon.
Do your best to balance it on your nose.
Take a picture of your ‘spoon selfie’.
Post the image to your social media accounts to raise awareness and tag a friend to do the same, using the hashtags #Spoontember and #HungerActionMonth.

NextGear Capital Launches in Ireland

September 11, 2015July 8, 2021

CARMEL, Ind. – Executives from NextGear Capital joined representatives from their NextGear Capital UK subsidiary and the Society of the Irish Motor Industry in Dublin today to commemorate the company’s launch into Ireland. This expansion is the result of the Cox Automotive company’s rapid success of its UK stock funding program and the positive economic outlook for Ireland.

“Car retailing is at the forefront of the growth in the Irish economy, with car sales up 32 percent to date in 2015,” said David Mercer, managing director of NextGear Capital UK. “This segment is predicted to play a pivotal role in the country’s economic growth, which is expected to be the fastest-growing in Europe for the second consecutive year. Our entry to support auto dealers will provide additional impetus to this upward trend in sales and employment, and we look forward to helping more dealers accelerate their growth plans.”

Rapidly improving GDP performance, falling unemployment and rising consumer confidence are driving a notable rise in consumer consumption – and vehicles are high on the list of highly-sought items. With the Focus Economics Consensus Forecast panel projecting growth of 3.9 percent, NextGear Capital expects vehicle sales to be at the forefront of an improving economy.

Since launching in the UK in May 2014, NextGear Capital UK has made a significant impact on the country’s auto remarketing landscape. In just 16 months, the company has provided 620 dealers with $127.7 million in credit lines for over 52,000 units.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the growth we’ve experienced in the UK in such a short time, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of David and the rest of the UK team,” said Brian Geitner, president of NextGear Capital. “As we widen our global reach with this expansion into Ireland, our goal remains to provide dealers worldwide with simplified solutions to help them do business.”

NextGear Capital Ireland’s operations will be supported by the NextGear Capital UK team in Chester, with one Account Executive and Regional Sales Manager assigned to the Irish market.

Subprime Bubble: Real or Not?

September 8, 2015July 8, 2021

As the industry continues on its record pace, one area that many people are keeping an eye on is the subprime space. More specifically, experts and economists are watching to see if the continued growth in this arena could end up leading to the dreaded “b” word: bubble.

The growth of the subprime market is the result of two post-financial crisis factors. First, investors migrated to subprime auto securities after losing interest in mortgage-backed securities. Secondly, in 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) couldn’t touch subprime financers due to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. And while the CFPB has since increased regulations, the market continues to experience growth, evidenced by $17.4 billion in sales in 2014.

From a lending perspective, if you would have asked me in February what I thought about the subprime bubble, I would have said I thought it was real and about to pop. At that time, 24 percent of all auto loans were originated by borrowers with credit scores below 620. However, recent data tells a different story.

While outstanding car loans have soared to a record $950 billion, Experian announced in May that the percentage of automotive loans that fell within subprime and deep subprime reached its lowest share since 2012 at 19.7 percent. Additionally, auto loan delinquencies dropped for a third consecutive month this past June, hitting a historic low of 0.86 percent.

With delinquency at an all-time low in the subprime market (running in the mid-three percent), some economists are pointing to this as evidence that the subprime bubble is non-existent and that this space is actually a very healthy part of the automotive industry. Keeping an eye on the trends in this market is vital for dealers of all sizes, as it’s an indicator of the industry’s overall health and directly affects dealers, inventory finance providers and auctions. It will be interesting to watch how this plays out over the next year with off-lease units expected to significantly increase volume in the lanes.

Six Cox Automotive Leaders Named to 2015 Auto Remarketing ’40 Under 40′ List

September 1, 2015July 8, 2021

ATLANTA, Ga. (September 1, 2015) – Celebrating the unique talents, perspectives and ideas of its diverse workforce, Cox Automotive announced today that six leaders from across the organization have been named to the inaugural Auto Remarketing “Remarketing & Used-Car Industry’s 40 Under 40.” With more representatives than any other organization on the list, this distinction not only honors some of the company’s best and brightest young professionals, it also is a testament to their leadership and contributions across the digital, retail and wholesale automotive spectrum.

“We are tremendously proud of these great Cox Automotive leaders and the variety of important roles they play across our company,” said Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox Automotive. “They bring insight, perspective, talent and drive to our operations and help us serve customers better and better every day. Already they have had a positive impact on the industry, regardless of their age, and we know there’s more yet to come.”

The honorees from Cox Automotive include:

Jessica Stafford – Cox Automotive
Vice President of Consumer Marketing & Creative Services
Jessica Stafford leads the consumer marketing and creative services organization for Cox Automotive. Several years south of 40, she leads a team of over 55 individuals that execute all B2C marketing and advertising initiatives, as well as creative strategy and design, across the Cox Automotive portfolio, which includes Kelley Blue Book, vAuto, VinSolutions, Autotrader and Manheim.

Through innovative campaigns combined with her strong leadership skills, Jessica’s team sends 17 million consumers monthly to view and engage with over 2.6 million new cars, 1.9 million used cars and 255,000 Certified Pre-Owned vehicles from over 20,000 Autotrader dealers. She has also become a spokesperson for the brand, appearing on CBS’s daytime show “The Talk” and quoted in numerous automotive, advertising and marketing publications.

Alec Gutierrez, Kelley Blue Book
Manager, Vehicle Valuation Portfolio
As a key member of the Kelley Blue Book team, Alec Gutierrez manages the company’s vehicle values from a product perspective, ensuring the integrity of Kelley Blue Book values as presented to consumers, dealers, lenders and other constituents. Additionally, he is responsible for optimizing the current valuation product portfolio and bringing new valuation products to market.

Since joining Kelley Blue Book, Alec has helped improve the integrity of Kelley Blue Book® Values by creating and maintaining a host of tools and validation reports. He was a key member of the team that implemented Kelley Blue Book’s state-of-the-art Vehicle Information Management System (VIMS), which provides analysts with the ability to visualize sophisticated forecast model data and then use those insights to establish vehicle values. Additionally, Alec played an integral role with the initial VIMS implementation and also spearheaded the enhancement for Kelley Blue Book’s New Car Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new vehicles this week.

Spencer Henney – Manheim
Senior Director of Major Dealer
Spencer has played a key part in Manheim’s Major Dealer initiative. Joining this division in 2014 to head up the Regional Account team, he brought diverse background of industry knowledge, advertising management and financial services to the table. This mix of experience resonated well in helping this customer segment, which includes franchise groups, wholesalers and independents, understand the value Cox Automotive brings to their business.

Spencer’s team helped dealers acquire desired retail inventory while making informed educated decisions on wholesale using Cox Automotive data and analytics. The success in this program resulted in Manheim adding these key dealers to the larger Major Dealer Account portfolio and Spencer being selected as Senior Director to head up this newly-formed area. His drive and commitment to expand the company’s partnerships with valued customers and show them how they can take advantage of Cox Automotive services is a win-win for Manheim and its customers.

Jennifer Eggert, Manheim
Vice President of Digital Services
Jenifer joined Manheim in 2014 after 12 years with Autotrader. As vice president of digital services for Manheim, she leads all of the company’s digital efforts, including OVE.com and Simulcast, and is also responsible for setting the company’s long-term plan in the ever-evolving digital space. Additionally, Jenifer works closely with teams from Manheim, Autotrader, RMS Automotive and vAuto to create a customer-focused digital strategy that takes advantage of the deep expertise of these companies.

The success Jenifer has seen at Manheim so far can be attributed to her experience at Autotrader. During her time with the company, she gained invaluable industry knowledge through a variety of roles, including Regional Sales Director, Regional Director, Regional Sales Manager, District Sales Manager and Internet Consultant.

Adam Galema – NextGear Capital
Vice President of Finance
Adam serves as the Vice President of Finance for NextGear Capital, the largest independent inventory finance company in North America. In this role, he leads the company’s Treasury, Accounting and Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) teams while helping ensure NextGear Capital is positioned properly for future growth.

Joining NextGear Capital as an Accounting Manager within the first month of its inception in 2005, Adam has been instrumental in helping grow the company’s treasury and accounting systems. While Controller, he played a key role in securing the company’s first major financing deal, which helped launch the company into a long-lasting growth phase.

David Rice, vAuto
Director of Research & Development
Since joining vAuto in 2006, David has played an instrumental role in developing vAuto’s industry-leading Live Market and Appraising technologies, guiding the integration of third-party data and systems into the vAuto Provision Suite of tools.

Managing a team of 25 developers and programmers in the company’s Austin, TX-based product development center, he implements and oversees “mobile-first” product development processes while coordinating development activities across the different Cox Automotive business units.

The September 1 issue of Auto Remarketing highlights these six individuals as well as the rest of the inaugural 40 Under 40 class. Additionally, the publication will honor these young professionals at an awards ceremony on November 19 during Used Car Week in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Be Proactive in Retaining Your Customers

August 31, 2015July 8, 2021

Let’s be honest: the squeaky wheel gets the most oil. Dealers who are vocal and heavily involved with the auction staff tend to receive the most attention. Many times, these dealers are also the more prominent buyers and sellers, which means if they leave, your bottom line immediately notices the impact.

But what about the smaller dealers, the ones who aren’t the squeaky wheel and one day stop attending your auction? The reality is, these “little guys” make up the majority of customers in the lanes. While these dealers might not spend the big bucks individually, it’s important to proactively retain them because as a group, their numbers add up and can have a huge impact on your profit.

Here are some steps to ensure that you’re not only growing your dealer count with new business but retaining your current customer-base as well.

1) Ask for feedback and REALLY listen to your customers
From reconditioning and arbitration to customer service, it is important to know what your customers think of you. More importantly, allowing your customers to have a voice will help them feel valued and promote loyalty.

One way to accomplish this is through email surveys to dealers. There are a variety of options online to choose from to conduct your survey. While you might have to shell out a little money for this service, the return on investment is potential valuable customer insight into your business. With this knowledge, you will be well prepared to be responsive and make quick adjustments to resolve any unknown challenges, market changes or new competitive advantages.

2) Pull Monthly Lists
Did you know that you have some valuable data right there in your auction’s operating system? By looking at your sell lists each month, you can see who’s been 1) buying/selling cars or 2) absent. Volume variations and attendance reductions that aren’t deemed “seasonal” can be an early red flag into a bigger picture.

With this data, you have the ability to reach out to customers and gather additional information to resolve any issues before they mount. Assigning one person to this task each month for as little as one hour can be a game changer for your auction, as this personal touch can go a long way towards helping your customers feel important.

3) Promotions
I’ve spoken before on the benefits that promotions can have for auctions. In this case, I’m speaking about holding promotions specifically geared towards keeping the smaller dealers in the lanes. Identify what is important to the smaller dealer by asking for feedback and put an action plan in place to reward them throughout the year. This dealer segment has less working capital than the “large guys” and even small gestures can go a long way.

The reality is, three small dealers leaving your auction per month will not impact the numbers enough to be alarming. But if that rate continues throughout the year, your auction will find itself waving goodbye to almost 40 buyers/sellers. At five purchases per month, per dealer, this is a loss of approximately 2,400 sales per year! It is clear that these dealers can pack a punch on the bottom line. Staying proactive as opposed to reactive will not only help you retain your current customers but also create raving fans!

Top 5 Components of Customer Service

August 27, 2015July 8, 2021

Customer service plays an integral part in the success of any organization. According to a recent NewVoiceMedia Study, U.S. companies lose $41 billion a year due to poor customer service. At NextGear Capital, we understand the importance of and place a high value on providing customers with the best customer service.

Here are the top five components that make up great customer service.

1. Overall Customer Experience
Individuals have one main purpose for contacting a customer service center: to resolve an issue. No matter what that issue is – from making a payment to disputing a late fee – it’s imperative that the customer receives an experience that promotes trust and a feeling that the person on the other line truly cares about the issue at hand.

2. Top-tier knowledge
When a customer calls in to a customer service center, they want to speak to someone that is knowledgeable about their industry. What’s more, customers want someone that understands the actual needs of their specific business, as no two customers are the same. Two ways that NextGear Capital accomplishes this is through extensive training of our employees on the ins and outs of the industry. Additionally, our technology solutions allow our representatives to pull up information quickly so to speak accurately to the account.

3. Friendliness
Mother Teresa is quoted as saying “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” For customer service employees, it’s important to maintain a friendly and calm attitude, no matter the temperature of the customer. One way to accomplish this is through positive language. Phrases such as “Happy to help” or “Great question, let me find that out for you” promote a friendly, caring attitude, which can go a long way in creating real customer engagement.

4. Promptness
We live in a day and age where fast and speedy service are what separate the top companies from the rest. In the automotive remarketing industry, timely service is essential for dealers who are constantly moving inventory. To-date this year, 90 percent of NextGear Capital customers have had their calls answered in 30 seconds or less – a testament to our understanding of the need for prompt service.

5. First-call resolution
According to the SQM Group, a 1% improvement in first-call response equates to $276,000 in annual operational savings for the average call center. This shows that first-call resolution is critical for companies when it comes to retaining current customers. Beyond increased customer satisfaction, first call resolution also aids organization’s by reducing operating costs through decreasing the number of customers that need to call back.