Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC

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Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
THE INDUSTRY’S LEADING SOURCE
                                          FOR AUTOMOTIVE GENERAL AGENTS

M A R /A P R 2 0 2 1 | V O L . 8 N O. 2

Industry Predictions for 2021
                                                        An insider’s guide to
                                                  the year ahead from twenty
                                                  executives in the retail
                                                  automotive and F&I arena.
                                                  >   ECONOMIC AND
                                                      GOVERNMENT IMPACTS
                                                  >   F&I AND DIGITAL TRENDS
                                                  >   THE EFFECTS OF 2020
Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
COVER STORY

2021 Industry Trends:
F&I IN THE HOTSEAT
  Agents, dealers, and product providers need to stay ahead of their competition when it comes to F&I products.
  Whether it be which product is at the top of consumers’ shopping lists, how digital retailing is currently affecting
  the buying process, or trends in the way products are sold, our executives left no stone unturned.

  BY KATE SPATAFORA

                                             Crisorio, vice president at UDS/Brown       information that can be put in the con-
Trends in                                    & Brown Dealer Services. “This involves
                                             developing a process from start to fin-
                                                                                         sumer’s hand, the better. Consumers have
                                                                                         also come to expect all the information
the Auto Zone                                ish to provide the tools and information
                                             necessary for a consumer to comfortably
                                                                                         be made available and can be resistant to
                                                                                         instances where the information simply
                                             make a purchase decision.”                  isn’t available, which is the case with F&I
                                                Crisorio considers implementation        products.
“I foresee the industry as a whole,          and commitment to the process chosen as         Spectrum Automotive Holdings’
inclusive of F&I, continuing to develop      one of the most important factors when it   James Polley will be closely watching F&I
and hone its digital strategy,” said Brian   comes to selling F&I products. The more     product penetrations.

30 | AGENT ENTREPRENEUR MARCH/APRIL 2021                                                                        ©gettyimages.com/FluxFactory
Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
COVER STORY

    “As inventory continues to remain low      making a strong move toward all electric        and will be accelerated beyond what he
for dealers, there will be more emphasis       cars, and that may have some ripple ef-         would have expected even last year.
placed on F&I, service, and parts depart-      fects on lending and insurance compa-               John Lutman will continue to watch
ments to maximize sales,” the CEO said.        nies, as they regroup to assess long-term       how technology will play a larger role
“The product mix, pricing to the consum-       values and pricing without the benefit of       within F&I and the F&I experience at the
er, and new product trends will be key.”       any historical data.”                           dealership. “Many in the industry imple-
    Tony Catania, Safe-Guard Products              With that being said, Almon thinks we       mented new technologies last year at the
International’s Chief Revenue Officer          are looking at business to continue in the      onset of the pandemic, and I think we will
outlined four trends that the company          manner as it did throughout 2020 with           see some of that technology maturing in
sees affecting F&I in 2021. “Where and         retail sales, financing, and market pricing.    2021,” said IAS’s SVP of enterprise sales.
how F&I protection is sold will continue           With the drastic effect the disruptive          “We need to continue looking for
to shift, and the industry will need to con-   nature of the last 12 months has had on         ways to shorten the amount of time that
tinue to support omnichannel retail.”          our economy, Reahard & Associate’s Rick         customers spend transacting — whether
    COVID-19 has forced the adoption of        McCormick expects consumers will come           that’s online, at home, or at the dealer-
digital retailing, which has now grown to      out of this economic chaos with a deter-        ship,” Lutman added. “And we need to
include omnichannel retailing, according       mination to be better prepared for the          help agents and dealerships do that with-
to Catania. “They are no longer talking        unexpected, looking for creative ways to        out sacrificing attachment rates of our
about only the showroom, F&I office, ser-      cover the risk that it creates for them on      products.”
vice lane, and aftermarket as points to sell   both a personal and financial level.                Another trend that IAS is noticing is
added protection.”                                 “This is a perfect environment for          the increased cost time to get forms ap-
    With an emphasis on retail training        finance managers to increase their con-         proved. “This has an impact on choice for
continuing to pivot to support the shift in    sultative skills and be prepared to pro-        both dealerships and their customers, and
how dealers sell and who is selling, Cata-     vide true insight on how F&I products           we’ll be interested to see how this evolves
nia noted that the second trend they are       can provide a much better ownership             in 2021,” said Lutman.
watching is the evolution of retail sales      experience,” said the company’s nation-             “Transparency will be required for the
channels to include remote and digital         al account development manager. “Op-            customer experience moving forward,”
retail, as well as increased movement to       portunities have never been greater for         said Cliff Childers, national business de-
sales processes, such as a single point of     a well-prepared and professionally re-          velopment manager at National Automo-
contact. Creation of F&I product solu-         searched F&I manager.”                          tive Experts/NWAN. “More and more cus-
tions that address the evolving market’s           “Digital tools and processes are here       tomers have access to information, and
needs, such as EV-ready products, is the       to stay,” stated Tony Wanderon, president       the ability to make educated decisions
third trend on Safe-Guard’s radar.             and CEO of National Auto Care. “Dealers         before they get to the dealership.”
    “Current EVs in market are starting to     need to embrace them, customize the                 That said, Childers doesn’t think the
come into the preowned space, and OEMs         shopping experience for their customers,        dealership world as we know it will go
have aggressive plans to launch new EVs,”      and continue to improve this part of their      away. Buying a vehicle is still the second
said Cantina. “We know traditional VSCs        operations.”                                    biggest purchase the consumer makes,
do not work for EVs.”                              Wanderon believes offering more in-         and 2020 taught us that even with social
    Lastly, Catania pointed to a continued     formation about F&I products to con-            distancing, people still want physical in-
focus on customer care and satisfaction.       sumers prior to any visit to a dealership       teraction in their car buying process.
    “While COVID-19 may have some last-        is in line with the accelerated pace of             “What I do see changing is that the
ing impacts on the way vehicles and F&I        dealers’ adoption of digital retailing tools,   buying journey will be done through mo-
products are sold, what did not change         as well as surveys that demonstrate con-        bile devices, including the scheduling of
was the importance of people who can ad-       sumer desire for this information at an         maintenance and repairs,” Childers said.
vise and service through the process and       earlier phase of their vehicle shopping         “If a dealership does not have a process
the importance of measuring ourselves on       experience.                                     and/or the right technology to interact
good service and then working to do bet-           “The sheer number of manufacturers          with the customer before, and especially
ter,” he added.                                that are committing to all-electric line-       after the purchase, they will be left be-
    “It is always fun to do some ‘crystal      ups is staggering,” said Portfolio’s Presi-     hind.”
ball’ work and try to imagine what is com-     dent and CEO Brent Griggs. While he still           Why is it we can purchase anything
ing down the road,” said Craig Almon,          expects internal combustion engines to          online and get full disclosure of our buy-
one of PRO Consulting’s founding mem-          dominate for many years to come, he add-        ing options, yet the majority of dealer-
bers. “Clearly, the industry as a whole is     ed that the move to EVs is unavoidable          ships can’t provide this to their custom-

32 | AGENT ENTREPRENEUR MARCH/APRIL 2021
Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
COVER STORY

ers during the sales process, Childers         with great adoption rates of heretofore          significant shift in how F&I products are
questioned.                                    underused technologies, McCarthy pre-            made available to the consumer as pro-
    “We are seeing more of a digital pres-     dicts 2021 will see a refinement of these        viders and dealers seek new ways to meet
ence and tools to assist in online and dig-    tools based on their success or lack there-      customer demand for transparency and
ital retailing,” said ECP Director Brian       of in 2020.                                      flexibility.
Feldman. “F&I has historically adapted to          Classic Product’s Jennifer Holcomb               “Another trend we’ll be watching is the
market changes and we expect that this         will also be watching the electric vehicle       increased importance of training on F&I
will continue into 2021.”                      segment.                                         to increase sales, build wealth, and ensure
    Adam Ouart at EFG Companies has                “Most of the current auto manufac-           growth for dealers in the face of ongo-
begun to see an increase in consolidation,     turers have announced multiple electric          ing economic challenges,” he said. “Con-
both on the dealership side and the agent      vehicles to be released to compete for the       tinued inventory challenges may push
side as well.                                  electric market share that Toyota initially      consumers towards used vehicles, and
    “In this situation, it’s important for     created, and Tesla dominated for years,”         dealers will need to really show custom-
the agent to have a strong relationship        said the company’s vice president of op-         ers the benefit of F&I products up front,
with their administrator, understand how       erations. “There are new electric vehicle        not only at the end of the sales process,
all of their products are performing and       manufacturers appearing in the market            for new, used, and lease transactions.”
possess a clear view of the business chal-     looking to grab a piece of the action and
lenges” said the company’s vice president      dilute the pool.”

                                                                                                Popular
of agency services.                                As a company, Classic will also be
    “Online-retailing will continue to         watching the shift to more digital retail-

                                                                                                Products for 2021
grow or pull back because of less strin-       ing as many retail dealers had already
gent COVID precautions and protocols,”         embraced that market, but few of the
predicts Cory Schroeder, vice president of     non-franchise or specialty markets had
                                               fully delved into that arena pre-pandemic.
product development at Wise F&I.
                                                   “Many dealers saw 2020 as their most
    APCO Holdings’ senior vice president                                                        “Products that drive customer retention
                                               profitable year with high per vehicle prof-
of strategy and planning, Scot Eisenfelder,                                                     for the dealership will be highly desirable,
                                               its, and if inventory is tight, this will con-
expects a continued increase in product                                                         and COVID-19 has been a great lesson in
                                               tinue to bring strong margins,” predicts
penetration, particularly insurance prod-                                                       how important it is for a dealership to
                                               Lindsey Bird, president of Sonsio. He also
ucts that make operating expenses more                                                          have a strong customer base and good re-
                                               believes dealers will continue to run lean
predictable.                                                                                    lationships to sustain it through difficult
                                               on staffing as they did in 2020. Adding that,
    “The pandemic depleted savings for                                                          times,” said Spectrum Automotive Hold-
                                               with potentially fewer unit sales, dealers
many Americans, increasing the number                                                           ings’ James Polley.
                                               will continue to focus on F&I product sales
who cannot afford a major repair,” Eis-                                                             Polley predicts dealers will be more
                                               as key to increasing profitability.
enfelder added. “Greater protections will                                                       focused on ensuring the product mix they
                                                   Michael LaMotta, founder and CEO
give consumers greater peace of mind as                                                         are offering enhances the customer expe-
                                               of DOWC, knows online auto retailing is
they recover their financial stability.”                                                        rience. It will be imperative to drive the
                                               here to stay and it must include the F&I
    “I think that the EV segment will be an    portion of the sale — a rapid and stream-        need to return to the selling dealer in an
area that will be of particular interest and   lined adoption of full-scale digital retail      effort to continue to build a strong brand
there will likely be some federal stimulus     sites for dealers is a necessity in 2021.        relationship.
to encourage customers to purchase EVs,”           “Leveraging opportunities like email             NAE/NWAN’s Cliff Childers expects
said Paul McCarthy, senior vice president      marketing and remote outreach are crit-          tech-focused products, ancillary bundles,
of agency and dealer sales at AUL Corp.        ical additions to transition the standard        and lifetime programs that drive custom-
“Gas prices will always play a significant     brick-and-mortar business model into             er retention will continue to be popular.
role in determining the balance between        a resilient modern retail operation,” he             “I also think we will begin to develop
car, truck, and SUV sales.”                    said. “Reputable marketing partners can          more subscription-based products that
    Another area McCarthy will be focus-       help dealers unlock post-sale opportuni-         are focused on mechanical, maintenance
ing on is the ongoing development of the       ties and tighten the loop on positive cus-       and appearance,” he added.
“digital experience” in the F&I space, with    tomer relationships in an environment                Service contracts continue to be pop-
dealerships continuing to develop their        where local can lose its meaning with so         ular, particularly as more people are un-
skillsets and technologies in response to      much nationwide access.”                         able to afford an unexpected mechanical
consumer demand. While he credits 2020             LaMotta expects we will start to see a       breakdown repair, according to Tony

34 | AGENT ENTREPRENEUR MARCH/APRIL 2021
Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
COVER STORY

Wanderon of National Auto Care.                there will be continued stress on               items will be in high demand as consum-
     “And with vacation plans for 2021         COVID-related products, such as anti-           ers seek financial stability,” said APCO
looking largely based around road trips,       microbial sanitizers and payment protec-        Holdings’ Scot Eisenfelder. “I also think
coverage that will keep a holiday on track     tion, in case of future waves of job loss or    we’ll see an emergence of products that
— and on the road — also offer strong val-     layoffs.                                        cover new risk.”
ue propositions,” he added.                       “As the economy continues to be a                To this, Eisenfelder offered an exam-
     Jennifer Holcomb with Classic Prod-       concern for consumers and dealers alike,        ple: “There has been an explosion of new
ucts recognizes that the disinfectant          the focus will be on overall value and          electronics in vehicles, and I think it be-
products that offer interior protection        more substantive coverage,” LaMotta             comes important to provide coverage for
coupled with the ability to eradicate          added. “Customer education and trans-           electronics, either in addition to or sepa-
germs on surfaces have made a huge de-         parency will drive positive results in this     rate from, other coverages.”
but because of COVID-19 and will likely        area, and the ability to share clear, concise       Another new risk Eisenfelder is watch-
stick around for a while.                      communications digitally will be key.”          ing is EVs, as covering these vehicles is
     “We know RVs, powersports, and               Sonsio’s Lindsey Bird is keeping an          different, with all their technology.
boats were big sellers last year,” Holcomb     eye on a trend where dealers are moving             “Batteries are expensive, so getting
added. “And we think this will continue        away from bundled products to stand-            the coverage right is important because
with products geared towards them, spe-        alone product offerings. “This will lead to     the loss could be significant,” he said. “As
cifically, being a big win.”                   a more streamlined number of products           we get more experience, we can better an-
     “We can expect dealers and manufac-       being offered in F&I and, as a result, we       swer these questions.”
turers to utilize products that help cus-      expect an increase in front-end appear-             “I believe products that have an ‘un-
tomers alleviate significant financial loss,   ance add-ons.”                                  limited’ time aspect will be essential in
such as vehicle return protection,” said          Bird noted that in addition to this,         2021,” said AUL’s Paul McCarthy. “2020
EFG Companies’ Adam Ouart. “Products           as consumers have greater confidence            saw a significant change in driving habits
like this can help motivate purchasing be-     in all-electric vehicles, there will be an      for most of the population, and for some,
havior by allowing customers to return         impact on mechanical service contracts          this change will be permanent.”
their vehicle with no impact to their cred-    which provides increased opportunities              McCarthy attributes unlimited time
it, should they experience a financial loss    for tire and wheel, theft protection, and       products as allowing for change while re-
such as involuntary unemployment.”             appearance products.                            maining solely focused on the actual us-
     Michael LaMotta of DOWC thinks               “I believe coverage on major repair          age by the customer of their automobile.

36 | AGENT ENTREPRENEUR MARCH/APRIL 2021                                                                                ©gettyimages.com/andresr
Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
ECP’s Brian Feldman has found that         GAP, and tire and wheel protection are       itability standpoint in the dealership and
non-cancelable products, such as paint        four that are doing well,” he added.         value to the consumer in claims paid. Fast
and interior programs, are very popular           IAS’s John Lutman predicts products      forward from 1998 to about 2008, and
and believes that this trend will continue    specifically designed for EVs will contin-   credit insurance had gone the way of the
into 2021. “Dealers are looking for ways      ue to grow in popularity in 2021 as OEMs     dinosaur,” said Almon.
to generate more front end non-charge-        release more electric and hybrid models.         As it relates to current product mixes
backable gross and these programs offer           “Products designed to add value to       sold at dealerships, Almon thinks vehicle
high penetrations,” he added.                 consumers that are increasingly choosing     service contracts will continue to be the
   “2020 was such an unprecedented            to lease vehicles instead of buying them     primary offering accepted by a majority of
year for all of us, and now 2021 really al-   will become more and more popular,”          consumers, with appearance protection
lows us the opportunity to focus, which is    said Brent Griggs of Portfolio. “The con-    packages coming in a strong second.
especially necessary given inventory chal-    tinued low interest rate environment will        “Will there be new products this
lenges, the large volume of used vehicles,    make leasing a very attractive alternative   year?” Almon questioned. “Could be de-
and the uncertainty that remains,” said       to buying for many years.”                   pending on how prevalent the shift to
Tony Catania with Safe-Guard Products            Craig Almon with PRO Consulting           electric vehicles is in major markets as a
International.                                recalls on several occasions looking back    percentage of total retail units sold.”
   “While no two brands are the same,         on his career and noticing how F&I prod-         He ended his thought with what he
in general, we see retailers focusing on      ucts have changed during that time.          believes to be good news — we are likely
a core set of products that meet current          “When I first started in the industry    to have a phase-in of market changes ver-
consumer needs and drive value — vehi-        with Pat Ryan & Associates, Credit Insur-    sus a sudden change like we had in 2009,
cle service contract or term protection,      ance was king from a premium and prof-       and we will figure out how to make the

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Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
COVER STORY

necessary changes to keep products
cur-rent and valuable to the consumers.      Digital Retail                                 as cyber-security because remote selling
                                                                                            means more internet time and the in-
    “The need for the core products such
as the service contract and GAP protec-      on the Rise                                    creased knowledge of automotive retail-
                                                                                            ers to safeguard data along with the terms
tion will see an increase and expectations                                                  that make remote contracting legal via the
of higher acceptance levels of consumers                                                    e-sign act,” predicts Michael Tuno, presi-
should be realized,” predicts Reahard &      Eisenfelder with APCO Holdings sees            dent of ARMD Resource Group.
Associates’ Rick McCormick. “Customers       adapting the in-person F&I process to on-          Tuno believes the remote selling en-
are walking into dealership F&I offices      line to be very challenging, given product     vironment will also require automotive
with a higher risk of economic interrup-     complexity and limited consumer under-         retailers to manage their Red Flags Rule
tion and are more concerned than ever        standing about the products.                   program, much more closely, because of
about the future.”                               “The ability to simplify products and      the increase for fraud from identity theft
    McCormick views F&I products as          create a more modern presentation will be      as dealers will have less “face-to-face”
invaluable, as they can provide consum-      critical to supporting the online consum-      time with the consumer and making iden-
ers with “one less thing to worry about”     er,” said Eisenfelder. “Paving the current     tity validation harder.
in our environment, and something that       F&I cow path will not work, meaning that           “I think that we will see the continued
consumers will pay for when illustrated      automating the current F&I process as is,      development of digital retailing, with a sig-
effectively.                                 without re-thinking process efficiency, will   nificant focus on creating a seamless pro-
    Wise F&I’s Cory Schroeder predicts,      not result in the best customer experience.”   cess for the customer,” stated AUL’s McCa-
the demand for products that address             It’s important to invest in technology     rthy. “Many solutions exist today that deal
computer software on vehicles and prod-      that helps consumers self-serve, Eisen-        with only part of the buying process, and the
ucts specifically geared toward EVs and      felder added, by engaging them in a dis-       next big developments will revolve around
AVs will be popular.                         covery process that identifies their needs,    the linking of these individual solutions into
    “We also see diminished value protec-    then matches products to those needs.          one simplified process for the consumer.”
tion and other vehicle service contracts         “The growing use of remote selling             Automotive Development Group’s
that cover high-tech components gaining      will force automotive retailers to be much     Joel Kansanback views the digital retail
traction with sellers,” he added.            more in tune with the e-sign act as well       environment as a very fluid situation.

38 | AGENT ENTREPRENEUR MARCH/APRIL 2021                                                                          ©gettyimages.com/South_agency
Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
“We know for sure that digital retail       tinued growth of the digital selling experi-    ing that provide the level of independence
isn’t a COVID-times only phenomenon and          ence as well as other technology upgrades       the F&I customer is craving.
it’s here to stay,” said the company’s exec-     throughout the dealerships.”                        “Until recently, the F&I product has
utive vice president. “To this point most            As such, Bird will continue to look for     been tied to the point-of-sale for any de-
dealers have simply put their toe in the wa-     new ways to communicate their products          cent coverage,” he said. “The customer is
ter and haven’t fully committed resources        and services digitally, with more electron-     dictating they want on-demand services
toward being great at digital retail.”           ic selling tools and interactive media both     without extended-term contracts.”
     Kansanback expects that we will con-        for dealers and end consumers.                      We’re living in a subscription-
tinue to evolve from this just being the             Digital F&I “done right” has been a         based world, and he recommends deal-
5-10% of cutting-edge dealers to more of         constant topic for many years, but deal-        ers need to adapt or watch the next
a mainstream topic.                              erships have to push it as far as they can.     guy succeed.
     “Additionally, most dealers are not             “They need to explain and sell F&I prod-        “There have been many improvements
tracking F&I results from remote deliv-          ucts through video chatting and quick, easily   to dealership technology, and it will con-
eries broken out from the traditional in         digestible digital resources,” said LaMotta     tinue to evolve as the landscape changes,”
store deliveries,” he added.                     of DOWC. “Also, customers want control.         said ECP’s Feldman. “We have seen an in-
     “Digital retailing is evolving at a rapid   Send them their options, let them navigate      crease in the use of digital sales tools, due
pace and, in many cases, the process has         the process themselves, determine the price     to the pandemic, such as digital marketing
become an entirely virtual experience,”          point that works, and allow them to pur-        pieces and videos. We have worked with
said Sonsio’s Bird. “Online purchasing           chase — all on their terms and their time-      many of our customers to create custom
capabilities have been enhanced over the         frame without having to speak to anyone.”       marketing pieces to integrate into their
past 12 months, and we expect to see con-            LaMotta sees companies emerg-               digital selling process.”

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Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
COVER STORY

    Feldman added that while each custom-       line, particularly in the used car area.”       retailing solutions with the content and
er has been different, and he expects that          PRO Consulting’s Almon views tech-          connections to power those platforms.”
over time a more standardized process will      nology as a great tool for process efficien-        “Customers still want to see, touch,
be used by dealers, much of what has been       cy, compliance, and sales effectiveness —       and drive the vehicle they ultimately buy
done today has been forced upon dealers         shortening the time it takes to start and       or lease,” said Polley with Spectrum. He
due to restrictions caused by the pandemic.     finish a deal, making it easier to share in-    doesn’t anticipate any major develop-
    “While online sales have continued to       formation, and confirm that correct infor-      ments impacting dealership or F&I tech-
climb during the pandemic, we are still         mation is being shared are all huge wins        nology in today’s market.
seeing a lag in the supporting digital re-      for both the industry and the consumer.             “There will always be a small percent-
tailing technology needed to provide scal-          “From what I see, technology is the         age of consumers who, for various rea-
ability,” said EFG’s Ouart. As dealers scale    next step in making the car business bet-       sons, will prefer a fully digital purchase,”
up their online operations, he expects to       ter,” Almon added.                              Polley added. “However, the majority will
see digital retailing technology develop-           One of McCormick of Reahard & As-           continue to want to physically be part of
ment accelerate.                                sociates’ concerns is that dealerships as a     the transaction.”
    “Additionally, as online sales rise, so     whole have been very slow to pivot, adapt           Brian Crisorio with UDS/Brown &
does the risk of fraud and cybersecurity        and change to the demands of the con-           Brown Dealer Services is keeping an eye
challenges,” Ouart added. “We have spent        sumer, to complete more of the transac-         on the numerous technology companies
significant man hours and dollars investing     tion online when buying a vehicle.              racing to develop the perfect solution. “I
in our IT infrastructure and cybersecurity          “However, we must protect against           don’t believe any have achieved that just
capabilities and encourage agents to work       the other extreme as well,” McCormick           yet, but they are adapting quickly based
with dealer clients in a consultative man-      cautioned. “While customers have clear-         on experiences and feedback daily.”
ner, impressing upon them the critical task     ly stated they want to complete more of             From an F&I perspective, Crisorio rec-
of securing their own IT systems.”              the transaction online, a high percentage       ommends available protection options
    The biggest trend Lutman with IAS is        of those consumers say they would like to       must be presented early, specifically on a
watching, is how dealerships are using so       finalize the transaction in person at the       dealer’s website. This could range from gen-
many different technologies to perform          dealership. Dealerships must forge solu-        eral information about the benefits of each
different functions within their stores.        tions for this blended approach.”               program to a more robust solution tapping
    “We see dealers wanting to consoli-             Safe-Guard’s Catania predicts we will       into VIN rating and purchasing solutions.
date those services into fewer providers        likely see further integration, perhaps             “Beyond that, I think menu providers
when possible, so they can make one             some consolidation across the technolo-         have done a good job making remote de-
phone call to solve any number of poten-        gies that retailers use. Dealer site, on lot,   livery solutions available where options
tial problems.”                                 in-store, service lane and everything be-       can be presented and sold via a tablet or
    “We will see a continued push towards       hind those.                                     other device,” Crisorio added.
virtual F&I transactions, and this trend            “For F&I specifically, we will hopefully        Wise F&I’s Schroeder predicts we will
will bring with it, a whole new type of sell-   see continued inclusion and integration         see greater adoption because the custom-
ing, objection handling, and product pre-       of these products into those solutions, in      er is going to demand digital retailing
sentations,” said NAE/NWAN’s Childers.          order for retailers to have more opportu-       based on other industries proving that
“It’s easy for us to focus on the buying        nities to make consumers aware of and           ease of doing business. “As we have all ex-
process verses focusing on when the cus-        sell the products,” he said.                    perienced with COVID-19, virtual options
tomer needs us the most, which is at the            Catania also believes we will likely see    are going to be the key to success,” he
time of vehicle breakdown.”                     some continued pivots of B2B technolo-          said. “I do see smaller/mid-tier size lend-
    Childers added that brands are built or     gy over to B2C, and technologies adding         ers becoming bigger forces in automotive
destroyed in these few minutes or hours af-     functionality in the increasingly consum-       lending with dealers. This is because of
ter the time of breakdown. “What can we do      er-driven F&I purchasing experience. As         integration through technology.”
to help the customer while creating trans-      well as increased efforts to connect the            Schroeder sees smaller/mid-tier lend-
parency and empowering them to have the         entire consumer research, shopping, and         ers having more opportunities with a mul-
control to do what they need to do?”            buying experience.                              titude of initiatives to help capture this
    “Massive amounts of capital have been           “For dealers, this will mean a tighter      market. “The bigger players are already
pouring into the digital retailing space,”      connection between the tier 1/brand site        there, but the smaller fish have more op-
said Griggs with Portfolio. “I expect that      and their tier 3/dealer site and supporting     portunities with a multitude of initiatives
to accelerate the growth of consumers           processes,” Catania added. “F&I provid-         from folks like DealerTrack and others to
purchasing vehicles and F&I products on-        ers will need to support all these various      capture this market,” he added.

40 | AGENT ENTREPRENEUR MARCH/APRIL 2021
Industry Predictions for 2021 - Pro Consulting LLC
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