OVERVIEW:
The Lind Automotive Group (LAG) was a prestige brand motor dealer with in excess 20 dealerships across the South and East of the United Kingdom. The Lind business had grown to include BMW, MINI, Audi, Volkswagen, Land Rover, Jaguar and Honda amongst others.

The Lind Group Head office was formed to enable the company as a whole to not only react to the ever changing market place, but to develop and plan for best practices. The intention was to improve performance, namely in this case for motor finance and insurance sales (F&I).

BUSINESS NEED:
With the pending introduction of FSA regulations, the Lind Automotive Group had a requirement to become an Approved Firm in its own right. All areas of regulation needed to be investigated, processes developed and supporting documentation produced. This clearly presented an opportunity to introduce group wide procedures. The intention being not only to present a professional and consistent image to the customers, but also to improve profitability by increasing sales of vehicles and the range of insurance products.

SOLUTION:
The Group Head of Finance & Insurance (who is now a part of Motor Trade Solutions) fully researched the FSA handbook, identified the requirements for complying with regulation and produced a full FSA Compliance Manual for the entire group.

As part of this, group wide sales processes were introduced, cascaded to the dealerships and implemented to create a group synergy. In addition, the Group Head of Finance & Insurance introduced a concise reporting and measuring mechanism which identified training needs or even possibilities of non-compliance. This was followed-up with specifically targeted training and coaching.

Our specialist also wrote specific training programs which were implemented around the group, resulting in a significant improvement in insurance performance (GAP product sales rose to over 40%) and a notable increase in finance penetration. This took group retail lending to over £100M Per Annum, facilitating much improved and very profitable finance company rates for the business.

This clearly illustrated that by embracing the inevitable regulations rather than trying to fight against them, the company as a whole benefited in all areas.

The Lind Automotive Group became highly respected in the retail motor industry for its consistent and professional approach to customers, staff and manufacturer partners in the area of car finance and insurance sales.
Are you sure that your business is fully FSA Compliant?

We find that many motor dealers have taken their eye ?off-the-ball?, especially as the pressure of decreased staffing levels has now really begun to bite. This has meant that FSA auditing has moved to the bottom of the pile, leaving dealers and dealer groups badly exposed.

Now that the Group Head of Finance & Insurance for the former Lind Automotive Group has joined forces with Motor Trade Solutions it means that with this wealth of top-level experience we are perfectly placed to assist you with your FSA Compliance and F&I training needs.