Josh Letsis started in the car business at 18 years old selling cars in 1997. 24 years later, he's still in the business. He's now a partner in 5 stores in Colorado and operates the best training company in retail automotive.

What we discuss in this episode:

• You get more out of grooming and helping people grow than anything else. It's important to surround yourself with good people.

• If you groom people, their loyalty in you grows. If you treat your employees well, and get to know them, it's easier to help them achieve their goals.

• When leaders make an investment in their people, the likelihood that they stay at the dealership is higher.

• What gives longevity to your store is paying attention to your customers. Dealers often get in their own heads and try and figure out how to do what makes the most sense for them. It's more important to focus on doing the right thing for the customer.

• Giving the customer the ability to toggle through vehicle buying options early on is a very important way to advance the sale and let the customer have some fun.

• You can be a lazy person right now and be successful. Typically if you were lazy before the pandemic you were self-selected out.

• Things are going to change. Manufacturers are ramping up production which means the eventually things will return to normal.

• Those that have continued following processes and forming good habits are going to win. Those that haven't are going to lose to people like Josh and his team.

Thank you, Josh Letsis!

Connect with Becky Chernek:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckychernek/

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.chernek.1/

• F&I Today with Becky Chernek - https://www.facebook.com/groups/260984864044461

• Website - https://www.ccilearningcenter.com

James Lawrence is the COO & Co-Founder of Sensitive Data Protect (SDP Compliance), a company that specializes in creating a secure environment for dealership data and compliance.

What we discuss in this episode:

• Traditionally, dealers have done well ensuring that hard copies of consumer private data are kept safe with mechanisms in place like locked filing cabinets and ensuring that no sensitive data is left on printers, fax machines and photocopiers.

• With the advent of a more digitized process, dealers now face more issues when it comes to keeping private data secure and safe from a very real threat: cyber-attacks.

• Data silos present a very real risk when it comes to how dealers manage sensitive information. For example, one vendor shares data with another, which creates a barrier between service providers and dealership on how the data is being managed and secured.

• Data security breaches have a very real impact on dealership operations, not just from the FTC side but also the consumer protection acts and consumer privacy acts.

• With consolidation happening throughout the industry, dealers considering a merger or acquisition must consider how secure their data is.

• James explains ransomware and how it's effecting dealership operations today

• Listen to the full episode for more valuable insights about keeping your dealership data secure and protected.

Thank you, James Lawrence!

Connect with Becky Chernek:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckychernek/

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.chernek.1/

• F&I Today with Becky Chernek - https://www.facebook.com/groups/260984864044461

• Website - https://www.ccilearningcenter.com

Ken Luna is the VP of Strategic Partnerships at CreditMiner, LLC and joins the podcast to discuss how dealers can handle and overcome synthetic fraud from their F&I departments.

What we discuss in this episode:

• Ken explains what synthetic fraud is, and why it's important for dealers to understand so that they can spot it and overcome it.

• Why pre-screening alone doesn't solve all problems from discovering fraud.

• There's a reason why CreditMiner includes a synthetic fraud score and that it should be included during a pre-screen so that dealers know who they are dealing with.

• Ken shares that the industry has over 1 billion in losses due to fraudulent finance and insurance information — sooner or later, the industry needs to pay closer attention to it.

• It's like a tooth ache and not wanting to go to the dentist.

• Listen to the full episode for even more insights!

Connect with Becky Chernek:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckychernek/

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.chernek.1/

• F&I Today with Becky Chernek - https://www.facebook.com/groups/260984864044461

• Website - https://www.ccilearningcenter.com