Business manager Beth Morton has two highly placed colleagues helping her sell service contracts and GAP coverage at Bob-Boyd Lincoln Mercury — her bosses.
Co-owners Bob Dawes and Boyd Fackler lead off Morton's presentations as co-stars in three 3-minute videos that outline what she will be presenting to new owners at the Columbus, OH dealership.
“The videos set the table real well for me and our other business manager, Jeffrey Alvis,” Morton says. “They've helped us raise our average yields on F&I purchases above the $800 mark per vehicle sold. In some months this year, I've reached a 100% penetration, which means every purchaser has bought some product or service.”
At Bob-Boyd, vehicle salespeople cover the payment steps before the F&I turnover. In turn, they receive bonuses amounting to 7% of the F&I portion of each transaction.
“The bonus encourages our sales force to promote F&I sales,” says Morton. “Ninety percent of our business goes to Ford Credit, which makes it easier to connect with purchase or lease of a Lincoln or Mercury product.”
Morton has worked for Bob-Boyd for 10 years, the first three as title clerk. She moved over to business manager to generate more income for her family of five children. Her work schedule runs 55-70 hours a week, now including several Sunday afternoons a month since Ohio became a “Sunday opening” state.
“I truly love this work,” she says. “It can be stressful, but Bob and Boyd are low-pressure bosses, and the atmosphere here reflects that. I like to meet people and, through selling them credit insurance or GAP coverage or a service contract, I feel that I've helped give them the protection they really need.”
The low-pressure atmosphere at the 33-year-old Lincoln Mercury dealership is echoed by Alvis. Formerly a used-car salesman at Ricart Ford in southeast Columbus, he says customers “feel comfortable” at Bob-Boyd because they've been a family-run institution for so long.
Lincoln Mercury President Darryl B. Hazel, who attended a grand opening of the dealership's new building, recalls being a Lincoln Mercury district manager with Bob-Boyd in his territory.
“Dealers like Bob and Boyd are the heart and soul of Lincoln Mercury,” says Hazel.
