Motor finance brokers
have a bright future, says Darren Greenyer… if they offer
best-in-class service.

 

Photograph of Darren Greenyer, HPIIn an uncertain
economic climate, consumers are keen to keep a handle on their
finances by hunting out the best finance offers. Dealers have risen
to the challenge, with the Finance & Leasing Association
reporting point-of-sale motor loans at a two-year high. Not
surprisingly, some supermarkets are returning to the consumer
finance sector, helping to keep the market as
competitive.

With an ever-shifting market
comes increased pressure on brokers, begging the question: Is there
still a place in today’s motor finance market for brokers? The
short answer is yes, but with some caveats.

In these tough times, brokers
can never underestimate the power of efficiency. Those who fail to
offer quick and efficient solutions could find their funders moving
on to greener pastures.

Gone are the golden days of
shotgun applications to multiple funders. Brokers could once sit
and wait while funders raced to accept and get a deal paid out.
Tables have turned. The old way of operating is no longer
profitable for finance houses and it damages a potential customer’s
credit profile.

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In this shifting market,
brokers need to adopt adequate screening and qualification levels
to ensure the funder gets the correct application and the right
customer is matched to the funder likely to give them the best
deal.

The advent of the new
Consumer Credit Directive means screening is even more
crucial.

If customers receive multiple
declines, car dealers risk being left with a string of unhappy
customers, which could bring down the overall business
performance.

At HPI, we believe brokers
need to make sure they have the right expertise and knowledge in
back-office support teams. These people should be able to ensure
deals are packaged and ready to be funded.

What you don’t want is a
series of conversations between broker and dealer, and broker and
funder. This is a recipe for inefficiency, adding to processing
costs and time delays, which could see the deal
collapse.

Brokers must focus on
providing a premium service level to funder partners and dealers,
to make it worth their while.

Deliver the right solution to
the right customer in a timely, efficient manner, and brokers can
still prove their worth. Anything less than that can only fail in
the face of the onslaught from direct-to-consumer supermarket-style
funding.

Darren Greenyer is head
of automotive finance at HPI