Personal Blog

More and more consumers are getting their auto financing online instead of from the dealerships where they buy their vehicles. Getting auto financing from a dealership has some benefits:

• Convenience – vehicles and financing are in one place and the dealer is motivated to find financing for buyers, no matter their circumstances.

• More options – a dealer’s relationships with a variety of banks and finance companies mean they can offer a range of loans to fit a buyer’s credit rating.

• Special programs – sometimes dealers can offer manufacturer-sponsored, low-rate programs, but usually only to people with good credit.

But getting auto financing online offers even more advantages:

• Certainty – buyers know how much they can spend before setting foot on a dealer’s lot.

• Clout – buyers with financing in hand are treated like cash customers and are in a stronger negotiating position.

• Cash savings – because of competition, online buyers often get the lowest interest rate possible for someone with their credit rating.

• Calmness – buyers aren’t subjected to the high-pressure tactics of a dealer’s finance department.

Shopping for your financing first can save you a lot of headaches. If you know how much money you’re qualified to borrow, you can limit your search to a vehicle you’ll actually be able to afford. Why set your heart on a Hummer when your checkbook says Hyundai.

Play it safe
Due to advances in Internet security, online financial transactions are for the most part safe and secure. Still, The Federal Trade Commission offers the following advice regarding online transactions:

• Use a secure browser – software that encrypts or scrambles the purchase information you send over the Internet – to help guard the security of your information as it is transmitted to a website. Be sure your browser has the most up-to-date encryption capabilities by using the latest version available from the manufacturer.

• Check the site’s privacy policy, before you provide any personal financial information to a website. In particular, determine how the information will be used or shared with others. Also check the site’s statements about the security provided for your information.

• Keep your personal information private. Don’t disclose your personal information – your address, telephone number, Social Security number, bank account number or e-mail address – unless you know who’s collecting the information, why they’re collecting it and how they’ll use it.

• Give payment information only to businesses you know and trust, and only when and where it is appropriate – like an order form. Never give your password to anyone online, even your Internet service provider.

Visitors to the site can fill out a simple app, which is instantly submitted to reputable dealers in their area. The one with the winning offer contacts the applicant with a pre-approved loan amount, usually within a few hours. The loan quotes are free and the inquirer is under no obligation to accept the offer.

RSS feeds and blogs took Internet marketing by a storm in 2005.  Every time we turn around there’s a brand new marketing vehicle speeding down the Internet highway.  In the fast paced race of the virtual world, it’s easy to get swept away in the current of technology.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that computers have taken control of both our personal world and the business world.  That’s a scary thought!  It’s nearly impossible to even make a phone call without talking to a computer, much less try to find success in the marketplace without spending more time with your computer than you do your family.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be so bad if I could get my computer to do what I wanted it to all of the time.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of days when I’m ready to pull my hair out in frustration because it refuses to obey my commands (usually screamed or hissed through gritted teeth).  It’s then that I realize just how little control I really do have in this technological world.

Think about it… when a computer refuses to do what you want it to, what are your alternatives?  You can glare all day, threaten to fire it, or get mad and use a few expletives.  It just sits there, frozen, with the same error message on the screen – unintimidated and unchanging.  (That’s when you learn to appreciate staff members who are at least upset when you get ticked off because they don’t do what you want them to.)

Don’t take me wrong.  Computers are really the most amazing invention to ever be introduced to humans.  Take a look at Federal Express.  Every day millions and millions of packages pass through the company’s computer system.  You can track your package with a few clicks of the mouse and know exactly where it’s at and when it will arrive at your doorstep.  A perfect example of a company that is in control of its computer system!

Technology can advance your marketing goals as well.  How can you take the reigns and make technology an asset rather than a master?

1. Take Control
Simply take control.  Hey, I’m serious!  How often do we find ourselves using computers for more than we intended to?  Yeah, we find out what they can do and feel like we have to use them when we’re not ready.  Don’t forget that you have the power to say, “No!” or even, “later.”  Jumping into a project half prepared is the perfect formula for letting your computer take control.

2. Learn the Ropes.
Even the most skilled web designers and computer programmers were once newbies who had to learn which button turned the computer on.  Don’t be intimidated.  Take some classes or find someone to tutor you.  Be confident that you understand before you incorporate a new program into your marketing campaign.

Computers may rule the world, but they don’t have to rule you and me as individuals.  We’re free to use them when they meet the needs of our marketing goals.  We’re free to boot them when they become troublesome… just don’t forget to make a back up!