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A TTAC source asks us to perform the following mental exercise:
“Just imagine that you’re a car salesman and you come into work this morning. Your boss says we have a bunch of new incentive programs you need to learn. And here they are . . .”
Date: 09/30/2009 Ref. number: Sales / Incentives /
Subject: All Regions – October 1, 2009 – You’ve Got Incentives
NATIONAL PROGRAMS
Program Number: 09-06Z-3
Program Name: GM FAMILY TENT SALE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 09-40CC-2
Program Name: GM HOURLY SPECIAL ATTRITION PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 09-40CG-1
Program Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (USAA) $750 PRIVATE OFFER
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 09-40CH-1
Program Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (USAA) $1000 PRIVATE OFFER
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-03
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER GOODWILL CERTIFICATE PROCESS
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-04
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM COLLEGE DISCOUNT PRICING PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-05
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM CARD (BLUE/GOLD) PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-05A
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM CARDS WITH REDEMPTION LIMITS COPPER/ PLATINUM AND FLEXIBLE EARNINGS PROGRAMS
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-05B
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM BUSINESS CARD PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-05C
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM EXTENDED FAMILY CARD PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-06
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM EMPLOYEE PURCHASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-07
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM MOBILITY ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-08
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM DRIVER EDUCATION PURCHASE/LEASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-08A
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM DRIVER EDUCATION LOANER PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-09
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM DEALERSHIP EMPLOYEE PURCHASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-10
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM SUPPLIER DISCOUNT PRICING
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-11
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM CREDIT UNION MEMBER DISCOUNT PRICING PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-14
Program Name: 2010 GM CUSTOMER APPRECIATION CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-16
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM MILITARY DISCOUNT PRICING PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-18
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM RETIREE VOUCHER
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-19
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM INTRANSIT INTEREST CREDIT PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-20
Program Name: 2010 MODEL YEAR GM PRICE PROTECTION PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-40AA-1
Program Name: OCTOBER OVERAGE BONUS CASH PROGRAM
Effective From: September 26, 2009
Program Number: 10-40B
Program Name: GMAC SMARTLEASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-40USB
Program Name: CADILLAC OCTOBER US BANK LEASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
And then there are the regional programs . . .
WESTERN REGION PROGRAMS
Program Number: 10-31BD
Program Name: CREDIT UNION SUPPORTED LEASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-31D-1
Program Name: GM WESTERN REGION 2009/2008 RETAIL CONSUMER CASH/APR/DEALER CASH INCENTIVES
Effective From: October 1, 2009
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION PROGRAMS
Program Number: 10-32D-1
Program Name: GM SOUTH CENTRAL REGION 2009/2008 RETAIL CONSUMER CASH/APR/DEALER CASH INCENTIVES
Effective From: October 1, 2009
SOUTHEAST PROGRAMS
Program Number: 10-33BD
Program Name: CREDIT UNION SUPPORTED LEASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-33D-1
Program Name: GM SOUTHEAST REGION 2009/2008 RETAIL CONSUMER CASH/APR/DEALER CASH INCENTIVES
Effective From: October 1, 2009
NORTHEAST PROGRAMS
Program Number: 10-34BD
Program Name: CREDIT UNION SUPPORTED LEASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-34D-1
Program Name: GM NORTHEAST REGION 2009/2008 RETAIL CONSUMER CASH/APR/DEALER CASH INCENTIVES
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-34G
Program Name: GM NE REGION NEW JERSEY COST SURCHARGE REFUND PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-34USB
Program Name: OCTOBER US BANK LEASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
NORTH CENTRAL PROGRAMS
Program Number: 10-35BD
Program Name: CREDIT UNION SUPPORTED LEASE PROGRAM
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-35D-1
Program Name: GM NORTH CENTRAL REGION 2009/2008 RETAIL CONSUMER CASH/APR/DEALER CASH INCENTIVES
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-35G
Program Name: SELECT STATES GM ILLINOIS COST SURCHARGE REFUND PROGRAM FOR RETAIL PARTS MARK-UP DEALERS
Effective From: October 1, 2009
Program Number: 10-35USB
Program Name: OCTOBER US BANK LEASE PROGRAM
22 Comments on “GM’s New Incentive Programs Revealed...”
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I qualify for several. Figuring out how much a GM car costs a given customer must be quite a time-consuming task.
Number of cars in GM’s current fleet that exceed 30mpg city: 0
Number of cars in *my* current fleet that exceed 30mpg city: 2
Number of reasons I care about GM’s incentives: 0
Holy Crap! I don’t think even the best and brightest can figure out or remember this list. Most salesman I’ve come across in my years of car buying barely know what they’re selling let alone any incentive programs available.
What percentage of the population DOES NOT qualify for one or more of those?
This looks like some college intern was trying to showcase how innovative/ gung-ho/ rah-rah GM he/she/it is.
Wow, I guess I should hustle my ass down to the nearest GM dealership and get me some discountin’ on GM’s sensible competitor to the v50/v70/Passat wagon/Legacy wagon I want.
Oh, right. They don’t make one.
It’s like buying a damned airline ticket.
Not sure whether to blame GM’s decades-long bureaucracy or their new government overlords, but either way this is ridiculous.
If you look at the national programs, a lot of them are long term promotional/public relations programs, not short term incentives.
Automobile Association and credit union membership, GM branded credit cards, employee/supplier/retiree discounts, handicapped and driver’s ed programs.
I’m sure the list is a headache to learn for sales staffs, but for consumers it’s not dissimilar to figuring out if your kid is eligible for a college scholarship. My family is eligible for the LaVerne Noyes Scholarship Program, set up for World War One era veterans and their descendants.
You just have to be an informed consumer. Yeah, it’s a challenge to be an informed consumer and a good salesperson. I don’t think it’d be too hard to create a checklist organized by type of incentive, that a salesperson could go through with a customer as part of the pricing process.
Frankly, it wouldn’t hurt if the dealer just had a bulletin board posted with the current incentive and promotional programs so shoppers could check.
The list is impressively confusing but we shouldn’t conflate all of them with cash on the hood incentives, like the regional ones at the bottom of the list.
Holy Crap. This is the NEW GM? Suddenly the long form federal tax form has some competition. Even if your learn all of this , you just got to know it will all change in 30 days again. Why not build something some one wants to buy and stop this Wheel of fortune game? This is what I’m being forced to bail out? GM must Die.
Sooooo…with all of these incentives, as of October 1, GM is effectively giving their cars away? Sure looks like it…
It doesn’t have to be difficult. I have worked on software projects for banking that guide the CSR’s through opening accounts and performing 99% of their duties.
The software steps the CSR through scripts, helps them ask the customer questions in order to get the the customer the best deal, or the best product for them. I also helps the CSR answer the customer’s questions. There are a lot of banking products, and rules that change all the time. No CSR can be expected to know everything at all times (or at least not as the wages offered). So as long as the CSR knows how to use the guidance software, the info is at their fingertips.
A good car salesman could use a similar system to get his customer the most discounts, or optimal discounts, in order to get a price that makes the customer say “Yes”.
However, I suspect that a lot of these programs are designed to get people in the door, but not actually used. So they really don’t want them to succeed.
Lemmy-powered :
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Wow, I guess I should hustle my ass down to the nearest GM dealership and get me some discountin’ on GM’s sensible competitor to the v50/v70/Passat wagon/Legacy wagon I want.
Oh, right. They don’t make one.
Actually they do, SAAB 9-3 or 9-5 sportcombi. They haven’t quite got round to flogging SAAB off yet so they are still GM wagons. And very nice wagons they are too.
it’s exactly this confusing crap I have been preaching against for years. time to throw the bullshit programs away and their worthless author LanEve right with them. if he stays, GM is toast.
I think this incentives list is misleading; you could say TTAC is confusing if you were to just put up the sitemap in a single, grey-bolded, list.
Look at the list more closely – the latter half of the list shows specific region incentives; you only need to know the special region incentives if you actually operate in that region.
The Military (USAA), Student, Disabled incentives are usually common and fixed for quite some time. One could argue that GM should stop extending these type of incentives, but then someone else will argue that college grads and disabled people deserve some discounted pricing.
The Goodwill certificates, GM Card, etc things are yet another example of things that are good FYI but they don’t change month over month.
Employee, Retiree, Supplier, Union, and Customer Appreciation incentives are common for all automakers. If you’re selling GM products near a GM plant, you better understand these discounts. If you’re selling Chevy’s in Idaho (of course some GM retiree lives there) you can probably file this in the recycle bin.
The important ones are the Dealer Cash, volume/performance kickback (usually only the sales manager reads this), Customer Cash, holdback rates, and special financing rates / lease rates. All of the OEMs have these types of incentives. And yes, a salesperson should be responsible to understand these basic incentives in order to snag a customer.
Either way, if a salesperson doesn’t want to become versed in these incentives until a customer asks about them – well I’m sure they are adults capable of making a judgment call on what they want to commit to memory to do their jobs.
yankinwaoz :
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
It doesn’t have to be difficult. I have worked on software projects for banking that guide the CSR’s through opening accounts and performing 99% of their duties.
Maybe there’s a market for incentive/promotion management software for dealers. Dealers already buy a lot of specialty software. Cook up a tool for the sales staffs just like the CSRs at a bank.
Maybe there’s a market for incentive/promotion management software for dealers. Dealers already buy a lot of specialty software. Cook up a tool for the sales staffs just like the CSRs at a bank.
Welll – it’s a declining market, unless you have a Korean or Chinese language option.
Simplicate. Add lightness.
“You got a pulse? We got a deal…”
Lemmy-powered :
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Wow, I guess I should hustle my ass down to the nearest GM dealership and get me some discountin’ on GM’s sensible competitor to the v50/v70/Passat wagon/Legacy wagon I want.
Oh, right. They don’t make one.
That’s because the market for midsize sedan-based wagons is as dead as Francisco Franco.
Robert,
The plain truth is most scumbag dealers won’t allow to find out about discounts (so the F&I douche bag can give up that gross, but still look like a hero) because they’re so stinking greedy.
And even further into the truth, most car salesmen aren’t paid on dealer cash, or on quite a few of these incentives.
Has it become apparent which direction I’m headed here yet?
Screw car dealers. Every last, stinking one of the greedy little bastards.
And of course, I mean that in the most loving, Christian way.
One of these days, when you want the truth about dealers, you’ll ask.
I assume they could use computers to figure out the incentives?
Uhh, just go with haggle-free pricing and be done with it. Although there were lots of leasing deals in the mix, which complexifies things.
FreedMike,
The market for midsize wagons isn’t dead, it’s just been renamed ‘the crossover market’. Egad, I saw a couple of Venzas on the road yesterday…what are people thinking? The new CAFE regs at least give wagons a fighting chance. But as long as there are suckers out there who will pay an extra $10K for a crossover vs. the same product with more glass and cargo space (i.e. a wagon), I don’t expect much progress.
Nah this isnt hard at all.
Just like figuring out why the TB was canned.. the the Equinox is now just as big.
Or why CUVS are as big as SUVS for GM.
At my work.. there is one motto.
Only thing ya can rely on.. is change itself.
(The rest is a hunk of shit)