Not Your Standard 'Realignment' Service

Published March 23, 2012

February might be known as the month of love, but for GM Financial, the month seemed to take on a new meaning: change. Since late 2011, numerous projects have been in the works, and they all came to a head in February. In addition to rolling out the new gmfinancial.com website and fully incorporating the GM Financial brand into our operations, another project was quietly in the works – one that set apart the GM Financial name from AmeriCredit, and also gave our salesforce a newly-defined role.

A mission of transition

On Feb. 1, a realignment took place within Dealer Services as members of the Sales and Credit department separated into two distinct groups servicing GM or non-GM dealers. Under the new arrangement these Sales and Credit team members are working as they always have to fully cater to our dealer customers, except that now they're either supporting GM dealers as GM Financial, or non-GM dealers under the AmeriCredit brand.

It's a move that makes sense on multiple levels, said Jonas Hollandsworth, executive vice president of U.S. Sales and Credit Operations. "In the fall of 2011, it became apparent based on figures and feedback from our team members that realignment was needed in order to fully maximize the level of service that we provide to our dealers," he said. "Our Dealer Relationship Managers (DRMs) were working hard as they juggled obligations to support both GM and AmeriCredit dealers alike, and while they were successful, at times there were simply too many dealers and not enough hours in the day to give them the kind of service they deserved."

Spotlight on the GM Financial brand

While the new realignment doesn't technically add any new responsibilities to a DRM's workload, there are adjustments that have to be made. GM Financial DRMs will focus on:

• Serving as a liaison between credit centers and dealers, providing sales, service and account management support for GM franchises.
• Effectively delivering the GM Financial value proposition and serving as a consultant to manage dealer development.
• Fostering product knowledge, which includes leasing and, in the future, commercial lending products.

And it's not just DRMs that are making a change – the realignment extends through Regional Sales Managers, Regional Credit Managers and credit buying teams in order to maintain consistent messaging, brand differentiation, and targeted service for both channels.

"This has been an ambitious move, but one that's absolutely needed," said Mike Urrutia, senior vice president of Dealer Services. "Prior to our full-scale launch on Feb. 1, we tested the new structure with our team members operating out of our Orlando Credit Center. We saw immediate positive responses from both our dealers and our team members there, and as the realignment continues and the pieces fall into place, we expect to see continued success this year as we strive to provide the best service possible for our dealers and partners."