When it comes to managing compliance risks in auto sales, are you a renegade, a wild cowboy or a rule-abiding, conscientious Boy Scout?

If you found yourself leaning toward the first option, Informativ wants to help you change your ways.

Informativ has been working with dealers for decades and is the only proactive credit and compliance company from lead to sale, according to Doug Fusco, Founder, Dealer Safeguard Solutions - Powered by Informativ.

“There’s been a disconnect between what FTC [Federal Trade Commission] mandates” and what dealerships can handle, Fusco said, while noting that compliance guidelines have gone from two pages in 2009 when he founded the company to 145 pages today.

During a Friday session at NADA Show’s Live Stage, Fusco was joined by Informativ Regional Sales Manager Tami Richter and three auto dealership leaders who talked about how Informativ has provided an extra level of automated security to their sales processes.

“Prior to Informativ, we didn’t really have a solid process in place,” said Jesse Cordaway, Corporate Variable Operations Director, Parks Automotive Group. “Now we have a lot more compliance and awareness… You really don’t realize how many fraud issues you have until you have the technology in place.”

For Chris Suchy, General Manager, Nielsen Auto Group, Infromativ has made regulatory compliance an automatic part of the sales process. “Our group has always been big on compliance, but it could always be inconsistent,” Suchy said. “Now have the extra safety net to make sure we do things properly.”

It has also streamlined the process for multi-rooftop auto groups, agreed Cordaway, Suchy and Pohanka Autos CFO Jimmy Robinson. “From CFO standpoint… the consistency is what we’re all striving for and the software helps us tremendously,” Robinson said.

One key benefit of Informativ is the ability to run driver’s licenses and get a wealth of information about a potential buyer – as well as catching potential bad players.

Just two weeks ago, Cordaway had a customer walk in with a driver’s license that looked legitimate. All the information matched what the software pulled up, however, the photo was all wrong. “The software helped us not deliver a [Dodge] Demon,” which is a very expensive car, Cordaway explained.

In fact, Fusco said he recently ran some preliminary numbers for 2023 and found that Informativ had flagged 5,000 fake IDs that were submitted at the dealership. Even better, those IDs were flagged throughout the entire dealership network so the other locations would be protected.

“Having the ability to scan a license and know up front if there’s going to be any kind of issue has been a game changer,” Suchy agreed.

Infomativ is an NADA Show Live Stage sponsor.

Watch the livestream from the Live Stage all week at NADA Show 2024.