Kelly Price, president of National Automotive Experts (NAE), took the time to talk with AE for this month’s edition of View From the Top. The following discussion includes background on Price and NAE, the company’s product offerings and the industry’s past and future.
Tell us about your company and the products you offer.
National Automotive Experts is a full-line administration and training company, specializing in reinsurance, service retention products, such as our exclusive Warranty Forever program, Diamon-Fusion and other excellent options. We pride ourselves on full transparency to our agents and dealers.
How do your offerings differ from others?
We are truly involved with our dealers and agents. We look for ways to constantly keep them in the “know.” Our agents and dealers have become “addicted” to how easy it is to stay on top of what is really happening in their dealerships.
Who are your target markets and what message would like to give them?
We really want to work with dealers and agents who want to dig into a dealership and make the best of every opportunity. Dealers and agents who focus on the overall profits of a dealership from the top down tend to be our best clients. We help them dial into every aspect of their operation. By specializing in reinsurance options, we can bring forward the best and most profitable products available today.
Tell us about yourself and the path that led you to NAE.
After many years of being frustrated with reporting delays and the “shell” games with other administrators while working at a large dealer group, I decided that there had to be a better way. Trying to figure out how all of the numbers balanced out was next to impossible each month. I became very driven to make sure that no matter what, our dealers could understand and “add up” their monies without lacking any disclosure on our part. After many years of working directly with dealers, we launched our product offerings through agencies in 2006. We are now partners with over 1,500 dealers nationwide.
How has the industry changed in the past five years, and how do you see it changing in the future?
Regulations are changing each and every day. It is a full-time job to keep up on the ever-changing state regulations. More importantly, in the past five years we have seen many changes in the way that lenders and manufacturers are attempting to control the choices a dealer makes in his/her daily operations. In some ways, it actually hinders the dealers’ profitability rather than enhancing it. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but it will definitely be a roller coaster ride in the meantime!
What product will drive your future success?
There isn’t one particular product. The one thing that will drive our success is our overall commitment to our agents and dealers. We really want to be a partner and to help increase profitability in dealerships. Rather than tie a dealer to a particular product, we would prefer to look at the whole picture and decide what product(s) they need to make their dealership the most profitable.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
That is funny … I don’t seem to have much of that lately! I try to make sure that I see my older son perform anytime he is on stage and get to each of my younger son’s ball games. The rest of my time is spent with my husband, family and helping the needs of the Cleveland Christian Home, which is a boys’ home in Cleveland that helps boys who need intense therapy due to their family unit being dysfunctional or non-existent.
