Business View - May 2015 27
That’s still the intent, Corder said, even if buyers come
in assuming they’ve mastered the process.
“Sometimes they think they know more than they do,”
he said.
“They might think that they know pricing when the
information they’ve got is not necessarily accurate.
We’re a pretty soft-sell organization, so for us it’s been
pretty good. There are some old-school car dealers
that didn’t want people to have any idea about pricing.
But for us it’s been, by and large, it’s easier to deal
with an educated customer.”
The company has built brand recognition both by ac-
tively seeking referrals to friends and families of exist-
ing customers, as well as by making itself a familiar
element in the communities it serves.
In fact, Corder said Findlay’s dedication to a deep in-
volvement in charities, schools and community events
goes beyond just about all businesses – car-related or
otherwise – that he can recall.
“It gives people a good impression of our organization
and it gives us a chance to get out and meet people in
a non-sales environment,” he said. “I don’t know how
to do it any other way. I definitely think it’s good for our
business, but it’s hard to quantify. I can’t measure it
and say the people that bought cars from us on Satur-
day did it because they saw us at an event or because
we’re sponsoring their kid’s baseball team. But we
definitely think that’s an advantage.”
And going forward, Corder doesn’t expect the ap-
proaches to change.
Continued growth will be pursued on a by-circumstance
basis, and he said any growth that does occur over the
next five years or so isn’t likely to stretch beyond the
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