Thirty Years of Performance Improvement with Ted Ings

It’s been more than three decades since Ted Ings was featured in DealerWorld Magazine.

Under his guidance, Fette Ford in Clifton, New Jersey improved their Red Carpet leases from 20 per month to over 100 units monthly. The very same Ted Ings is still working hard to improve dealership performance, but this time all over North America with the Center for Performance Improvement.

Leases at the time were typically 48 months or longer, much like they are now, and Ford’s idea for short-term leasing was still in its infancy.

Then, a young leasing manager with just seven years of automotive experience by the name of Ted Ings made a huge impact. Fette Ford stopped promoting 48-month leases. Their print ads solely targeted Ford’s 24-month lease program dubbed ‘The Plan’. Their sales team was single-mindedly focused on one thing: the 24-month ‘Plan’.

Ted emphasized the customer experience and guided the customer to better decision-making. In ‘The Plan’, customers participated in the process, saw comparative numbers, experienced a low-pressure environment, and were the center of the sales process.

Within a five-month span, the young ‘Plan Sales Manager’ Ted Ings had revolutionized leasing at Fette Ford. Red Carpet leases jumped from 20 per month to 70 units per month, more than tripling lease volume. Eventually, that number would surpass the store’s goal of 100 Red Carpet leases per month.

The 35th Anniversary of "The Plan"

From the front page of DealerWorld Magazine in July/August 1988 to today, Ted Ings has continued to have amazing success. Now the Customer Experience Expert at the Center for Performance Improvement, Ted continues to think outside the box in the automotive retail industry.

Ted says, “I can’t believe it’s been thirty years already. I’m still loving the automotive industry. People have changed, and the cars definitely have changed a lot. But what I did in 1988 is the same thing I do now: I coach dealership teams to success. And like ‘The Plan’, the whole retail automotive industry needs to revolve around a superb customer experience first, and the result is always more sales and happier clients.

“That’s why I believe in what we do.”

Need to experience a revolution in your dealership? Reach out to Ted Ings at the Center for Performance Improvement to discover a customized training curriculum developed specifically for your needs.