How to Review and Close a Dealer Commission:

Recognizing and paying commissions to referral sources is critical to our relationships and reputation throughout the Industry as a trustworthy provider of used truck services. When people tell us about a used truck deal, they trust that we will follow up on it and not embarrass the referral source and that when appropriate, we will pay them for this reference.

Sales Opportunities:

When an opportunity is "Closed - Won", and a TQDC record exists related to the Sales Opportunity, this opportunity's TQDC record will be marked Status = Review for Commission. The sales rep can review this at the time of closing to determine as to what commission will be paid, if any. As a backup, the opportunity and TQDC will be populated on the report Sales TQDC Commission Review - Unpaid, which Is distributed every Friday to sales for review.

How can I determine If a commission Is owed on a Sales Opportunity? There are several static pieces of Information you can review, and some judgments as well:

• If the TQDC originates this opportunity, we will pay a commission according to our commission agreement with the referring party. How do you determine if the TQDC originated the opportunity?

  • Look at the TQDC record in the field "TQ Date". This is the date on which this TQDC was created in Salesforce. (assuming the user entered the TQDC immediately upon receiving It), this shows the date that Brindlee received the referral from the referral source.

  • Next, look at the Created Date on the Related Opportunity; if the "TQ Date" on the TQDC record and the Created Date on the Opportunity are the same day, logic would dictate that this referral source was likely the originator of this lead. But we must check a couple more places first:

  • Check the FD or Company account record related to the Opportunity. Make sure that we do not have duplicate opportunities that need to be merged.

  • Check the activity history of the FD or Company - If we had a recent conversation with the customer, is there any indication we already have information related to this opportunity?

  • If, after this review, it is evident that this referral source originated the lead, we should pay them a commission.

  • ALWAYS make a phone call to the recipient of the commission, and let them know It Is coming. This must be done to confirm whether we are paying the Dealer Contact or the FD or Company; you must confirm we have the correct W9 on file for the payee, that we have the correct address, then commence with the payment.

  • Sometimes the Dealer Contact may have an agreement to receive commissions directly, sometimes they do not. We do not have this Information, so we are to send commissions to the payee and address as Instructed by the Dealer Contact. This Is one of the easiest calls to make In our business - that we are sending them some money!

How do we determine how much commission to pay?

• • If the referral source has a DFTF (Dealer Fire Truck Finder) account, you may reference the Fire Truck Finder Opportunity attached to the FD or Company record. Here you will find a field named Dealer FTF Website Commission Agreement. Review this, then confirm with your contact the amount. An example Is below of the commission location for these agreements:

• • Record the commission Information to be paid on the TQDC record In the section REQUIRED Field Needed to Submit for Commission Approval.

  • If the referral source is an individual and not a DFTF record, check the WYNTK (What You Need To Know) field on the individual's account for instructions about the type and / or amount of commissions they may be paid. If no information exists here, check with what Brindlee person has a relationship or recent communications with the individual, and you can also check with finance to see commissions amounts paid in the past. Confirm the amount with the individual and confirm the entity to which the payment should be made and where the funds should be sent (wire or check).  Review the related TQDC record for W9 on file.  If the W9 checkbox is blank, please request a W9 from the referral source.  A W9 should be collected from any referral source that we are paying.  The W9 will allow BMFA to remain compliant with IRS guidelines for paying compensation to an individual who is not a BMFA employee.  After confirming or collecting an updated W9 for the entity or individual, the TQDC record can be "Submitted for Approval".  

  • In general, we budget a payment of 10% of a broker revenue amount for the sell side and buy side of a transaction, and 3.5% of the total sale amount of an Inventory sale. We do not publicize these amounts, but give this guideline so that the rep may use this as a starting point to negotiate a deal with the specific dealer. 

Guidance for Commission Conversations

Listings - Brokered Units:

We generally pay a dealer 10% of the commission paid to BMFA. So if a dealer friend informs us of and/or helps us secure a listing and we sell that truck, we will pay 10% of our commission. $80k truck sale will be (standard rate) $8k commission for Brindlee, and then we will send the dealer a commission of $800 AFTER the sale is complete and Brindlee has been paid. 

**We only pay a dealer commission for a brokered unit after we have been paid.** 

There are some outliers, but that is standard practice. We leave it up to the individual to direct WHERE to send that commission. The employing dealer vs. individual dynamic has been and continues to be sensitive, so we have to be extremely careful of how to handle that. We will always do our best to understand, appreciate, and respect those dynamics, and a way we can be cautious about how to proceed is to ask the individual where we should send a check. 

email template communication:

"We are so thankful for your help with the ---------- Fire Department's 2012 Pierce Pumper! We were able to help them find a new home for that truck. We want to send you a token of our appreciation. Where should we send that?" 

This makes it clear that we appreciate everything our dealer friends do and make their time and efforts worthwhile, but it also protects us as they need to tell BMFA exactly where a check should be sent. 

Buys - Inventory Units:

Inventory unit commissions are not quite as clear cut as listed unit dealer commissions... If a dealer lets us know about a truck that we buy, and they sell that department a new unit, we typically will not send a commission as the truck sale is the reward for the dealer. If a dealer makes us aware and/or helps us purchase that truck and they are not selling that department a new unit, we pay a commission when we make that purchase (instead of paying on the back end for brokered units). The amount we pay for inventory units varies. Some dealers don't want a dime. Some have a historical set dollar amount per unit. Some want a fire department patch. Some want cold, hard cash. Some want cash, but it is directly sent to the employing dealer. The practice here is to pick up the phone.

Sample phone communication:

 "Hey Joe (if their name is Joe), thanks again so much for the help with ---------- Fire Department's 2012 Pierce. We bought that truck. We love you and appreciate your time and efforts on this. How can we extend our thanks?" 

This lets them direct (1) the dollar amount and (2) where to send a check. The amount varies. As long as it is within reason, we will send that amount. If a dealer lets us know about an older truck he happened to see on Facebook, we dig in to find it and contact the department. We buy it for $20k, and then the dealer says, "Great, $10k would be a good gesture for my time!" that would not make terrific sense, but again, within reason, let them direct the conversation, and we will do our best to make/keep our dealer friends happy. If we buy a truck for $200k and the dealer mentions that he spent a couple of days with the guys at the department and took us a bunch of photos to review and gathered specs and $1,500 would be nice recompense for his time, that is fair, and we'll send that amount. 

When in doubt, always ask your immediate supervisor or anyone on our management team!