An Interview with Randy Crisorio

Clearwater-based United Development Systems (UDS), was started by president and CEO, Randy Crisorio in 1982. Founded on the vision of driving peak performance of F&I operations in franchised automobile dealers through the use of recruitment, dedicated training, monitoring and development, Crisorio said their original mission has not changed today. “The way that we look at it,” stated Randy, “ is that when we attract a new client, our loyalty is to that dealer principal, the person who owns the business, and once we have that commitment, then our job is to make stars of finance and insurance managers. If we can do that then the dealer is going to make more money, the finance and insurance manager is going to make more money.” This results in long term and successful relationships with the clients.

Crisorio got his start in the business in his early twenties, shortly after returning to his parents' home in Illinois from active duty in a helicopter squadron in the United States Marine Corp. He awoke one morning to find an employment ad at the foot of his bed, courtesy of his mother. The ad was for a position at a local Chevrolet dealership. While he wasn't too thrilled about it at the time, he went to the interview, landed the job and has been in the industry ever since.

While he is not quick to point it out, UDS supports a number of charitable organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Clearwater Free Clinic and Pinellas Education Foundation among others. What Crisorio likes most about the business, “is the ability to develop people, watch them grow, watch them become more successful and live a happy life with their family. For us that is as important as making money. We have had many successes over the years and have met a lot of really quality people.”

“Training,” he continued, “has always been the biggest focus of at UDS.”

Crisorio has had the good fortune to have his sons join him working at UDS after they finished college and gained some dealership seasoning, and he candidly gives his bride of 38 years the credit for an assist in the early days. He recalls how UDS training got its start more than 30 years ago, with her organizing training materials as fast as he could create them. He recognized that the few providers nationally who were good at what they did weren't delivering the broad-based training expertise required to get the job done. He saw a gap that he knew needed to be filled. So in a Tampa Airport Hotel, UDS launched their first organized training session with 29 F&I managers in attendance. “It has taken off since then,” said Crisorio, “and it is still what we're all about.”

Crisorio's biggest frustration in the business is that many competitors in the field talk the same ball game but don't deliver, making it difficult for a prospective dealer to discern what's real and what isn't. UDS has been awarded the Dealers' Choice Diamond Award taking the top spot for F&I Training for the last eight out of nine years. UDS provides regular training, webinars, has a partner portal, is soon to be launching UDS television and spend lots of time working with people to develop them. He noted that when they are talking with a dealer about coming in with high quality products and making the dealer more money, and competitors are making the same promises but lack the deliverables, the dealer is hearing the same music. “So our biggest frustration is being separated from the competition. Being rated number one helps, but it probably doesn't give the entire story to the dealer.”

The cornerstone of operations at UDS has always been training. Crisorio described their training as, “the key to awareness and knowledge that expands the horizons of success.” They see it every day and take it very seriously. As dealer-client needs evolve, UDS training programs are constantly growing. They take great pride in their F&I selling system, AutoMenu,® which has been a leader in customer satisfaction and industry leading income production. And Crisorio is excited about launching UDS television in the fall, which will provide real life video of sample presentations and objection handling, along with a series of tips and techniques offered by UDS Staffers. “Training is something we work hard at every day.”

What the Future Holds

Over the next five years, Crisorio sees the industry looking much the same, but he believes looks can be deceiving. “People will still be doing the F&I process but technology, which is moving very fast, will impact the complexities of automobiles,” he noted. In the agent body, however, he sees somewhat of a shakeout of those who can't deliver.

“The agent body in this industry continues to grow increasingly professional and must bring more to today's auto dealer than they did even five or ten years ago in terms of deliverables that drive F&I dealers' business. I think people are going to need to dig down a little bit deeper to really get good at laying down expectations and laying accountability at the feet of people who perform every day.” Going to a dealer, saying “we'll make you more money” isn't going to be enough, predicted Crisorio. Agents are going to have to dig in and bring something meaningful to the table that isn't just chatter.

When it comes to new and unique products, Crisorio explained that dealers aren't generally asking for them. “The innovation of competition is present among the providers of products. We represent the best providers in the industry and these risk takers try to get the marketing edge with their product, so the pieces aren't there being asked for by the dealer, but (are) being driven by wanting to get a step ahead of the other people at the provider level.”

Regarding dealerships, he noted that UDS considers itself to be partners with them in their venture, driving results that have always gained profitability, proficiency and efficiency. “But you've got to be delivering on all corners. We've got to have the right people, we've got to have the right incentive plan and we have to have the right accountability track. When we go into a new dealership, we're talking expectations: this is where you are, this is where we expect to go and this is how we're going to get there. Just ask any of our partners.”