Santander Consumer Finance (SCF) has announced the release of an enhanced renewals platform which offers free training for car dealerships' sales staff.

It has added new features to its free Customers for Life programme which delivers an enhanced lead management system which aims to help retailers improve their customer retention rates and profitability.

SCF is also providing free interactive online training for sales staff as part of its commitment to supporting personal development through Virtual Dealer.

These sessions are in addition to the six Customers for Life eLearning modules, classroom- based appointment making workshops and on-site health check review and action planning consultancy with Business Development Managers which are also available, SCF said.

Santander Consumer Finance’s director of marketing and innovation, Andy Green, said: “Feedback on Customers for Life shows it has been successful in helping dealers to increase renewals and enhance their sales performance, but it needs to keep evolving.”

Enhancements to Customers for Life include support on managing leads and a new customer profile area.

Both developments enable dealers to reduce the reliance on paper records and offer an integrated calculator which helps produce bespoke customer offers for appointments and like-for-like payment parity functionality for manufacturers.

“We believe there is an enormous opportunity to help our dealers prosper and deliver mutual sales growth which is part of our long-term commitment to creating a sustainable and prosperous future for our dealer partners,” said Green.