5 Questions With Hugh Hatch

We like to take a moment and meet some of the people behind the Michigan made products. Today, we're talking with Hugh Hatch, owner of the FSI Group LLC, which makes The ForSaleInator product in Warren, MI.

MiMM: Hugh, what was your inspiration for creating The ForSaleInator?

HH: To create a product that would help people sell their car or truck faster by providing the potential used vehicle buyer a convenient card reflecting the sellers’ contact & vehicle information in an enclosure so they cards would not blow away or become damaged.

My other inspiration came when prior to being laid off as an Account Financial Director in the GM Business Unit of a Tier One Auto Supplier at the beginning of May, 2008. I was on my way to a meeting at the GM Technical Center in Warren and saw a Saturn Ion For Sale. I didn’t have enough time to stop and write down the information I needed. I figured I could stop on my way back to the office. Unfortunately the car was gone and so was my opportunity to look at and potentially buy it. At the same time the Seller lost an opportunity to sell it.
Had my product been on the vehicle, I could have quickly stopped and retrieved a card on my way to the meeting.

MiMM: What is your favorite feature of this product?

HH: How easy it is to use. Fill out five or six information cards of the fifteen that come with the ForSaleInator, place them into the container, put a FOR SALE Sign on the interior window and capture the stem between the window and door frame (passenger or driver side). Clean, wax and fill the fluids of the vehicle that is being sold then determine how many people have taken an information card and move it to a better location if only one or two have been retieved.

MiMM: Who is your target audience? Who did you create this product for?

HH: I am targeting anyone who is trying to sell their car or truck faster and more effectively. I am also targeting the same people who list their vehicle for sale on one of many free used vehicle ad websites (eg, VEHIX, Craigs List, Kijiji, etc) who want to potentially sell their vehicle to people who do not use the internet and are passing by the vehicle.

MiMM: What question do you get asked the most about this product?

HH: Is the ForSaleInator weatherproof. The labels are laser printed on weatherproof labels. The container is made of plastic with a UV stabilizer additive and is re-useable. The cards will not blow away due to a strap that is formed across the inner container. If a card gets wet I have included a Form File on my website that can be used to fill out additional or replacement cards.

MiMM: That's phenomenal Hugh. Please share with our readers a product success story.

A gentleman had been trying to sell his “2005” Pontiac GTO for several weeks. He placed a free website ad and received five calls with questions to answer about the car. He would get interrupted by people knocking on his door for more information about what the vehicle had on it and in it. Four weeks after the car was listed on the free website listing service he purchased the ForSaleInator and people weren’t knocking at his door. After only five calls from the website ad and more than twelve cards retrieved by potential buyers from the ForSaleInator, he sold the vehicle to a lady who stopped and took an Information Card.

I have spun off two other versions of the ForSaleInator. A Dealership and Residential Contractor version. There are currently four local Dealerships who have purchased the ForSaleInator for their Used Car Lots. They allow a potential customer who shops after hours with an option to take the card with them or leave their contact information on the card and place it in a Dealer mailbox.

The Residential Contractor version allows Landscapers, Painters, Electricians, Pest Control and other contractors who call on or are working at a home to leave the ForSaleInator on their vehicle with a special information card which reflects their expertise, discounts, hours, specialties and contact information for a potential customer who would like their services but do not want to disturb them while they are on a job or working for someone else.

I have been interviewed by TV Warren, Sky News, Manny Lopez for his column in the Detroit News and by reporters from the Warren Weekly, Macomb Daily and Daily Tribune.

I have only been in business for approximately nine months and have sold the Private Seller and Contractor versions of the ForSaleInator throughout the United States.

MiMM: Hugh, we appreciate you taking the time to speak with us today. The ForSaleInator, a product Made in Michigan, is available at http://www.ForSaleInator.com.