F&I Imprints
In F&I we crave every opportunity. And sometimes that opportunity knocks as the closing bell sounds. F&I is a retail occupation. In retail, customers dictate the hours we keep.
Before 1968 sales personnel wrote their own purchase orders and F&I income was non-existent. Consumer protection initiatives generated the law of disclosure and gave birth to the F&I profession.
The F&I representative should be the person who writes the purchase order (buyer’s order) after the sales manager has approved the sales figures. The message to the sales consultant is: You are important to me, and I will take care of your customer. When the F&I manager leaves the dealership while a deal is in progress, it signals disregard for both the customer and salesperson.
If we in F&I want every opportunity we must be present for every opportunity. It makes no difference if the dealership operates on a spot delivery system or a two-visit process. F&I must be available to take a turn.
Consider the two-visit process. During the first visit, just after the customer has agreed to purchase the vehicle, the F&I representative takes the turn to review the sales figures and determine if there is an opportunity to convert the financing to a dealer-directed financing source. If the dealership has aftermarket products such as protective coatings or security systems, this is also a great time to discover the needs of the customer in relation to these products and present the products as solutions. The next step is to ask the customer: ”How would you like to pay for this protection — Cash, Check, Charge, or include it in the amount financed?” The unit is then scheduled for delivery, paperwork is completed, and the customer is turned back to the sales personnel to say farewell until delivery.
In the second visit or point of delivery, at the conclusion of the vehicle orientation, the F&I manager presents insurance related products — service agreement, credit insurance, GAP, road hazard etc. — and uses the menu to close the sale. The magic occurs when the F&I manager has established rapport with the customer during the first visit.
The simple fact is that when people know you, like you, and trust you, they buy from you. When opportunity beckons, you must be there to greet it. Meeting opportunity head on creates a positive buying environment. One in which everyone feels important.
If you are an F&I manager who watches the clock and leaves on the dot, what message are you sending to your colleagues and customers? I contend it is probably not the one you intend to send.
World of Special Finance Magazine, February 200, p. 22