Ask Yourself These Four Crucial Questions:
- Do I Take Ownership of My Department?
As a finance manager, are you actively training your salespeople on F&I products? Are they familiar with the benefits these products provide to customers? Are they consistently endorsing service contracts, appearance packages, and so forth on every sale? If not, make it your responsibility to hold regular F&I meetings with your sales staff. These meetings should be brief but informative, covering current deals, short product overviews, and addressing any questions. If you feel unsupported in these efforts or need assistance, consult your account representative or agent for additional training resources and to help you with training sales staff.
- Am I Highly Visible on the Sales Floor?
Visibility early in the sales process allows for a more nuanced understanding of your customer's needs. Make it a point to interact with every customer—whether they are paying in cash or financing—before they leave the dealership. Whenever possible, be present on the showroom floor to meet customers and make them feel good about their purchasing decision. Explain how you will guide them through the remaining steps of the process. Achieving these two goals sets you off to a very promising start.
- Do I Present Products Consistently to Both Finance and Cash Customers?
If your sales to cash customers are lackluster, meaning that you are rarely selling them products, it's time to reevaluate your approach and presentation. Cash customers also value, buy, and use your products, just like finance customers. Don't pre-judge your cash customers based on prior interactions or purchases. A uniform, enthusiastic presentation to both groups will greatly enhance your sales performance.
- Am I Selling More Than Service Contracts and GAP Insurance?
Don't rest on your laurels on selling a service contract, convincing yourself that you did a great job. Top performers in the finance sector average 3 to 3.5 products per deal. Change your mindset to match those of top performers! Take the time to assess your product offerings. Make sure you have the right product mix for your customers.
Popular products today include:
- Tire and Wheel Packages
- Vehicle Loss Assistance
- Lifetime Battery/Lifetime Key Replacement
- Red Alert – 3rd Break Light
- Combo Packages
- Subscription Maintenance Packages
- Graphene Appearance Products
- Value Shield
- GPS
Top sellers are achieving high penetration levels by employing strategies like product bundling, point-of-sale combo packages, and pre-loads along with vehicle service contracts and GAP.
Investing in continuous improvement is key. I strongly encourage you to attend the next local training event in your area.
Familiarizing yourself with new products, investing the time to master successful presentation techniques, and reevaluating your current process can significantly elevate your performance in the F&I sector and take you to the next level.
To contact Chris Hochstein and learn more about elevating your F&I results, please email him at chochstein@ezvds.com or through LinkedIn.
