Neglecting to provide current automotive F&I training in your dealership can lead to serious legal issues and lost customers. The F&I department is a crucial position because they are in charge of multiple issues such as working with the sales force, negotiating with banks and ensuring compliance. An F&I employee needs people skills as well as book knowledge. Instead, it is common to find employees doing F&I without much training or knowledge.

According to a recent article in Automotive News, Sonic Automotive has an ambitious plan to grow their F&I revenue from $80 to $1,400 per vehicle. So far, their profit is steadily climbing and they credit their efforts to aggressively improving their F&I training. Sonic reports that consumer response is very positive because the customers feel they don’t get stuck in the sometimes stressful process of traditional car buying.

People skills are crucial. Business managers need to be available to not only help train sales staff but to be approachable so staff can ask questions about compliance. They can’t be the only one that understands the current compliance issues. When the business manager makes time to educate the sales staff it eventually makes the customer more comfortable.

Educated sales staff can continue working with the customer instead of handing them off to another person. When a customer has to deal with several layers of dealership staff it only increases mistrust and confusion.

In house training is not always effective because new employees only become as knowledgeable as the current staff. A compliance audit can help you spot problems and make sure your dealership is up to date and everyone gets the correct training. Vanguard Dealer Services offers consultations, audits and training programs. To find a service that fits your needs, please contact us.