No one knew the demand for new and used cars would soar. Now, with the semiconductor chip shortage, customers are pre-ordering vehicles. It is time to look at your F&I process and make it the best experience for your customers, ultimately increasing your sales profits.
- Review the F&I Protocol
Is everyone following the proper protocol and processes that your dealership has put in place? It's a good time to do an audit to see that everyone is taking the correct protocol route.
- Where to Start the F&I Review
Here is an interesting and helpful article from Dealer Marketing Magazine that helps you with "twenty (20%) percent of the items you should be checking."
- What's Trending in F&I
Many businesses are working to find a new way of doing business due to the pandemic. For the automotive industry, "F&I managers will cross-train to sell automobiles and F&I products earlier in the sales process." If you have pending orders due to chip shortages, it's the perfect time to educate your customers on your F&I products.
- Consistent F&I Review Builds Confidence
It's a good idea to encourage your team to be consistent in F&I reviews. By doing so, you're increasing their confidence to better communicate with your customers, ultimately creating the trust that your dealership needs for F&I sales and customer retention. As reported in the Auto Dealer Today article, customers are ready to purchase a car with almost everything complete. Now is the time to help them understand the benefits of your F&I products.
- Role-Play Reaffirms Training Excellence
Training is only as good as what your team gets out of it. Role-playing can be an easy way of training and retraining your business managers to ensure the F&I educational instruction covers your dealership's protocols and processes.
- Regularly Scheduled Meetings to Review F&I Results
Keeping regularly scheduled meetings in play will also help you know what is working and what may need improvement. At times, you may meet for only a few minutes when there are only positive results to report. That is the perfect meeting you are hoping for every time.
- Your Best Resource is Your Customer
Making time to stay in contact with your customers is the best way to retain their loyalty. When you ask your customer for their feedback, you're building that foundation of trust. When they share an improvement suggestion, don't let it go by the wayside, especially when it has to do with your F&I process.
If your dealership is looking to strengthen your F&I process, the team at Vanguard Dealer Services is ready to be your resource partner. We make sure our clients are profitable through compliance, and one of our core services is F&I Business Development. We're here to help your dealership run with confident compliance.
