A sudden vacancy in your business can be disruptive and damaging to your bottom line. It's always important to plan for such eventualities by finding ways to keep your business running until the vacancy is filled. And that's where fill-in F&I specialists come in.
What is a Fill-In F&I Specialist?
Fill-in F&I specialists are seasoned finance and insurance professionals who help dealerships continue running their F&I departments whenever there's a shortfall in their staff.
These temporary F&I specialists work via agencies/vendors who connect them with dealerships.
Owing to their wealth of industry knowledge, they acclimate themselves to your business culture really fast. They usually offer their services temporarily and can match up or even surpass the services of your regular finance and insurance department staff.
If you're considering working with a fill-in F&I specialist vendor, here are three guaranteed benefits.
- Guarantees Reliable Professionals to Fill a Vacancy During Employee Vacation or Emergencies
Perhaps, one of the most important benefits of signing an agreement with a temporary F&I vendor is the convenience of coping with emergency or temporary vacancies.
Employee absenteeism or sudden resignation are ordinary business occurrences. Moreover, your employees have to go on a vacation once in a while.
Your dealership should, therefore, be prepared to cope with such situations as the interruption caused by employee absenteeism can have unfavorable consequences on your bottom line.
Even though a replacement from the sales department can hold the position until the usual officeholder is back, or until you hire a replacement in case of resignation, the sales specialist may fail to equal the output of an F&I specialist.
Thus, working with a fill-in F&I specialist vendor ensures you get a reliable finance and insurance expert to hold the position temporarily. The temporary F&I specialist can even train your new employee, following replacement after resignation, which saves the company a lot in terms of training costs and logistics.
In short, having a reliable F&I specialist on standby guarantees consistent customer service during employee absenteeism, vacation, or resignation. Consequently, you can keep the income flowing and safeguard your bottom line.
- Helps Avoid Compliance Pitfalls
Sometimes dealerships may opt to fill-up sudden vacancies in the finance and insurance (F&I) by shifting employees from other departments. To most organizations, this may appear as the soundest business decision, especially if the employees have been in the dealership for a while and thus assumed to be competent to handle F&I duties. Unfortunately, such a move increases the risk of non-compliance.
Finance and Insurance laws are sensitive and dynamic, and F&I specialists are expected to keep abreast of them. Failure to comply with these laws can land the business in trouble and result in penalties and fees.
On the same note, hiring an F&I specialist to fill-in and train a new employee ensures the employee is well-trained and acquainted with current industry trends. As a result, the department can continue running smoothly without the risk of non-compliance.
- Provides a Convenient Means for Dealerships to Source for F&I Specialists to Help Manage a Sudden Surge in Demand
Whenever there's a surge in demand, it makes more business sense to hire a temporary F&I specialist to help handle the extra work than hiring additional permanent staff.
Besides, most F&I specialists are seasoned industry players, and their professionalism and business acumen can help boost your business image in the eyes of the customers. Moreover, you can bank on their expertise to close more sales during peak seasons.
Working with a vendor, therefore, ensures you have access to additional staffing as and when you need it to maximize your profitability whenever there's a boom.
Conclusion
Having a reliable vendor to connect you with temporary F&I specialists to fill-in sudden vacancies is crucial to your dealership success.
Employee absenteeism, leaves, or sudden resignation are part and parcel of any business. Thus, it helps to be prepared to absorb these shocks when they happen. Besides, you can bank on the expertise of the temporary F&I specialists to avoid compliance pitfalls, as well as handle a sudden surge in business gracefully.
In need of fill-in F&I specialists? Get in touch with Vanguard Dealer Services today, and we will help secure your dealership's profitability whenever you're short of finance and insurance staff.
