How can we equip our front-line sales professionals with all of the proper tools necessary to be successful in automotive? A large part of being successful in F&I is the ability to mentor and train your sales staff. The most successful dealerships in the country have a strong sense of unity throughout the dealership. The goal is to get everyone rowing in the same direction. Make the decision today to create a winning culture and back that decision up with massive action.
Our sales people have a difficult job and todays customer is demanding, so let’s make it a little easier on them. Always be willing to speak to one of their customers. A change of face goes a long way and why not make that change of face yours. CSI and gross profit both go up greatly when the F&I manager gets involved early in the process. You build credibility with your sales professional, and I believe the most effective training is showing your team and not telling.
- When was the last time that you offered to do a manager call back for a salesman?
- When was the last time that you had a structured sales meeting and trained on a F&I related topic?
These are a few examples of things that you should put into a weekly routine. Invest in your sales team, you will see the benefits immediately.
Sales Sells Cars, Finance Sells Finance.
Less is more!!!! The less the sales department talks about rates and products, the better for the F&I department. Here is a word track to combat the customer wanting to know what the rate is…… “Mr. customer, I’m not privy to your interest rate or any financial information in relation with your loan application. However, we have one of the top finance departments in the country and they do this all day every day. They will go over all your personal information with you in their office, if you don’t like what they have to say you don’t have to buy the car. I’ve never lost a customer due to our finance department, they do a fantastic job.
We must mentor and coach our sales team this word track that allows them to acknowledge and deflect. This make their job a whole lot easier. Less is a-l-w-a-y-s more. This is how you handle a situation when the customer asks about F&I products. “Mr./Mrs. customer, I sell cars and not finance. I will let our dedicated finance expert know that you have inquired about this particular product. We NEVER want sales to sell our products. Every customer has a unique situation and needs. Let’s leave it up to finance to discuss those options.
This is how you combat the customer that’s always in a hurry. It seems like every customer is in a hurry. I see this all the time in this industry. A customer can spend three hours making the deal on the vehicle and then suddenly, they have a wedding to go to in 20 minutes. I’m joking about the wedding but not really …. How do we deal with this? Try this, “Mr./Mrs. Customer, our expert finance team is working on your loan package and they negotiate on your behalf trying to put together the most attractive options for you.”
Their time is not in vain and the name of the game is serve the customer. It’s also UBER important that F&I is involved early to reiterate what sales has told the customer. Sales and F&I must be on the same page and working together.
At the end of the day we are here to sell cars. The deal is not a deal until F&I makes it a deal. Now let’s make it a profitable one.
