The Right Start To A Successful F&I Sale
Greeting
When selling anything, the place to begin is the greeting. It has been reported that we have somewhere between 7 and 17 seconds to make a positive impression when we meet someone. If you doubt this, try counting to 17 and you will likely sense that 17 seconds is a very short time for your customer to make a decision with potentially significant financial impact.
The automobile is a staple of the American lifestyle. Yet most people do not look forward to an auto purchase and tend to rate it along with a root canal as a particularly unpleasant experience. To make matters worse, the news media is not always focused upon our finest achievements. As a result, many of our customers enter the dealership “on guard”.
By the time they agree to the sales price and are ready to complete the transaction, customers are tired, hungry and grumpy. A genuine smile can ease the tension and go a long way to make the customer feel comfortable about the F&I process.
I have long recommended that the F&I professional pick up the deal jacket from the sales manager and walk over to the salesperson’s work area to meet the customer, review the sales figures in the presence of the sales consultant, and invite the customer back into the F&I office.
Here are some Word Tracks you can use to Greet, Meet, Review and Invite:
Welcome to our family of _________ owners. My name is _______. I am one of the business managers here at _____________. Together you and I will be completing the title work and reviewing the funding documents. I would like to take a moment to review the agreed upon sales figures with you. You are purchasing a _______________. The sales price is ____________. (Use small numbers such as “ twenty four, nine fifty” rather than “twenty four thousand nine hundred and fifty dollars”.) Your initial payment is $__________. Is that good today? We are paying $___________ for your trade and the payoff is estimated at $_____________. You spoke about _____ months, at _____ APR, $_____ per month. Do I have the correct information? With the sales consultant present, if there are any questions about the figures, the source is at hand to address them on the spot. I need to return to my office so that I may complete the data entry. Would you like to join me?
Identify Opportunities
As we all know, the protections available for used inventory depend upon the age and current mileage of the vehicle sold. Prepared F&I professionals refer to their rate charts and identify the customer opportunities. Based on the current mileage, your vehicle qualifies for ________ yr and ______ miles of mechanical protection. Then review the coverage with the client.
You Gotta’ Believe!
You will sell more if you can obtain testimonials to demonstrate belief in the F&I product or service you present. Faith and enthusiasm translate into increased sales and boost the bottom line.
Success in F&I requires that you and I set the stage for a sale. When we can put our customers at ease, accurately gauge opportunities to protect their vehicle investment, and testify to the value of the F&I products and services we offer, we are well on our way to a happy ending.
Used Car Dealer Magazine, October 2005, p.10