No, it isn’t a remake of an old Broadway musical. It’s a suggestion that reaching your potential, or being the best that you can be, requires more than sales skills. An article by Marv Eleazer, Finance director and writer for F&I and Showroom on-line magazine, discussed this at length. He puts into words that something extra that is often not recognized. As he states, “...there are things that happen in the F&I office that a training manual can’t teach you.” While he divides the F&I position into several categories, the two that I often see lacking in F&I departments are in the area of product sales and process.
Take note: This is NOT a substitution for strong selling skills. It is a complement or enhancement to them.
Everyone has their word tracks to describe the products in bullet point fashion. The misstep occurs in what isn’t being done or said. The dreaded “line 5” call often becomes an excuse to not try to sell products before knowing if the customer may come up with a way to pay for them if they find them valuable enough. The same applies to the cash buyer. A perfunctory attempt is made using the same bullet points as a finance customer, and when they say no, there is no further attempt being made. But these are customers who are okay with writing large checks. These are also customers who should be especially interested in protecting their original investment. But they are often customers who aren’t given a fair presentation of your products. Extra effort is one characteristic that separates a good Finance Manager from a great one. For example, having only a basic understanding of what the product does greatly limits the number of customers that will be interested in it. The more you know about your product, the more you can quickly find the feature that will appeal to a particular need. This includes current and past costs of labor, parts, tires, keys, oil changes and other maintenance items, as well as claims procedures, the insurance backing for the product, paid GAP, service contract, tire and key claims. Having this information may keep you from another F&I flaw, stopping after the first or second no, or not going after a package when the customer says yes to a product. Product knowledge builds confidence which leads to more selling which leads to more success. Listening is another character trait of highly successful F&I Managers (and people, in general). Listen with your ears AND your eyes. Watch your customer’s body language; listen to their voice inflections and tones. What do you see as the whole picture? Are they nervous, disinterested and unfocused, angry or unbelieving, closed off to the sale or open to hearing what you have to say? Are you giving equal attention to all of the buyers sitting in front of you? Ignore one of them and you may be surprised to find that they have a strong say in what is purchased. Process is another area that Mr. Eleazer stresses. While you all know that it’s important to have a working process that gets you in front of your customer at the right time to interview them and then gets them back to you for the presentation of your menu, what happens in the background is another often over-looked area that can produce more comfortable customers who buy what you are selling. One part of this is preparation. What you and your office look like says a lot about the image you present to the customer. People often pass judgment about your ability and believability based on the first impression. Take a hard look at your office; it may just need de-cluttered or cleaned. It may need a complete overhaul. Pay special attention to whether or not it looks sloppy or disorganized with “stuff” everywhere. If it does, it’s worth the time and effort to get organized. Every now and then a customer shows up unexpectedly and you have to scramble to pull yourself and the paperwork together. If this is more than an exception there is a different issue at play here. Have a system for deliveries, leaving a little time for spots. Then be prepared for your customers—with paperwork, bank approvals, and an idea of what your presentation will sound like and what objections you are prepared to answer. Speaking of your presentation, listen to yourself. If it sounds tired and scripted, look for ways to make it fresh. Enthusiasm is an added bonus. It keeps your customer’s interest and gives them a positive impression of your belief in your products. It also removes the heaviness from the moment, keeping you from sounding like this is a life or death decision the customer is making. How’s your attitude? We all have rough days and we all get super busy. The trick is not letting it reflect in your interaction with the customer. The customer may feel they are an interruption in your day, rather than your reason for being there. Take a look at yourself; would you buy from you? Do you look successful or disheveled and unkempt? That doesn’t mean wearing expensive clothes. It is more about how pulled together you look. It’s a confidence-builder—when you feel like you look good, you carry yourself differently, you speak with more confidence and that can lead to more sales. Try some of these suggestions. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, none of this matters if you don’t have strong sales skills. But, if you do and you combine them with some of Marv Eleazer’s recommendations, you can become unstoppable and join that group that we all want to be a part of...THE BEST!
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