So You Think You’re Pretty Good?...

Well, you just may be. But is pretty good, good enough? I hope you answered "no" to that. One thing we can all count on in this business is that the best will keep raising the bar, and everyone else will either keep up, or slide into the ranks of the mediocre or worse. If you are at the point where you have a good grasp of the business and the job, the following information may be what you need to keep pace with the best, or in fact to BE one of the best.

Rick McCormick of Ron Reahard & Associates, Inc., recently wrote an article titled "The Five T's" of the F&I Process. In the beginning of your F&I career, all trainers try to get you to focus on "The 5 P's": People, Presentation, Process, Products, and Pricing. You may not have heard it referenced like that, but if you think about it, they make sense because they compartmentalize the F&I learning process. Focusing on "The 5 T's" will allow you to gain higher acceptance of your product packages. So what are they?

Trust - Rick says that the level of profit will rise and fall based on the level of trust you establish. You build trust by getting involved early in the transaction and by being transparent throughout the selling process. This gets the customer to open up about their needs, and they do so faster, which means it takes less time and effort to move customers to buy.

Talk - But only 30% of the time. Ask questions effectively, then listen and take note.

Transition - How do you re-engage the customer after he has said no? Use statements that get the customer's attention and let you transition back to the products: "I'm surprised...", "That's unusual...", followed by something you learned when you were listening to them.

Target - Getting a customer to say yes requires a targeted and personalized effort based on their unique needs (which you discovered while building trust and listening).

Tell - Let your customers know that the dealership is committed to making this the best buying experience they have ever had.

Go into every sale with "The 5 T's" in mind, and watch your profits, and CSI, increase.