Becoming the Ideal F&I Manager

by Gerry Gould
for f&i showroom magazine
December 2011

Most F&I managers fall into one of three categories: those who need an advantage, those who take advantage and those who create an advantage. Most of us started out in the box as the first type. We needed a little boost or maybe even a presold product every now and then. But it’s what we did during that initial phase that determined our course in this business. So which type of manager do you think you are today?

10 Tips to Maximize Your F&I Performance

by Don Geroni
AE-emagizine
October 2014

If your F&I performance is lagging, have you ever wondered why? Have you ever wondered what you are doing differently than the high performers? Do you use excuses to defend your less than stellar performance? If so, take a look at the following tips and if you aren’t practicing them, give them a try and watch your performance improve.

How to Keep the F and I Office out of Trouble

by Jamie LaReau
for Automotive News
August 2015

Dealers' goals and those of finance and insurance managers tend to be at odds. 

Dealers seek high customer satisfaction and loyalty and long-term revenue. F&I managers are inclined to focus on short-term profits and maximizing opportunities to generate them. 

If F&I managers prioritize their aims instead of dealers', it could lead to serious problems in the F&I office, such as a slew of chargebacks on F&I products or even illegal practices, industry insiders say. To minimize that risk and ensure customers have a positive F&I experience, they say, dealers should: 

•  Design a process that prevents bad F&I practices and enforces consequences. 

•  Boost F&I education and training. 

• Scout top-notch hires who manage their own credit well.

•  Devise pay plans that shift the focus from commissions to customer satisfaction. 

Keeping Top Performers

by John Stephensfor Wards AutoMay 29, 2015

Dealership employment grew 3.4% and topped 1 million people last year, with median weekly earnings of $976, according to the National Automobile Dealers Assn.’s 2014 Dealership Workforce Industry Report. However, turnover is still taking a toll on dealership overhead, with an average rate of 36%.

So, how do you address dealership turnover? What can you do to avoid losing employees?

Conquering the Curveball

by Rick McCormick
F&I and Showroom
April 2015

Growing up in the same town as Los Angeles Dodgers Pitching Coach Rick Honeycutt, whose assortment of breaking balls made him one of the best middle relief pitchers in Major League Baseball, I know hitting the curveball is one of the toughest things to do. About the only way you can develop any consistency hitting “old Uncle Charlie” is to practice your technique and study the pitcher’s habits.

The CFPB's Encroachment in the F&I World

by Brian Casey
AgentEntrepreneur
February 4, 2015

When Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, both the auto dealer and insurance industries were at the table to be sure they were carved out from the jurisdiction of the now powerful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, better known as the CFPB. As is frequently the case, however, legislative exemptions are usually not wholesale in nature, and later interpretations of law can whittle them back from their ostensibly intended purposes. This may indeed be the fate for some insurance and insurance-like products sold to consumers who purchase and finance such products in connection with the purchase or lease of an automobile.

Passing the Compliance Test

by John Lovin

F&I Showroom

February 2015

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has not wavered in its belief that policies that allow dealers to mark up the interest rate on retail installment sale transactions creates a fair lending risk, with Toyota and Honda’s captive finance companies being the latest finance sources to be targeted. The attention dealer reserve is getting has caused some finance sources to limit rate participation, while others have eliminated dealer markups altogether.

This bureau’s activities have left dealers with a lot of unanswered questions: Is the CFPB coming after dealers next? If so, how can a dealership protect itself? If finance sources are pressured into eliminating rate participation, how will dealers make up for the lost revenue? Let’s examine these questions individually.

Delays Drive Dealership Customers Crazy

by Steve Finlay
WardsAuto
March 14, 2014

Dealership selling of finance and insurance products comes down to the “V” word: value.

So says F&I trainer Ron Reahard of Reahard and Associates. “Unfortunately, the process at some dealerships is designed to add value for the dealership, not the customer.”

F&I managers are most effective when they convey an impression of professional helpfulness. They stumble when customers sense a hard sell.

“Does the customer feel you are trying to help or sell?” Reahard says. “The process has to help them, or they’ll do everything to avoid it.”

3 Phone Training Strategies That Apply to Every Department at Your Dealership

by Laura Cummins
for DrivingSales.com
October 20, 2014

What do your sales department and service department all have in common? The phone. Though each department is very different, talking with prospective or current buyers on the phone is a crucial part of how they do business. As the dealer, do you think your employees’ phone skills are up to par? If your answer is yes, the chances are you aren’t looking at the data. Dealerships are actually losing more than $400,000, just because of poor phone skills alone!

5 Ways to Hire Millennials for Your Auto Dealership

by Erin Borgerson
Driving Sales.Com
October 15, 2014

Millennials, Gen Y'ers, the Internet generation...whatever you may call them, they're here to stay. This 1980's and 1990's born group has dealt with a slew of judgments over the past years. Some say they're lazy or too trapped in technology, but little do they know, this is the group who will make their dealership succeed. But first, how can we get ahold of this talented, sought-after bunch? By being creative. 

Is Your Sales Manager Any Good?

by Darin George
Wards Auto

On my travels as a trainer and recruiter, I’ve met many amazing sales managers and some who should not be within a country mile of the sales staff.

It's Not an Event, It's a Process

by Michael Marchione
July 1, 2014
for ae-emagazine.com

To the uninformed spectator it may look like professional football players have it easy. Play a game every week for a few months and make big bucks. But professional NFL Players are on the practice field 24/7. And when they’re not on the field they’re watching game film. These pros are the best of the best or they would not be where they are. Do they really need to practice and watch game film (training) when they have been running these same plays week after week for years?

Yes, for one simple reason: They play to win and it takes practice, practice, practice (training) to make sure they do. That’s what makes them better today than they were yesterday or even 20 years ago!