In this post, I want to share a short story that led to a revelation for one F&I product provider as well as try to remind us that while technology will continue to help move the auto industry forward, we can't forget that we're still selling to human beings. It's an interesting time of innovation, but some realities of our business, like the need to connect with clients, won't be changing for quite some time. 

Eliminate F&I?
I'll never forget hearing the recent story of a leading dealership group asking F&I industry thought-leader, Glen Tuscan of Dealer Commitment Services (Colorado), to essentially eliminate the traditional F&I product purchase experience from their process. In an effort to save time and ensure the entire transaction could happen with one sales advisor (rather than passing the customer on to the F&I rep), they simply saw too many drawbacks in the traditional F&I model in light of their plans to transform their customer experience. When they laid the ultimatum onto Glen, "Are you in or are you out?", Glen's response was brilliant and took real courage. He said he was neither in or out but committed to research before giving a final answer. What Glen learned in his research blew me away. He recently wrote about his research here. Needless to say, they didn't eliminate F&I, instead Glen transformed this critical profit center to be more interactive and transparent and still managed to provide the time savings and one price, one person, one hour approach that the Dealer Group wanted.

People > Technology
If anyone reading this post attended the recent NADA 100 convention in New Orleans, one thing stood out above all else: The auto industry is getting bombarded with technology solutions. Of course, this is a net positive for the industry, we need to better leverage innovative tools to help us better run our businesses. However, in the midst of this rush to fully digitize our processes, develop mobile apps, and responsive websites, we can't forget the reality that this is still a people business. The more momentum and emphasis we place on the importance of digitizing the car-buying experience, the more we need to consider the critical question of how to establish and maintain human connection with our clients, especially in F&I. And this is a critical point. Data reveals that the average consumer buys 17 vehicles in their lifetime. If you forget that this is a people business, you might find short-term success in quick, one-time customer transactions, but you will not have clients for life. So what turns one-time customers into lifelong clients? Your ability to create and maintain a real connection with every person who walks through your doors or encounters your brand online.

The New Way To Do F&I - Transparency & Interactivity
As the industry tries to respond to consumer demands to fix the awkward handoff between Sales and F&I, it's imperative that as dealerships streamline operations and go digital, that they don't forget about F&I. It's time to get out of the proverbial F&I "Box". We need to open up the conversation with clients in a way that builds trust, not suspicion. The best way to do this is to turn the desktop or laptop around and let the client see what you're doing. Remove any and all barriers. This kind of transparency will help remove some of the apprehension and fear that you're merely trying to add on to their monthly payment...but not all. In order to maximize PVR and better the overarching F&I experience, we also need to make the conversation more interactive. This entails asking the right questions and attentively listening to what the client is sharing. Again, if the dialogue is there and the client perceives goodwill, they are more likely to purchase products based on their true wants and needs. Finally, despite what predictive analytics might claim, it's always best to present all of your products to every client, all of the time. People are fascinating and quirky creatures, especially when it comes to trying to understand their buying behaviors. Insight into these purchasing patterns reveals that while we may see some patterns, we still don't know when or why someone is more willing to buy one F&I product more than another.

So how can we bring this kind of transformation to F&I to your dealership? To learn more about this proven and innovative approach (greater transparency and interactivity) and to see it implemented at a leading Dealership Group, please join us for an upcoming webinar.