May 2009 - Feature
10 Steps To The top
What separates mediocre from successful is very subtle, but that separation can make a big difference. F&I expert rolls out his 10 steps to get to the top.
By Ron Martin
Tiger Woods became the No. 1 moneymaker on the PGA tour
for the first time in 1999. That year, he was only a half-swing better than the
No. 2, David Duval, but he won twice as much money. The difference between
being good and being great can be subtle, but it can make a world of
difference.
In F&I, selling products and printing paperwork can
definitely get the job done, but moving to the top of the profession requires a
“driving edge.” The bad news is developing that edge doesn’t come easy. The
good news is once you’ve developed your skills, maintaining them won’t be
nearly as tough as being mediocre. Here are 10 steps to separating yourself
from the rest of the field on your way to the top.
1. Shoot for $1,000 PRU
Why is it that one person can make $1,000 per retail
unit and another one can’t? Sometimes it comes down to personal expectations.
You probably have heard the story of Roger Bannister, the
first person to run the mile in less than four minutes. The feat had been
attempted for hundreds of years before Bannister accomplished it.
What most people don’t know is that 37 people broke the
four-minute barrier the next year, and 300 more the following year. What
Bannister did was make the achievement a realistic expectation. The key was he
expected to do it and didn’t put limitations on himself.
I’m sure the mere mention of a $1,000 PRU turns people off.
Unfortunately, those are the individuals who are convinced that anyone
achieving that level of performance is doing something deceptive. Sure, there
are F&I managers who destroy customer loyalty for short-term profits, but
there are many others who do it the right way and enhance CSI. These are the
Roger Bannisters of the world.
2. Learn From Others
Part of growing as a finance manager is growing as a
dealership’s team member. Too many F&I managers come in at 8:30 a.m. and never
leave their office, except to go to lunch. They get the reputation of a prima
donna. Everyone from office personnel to salespeople sees them as an overpaid
manipulator of customers.
Being an exceptional F&I manager is greatly enhanced when
you learn what others in the dealership do. Take the time to not only be
courteous with your office staff, but also get to know what their job
responsibilities are. And make sure to ask how you can help make their jobs
easier. I know some of you are thinking, “You don’t know our office personnel.
They are impossible to deal with.” Remember this: The best way to knock a chip
off someone’s shoulder is to get them to take a bow.
3. Cultivate Lender Relationships
With credit standards
tightening, an F&I manager has to be better at working with lenders than
ever before. And when a lender makes an exception to its loan policy, you want
to make sure it’s for you and not your competitor. Having an edge with lenders
and knowing which ones respond positively to certain applications can be a big
help. The F&I manager who is a cut above the rest in this area pays careful
attention to three key components:
• They think like lenders and sell like salesmen: You
must understand what a lender looks for in making a loan decision. You should
be able to read a credit bureau and dissect a score just as well as the lender.
Sell your lenders with the same enthusiasm you use to sell your customers.
• They develop a personal relationship with a network
of lenders: Take advantage of every opportunity to understand what makes a
lender tick, both personally and professionally. Remember, it’s easier for a
lender to approve a policy exception for a person they enjoy doing business
with.
• They create leverage with as many lenders as
possible: Make sure your lenders have something to lose if you were to stop
doing business with them. It means giving them enough good quality paper to
convince them to be liberal with their loan policy when you need them to be. I
understand that this might be more difficult today, but the best F&I
managers look for ways to succeed rather than complain.