Fixing the F&I Swing

They’re called “shanks” in golf, “hitches” in baseball and basketball. The two terms refer to a subtle change in a swing or shot that causes not-so-subtle problems. They’re easy to develop and difficult to get rid of.

If you’ve been in the box any length of time, your F&I swing has probably succumbed to a case of the shanks at some point. Well, the reader who submitted this month’s Stump the Pro entry has developed a hitch in his F&I swing: He’s having trouble transitioning to his menu presentation.

Name: Shane Lee

Dealership: Griffin Ford Lincoln, Tifton, Ga.

Issue: I’ve been in F&I for 14 years. For some reason, I’m having trouble leading into my menu presentation. Can you offer any word-tracks to help? And would you recommend starting from the left or right side of the menu?

Tony’s Take: It happens to us all, Shane. I’m sure my advice will be old hat for you, but maybe it’ll kick-start some of that muscle memory.

Because I’m limited on space, I’m going to assume you’re having trouble with customers objecting to your presentation. That’s always a tough situation, especially since we must adhere to the 300% rule: Present 100% of our products to 100% of the people 100% of the time.

When faced with that objection, some business managers will cite federal laws like the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s Regulation Z — which prohibits us from discriminating on any prohibited basis in a credit transaction — as the reason they must present all the products on their menu. But there’s a better way to justify your menu presentation.

“N” Is for Need: The reason your customers might be stopping you before your presentation is because you haven’t given them any reason to listen. They think you’re trying to sell them something they don’t need.

So why should your customers want to buy your products? Have they told you or given you any indication as to how they might benefit from them? I’m going to bet the answer is “No.” So what we need to do is determine their need for our products before we launch into the menu.

Needs Discovery: In my February column, I explained how you can justify presenting a service contract by figuring out how many miles your customer drives each year and how long they plan to keep their vehicle. Just click on my Stump the Pro blog on fi-magazine.com to find it.

The good news is you won’t have to do much explaining to justify the purchase of GAP. Just ask the customer if they plan on purchasing the protection from their insurance company. Whatever their answer, you will be able to justify the GAP coverage you sell by revealing the advantages of your contract vs. their insurance company’s.

Justifying the need for products like paint and dent-and-ding is even easier. Just ask your customers if they like the look or color of the vehicle they’re purchasing. You’ll have everything you need to justify the cost of whatever protection products you sell.

Once the need for your products is created, you will be able to utilize the three most powerful words in an F&I manager’s vocabulary: “You told me.” Yeah, they even work when the customer objects to the menu. Just pause, look at the customer and say, “I’m really surprised you don’t want any of the protections available for your vehicle today, because earlier you told me …”

Directions, Please: As far as which side of the menu you should start on, I recommend starting with your best package and moving from top to bottom. This will allow you to justify every product in one pass. Then, when you disclose the subsequent packages, you can explain the consequences of passing on the products they exclude.

Now, if F&I discloses the base payment in your store or the customer is adamant about staying at the base payment, I recommend starting from the bottom.

To recap, first discover why your customers need your products and then figure out if you need to conduct the top-down or bottom-up menu presentation. Your transitions will be smoother, faster and more effective, and that hitch will be a thing of the past.  

Tony Dupaquier is director of training for F&I University, a division of American Financial and Automotive Services Inc. Email him at [email protected].