I’m changing things up a bit this month. See, I caught a discussion between F&I managers in a closed Facebook group of which I’m a member. They were talking about how their numbers are taking a hit because today’s Internet shopper is coming to the dealership already preapproved for vehicle financing.

You may have noticed from my company’s ad in this magazine that Internet shoppers are the focus of an advanced F&I workshop I’ve been conducting around the country. What I wanted to do this month is share some of the tips I offer during these sessions.

Now I won’t get into as much detail as I do during my workshop, but these tips will definitely get you going in the right direction in terms of how to adjust to this relatively new customer. Let’s get to it.

The Objection: “I’m already preapproved for vehicle financing. I’m just here to pick up my vehicle.”

Tony’s Take: We’ve definitely entered a new era of car buying, and I don’t think we’ll ever go back to the way things were. See, today’s customer wants to complete as much of the transaction online as possible. And sales departments are accommodating their wishes, with some sales teams even taking in a trade without ever seeing the customer or their vehicle. Of course, this situation is creating a new challenge for business managers. 

A lot of this is being driven by today’s Millennial generation. This customer demographic is simply not comfortable in selling situations, so they want to capture information on their own and complete as much of the transaction as possible online. Forward-thinking dealers and business managers have already adjusted their processes to maintain and even increase profitability when working with this type of customer. If your store hasn’t done the same, here are a few recommendations to help.

Meet Them Where They Shop: I know some F&I pros don’t like customers to be pre-exposed to their products, but they may have to bend their rules to work with this new car buyer. My suggestion is you find a spot under your website’s finance tab to post a link to your service-contract provider’s consumer-facing website. This will allow customers to investigate the product at their leisure.

Give Them Answers: F&I offices need to be accessible to Internet shoppers without them having to complete a full dealership inquiry. A customer may have a simple question about a product or even the interest rate they can secure, so don’t be afraid to help them out.

I understand this goes against traditional thinking, and that most F&I managers want these people in their office before providing this type of information. Hey, I’m with you, but, again, you may have to bend your rules to capture the business. Remember, all these customers want is the information they need to make a buying decision. So why should we stand in the way?

Get Them at the Time of Commitment: Communication between the F&I office, Internet department and sales manager is a must, because F&I managers need to reach out to the customer once he or she commits to a purchase. Otherwise, the only time you’ll see the customer is at the time of delivery, which, as we all know, is never good for our performance numbers.

So pick up the phone, contact them and run them through your standard process. You’ll also need to email them your menu and disclose their options over the phone. The beauty of what I’m suggesting is you’ll have a second chance to overcome whatever objection the customer had on the phone when he or she comes to the dealership to finalize the paperwork.

I delve deeper into these recommendations during my workshops, so feel free to reach out if you want to know when I’m coming to your area. I’ll also be at Industry Summit next month if you want to discuss this topic further.

Tony Dupaquier serves as director of training for American Financial & Automotive Services Inc.’s F&I University. He’ll be at Industry Summit 2014 (www.industrysummit.com) to deliver his Stump the Pro workshop on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 11:15 a.m. Email him at [email protected].

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