After a decade of underwriting loans for powersports vehicles, Cindy Wallace was ready to find out what life was like on the other side of the financing coin. What she found was a new home and a dealership that needed her expertise.

The 31-year-old South Dakota native served as a senior underwriter for GE Money for 10 years. But after learning the ins and outs of financing and approving deals for motorcycles, recreational vehicles, ATVs, marine products and even horse trailers, she felt she was ready for a change. So she made the move in January to Seattle where she would become Ducati Seattle’s first-ever F&I manager.

“I had been on the lending side and I wanted to see how the other side worked,” said Wallace. “I know what banks are looking for. That was one of the reasons why they hired me.”

Finding her gig at Ducati Seattle wasn’t too difficult. Wallace spent three weeks searching for a job online and sending out e-mails to prospective employers. That’s when David Roosevelt, Ducati Seattle’s owner and general manager, found her.

“We hired Cindy because I had faith that what she had learned at GE would hugely benefit the store and our growth with F&I,” he recalled. “Once I spoke to her and learned of her background and her positive attitude, I hired her on the spot. I never even ran an ad or even conducted interviews with anyone else. I guess I was just lucky.”

Wallace also felt lucky, as her other reason for relocating from South Dakota was to be with her new husband. Not only was she able to find a job, but she found an employer who was dedicated to F&I.

Starting from the Ground Up

Ducati Seattle’s Roosevelt first learned about the additional income an F&I department could generate through his 20 Group, a collection of non-competing dealers who share financial information and discuss best practices. The group, which is called a 20-Club, is sponsored by the Denver-based Retail Powersports Management Group.

“They were the ones that encouraged us to add F&I managers,” said Roosevelt. “It was just a matter of getting over the fear that all I would be doing was adding to the payroll vs. adding to the bottom line.”

The dealership, which has been in operation since 1999 and sells Ducati motorcycles and Genuine scooters, already offered financing and pre-paid maintenance to customers prior to Wallace’s arrival. But Roosevelt knew money was being left on the table by not having an F&I manager or several key F&I products to sell.

Before Wallace was hired, the dealership only made $50 per retail unit (PRU). Roosevelt’s goal for the new F&I department was to reach $450 PRU. With Wallace, the dealership is nearly at that goal, with Roosevelt’s new F&I manager pulling in an average of $440 PRU as of June. For Roosevelt, the added income is great, but the real benefit of having an F&I department is what it’s done for customer satisfaction.

“Other than bringing us income, we’re trying to make it easy for the customer to buy,” he said.

Since Wallace started, not only has she built the F&I department from the ground up, but she’s also brought in key products. The first products she went after were GAP, and tire and wheel. Like her job search, she began researching providers on the Internet. Unfortunately, her search didn’t amount to much, so she turned to her former coworkers at GE Money Bank for a list of product providers. That’s when she was able to expand the dealership’s product offerings to include pre-paid maintenance, GAP, and tire and wheel.

Wallace also learned the importance of having a good working relationship with the two salespeople who were hired at the same time she was. “We’ve been learning as it goes. For instance, I need certain things before they bring a deal to my desk, and sometimes they’re not there,” she said. To remedy the situation, Wallace will speak directly with the salespeople or send them an e-mail to discuss the proper approach to forming deals.

Finding Lenders in a Down Economy


Wallace admits she’s had a difficult time finding new lending sources. “It’s hard to find anything,” she said. “I’ve got a list of banks in the state of Washington and have been sending messages, but it hasn’t been easy.”

Wallace believes many banks are reluctant to provide financing for powersports deals because they are unfamiliar with the industry. But with scooter and motorcycle sales being fueled by gas prices and a declining economy, she believes lenders will soon realize the profit potential that exists in the industry.

The challenge to find lending sources has impacted Wallace’s ability to sell back-end products. Most lenders won’t consider how an F&I product, such as GAP, will benefit a customer, she said.

“It’s completely different from the auto industry where you can send a credit (application) here, here and here, because you know what the score is,” she said. “In powersports you have to send in the credit application and they give you 125 percent of MSRP, which has to include everything.” The limited finance amount doesn’t leave room for additional F&I products, and Wallace can’t expect her customers to eagerly pay out-of-pocket expenses.

The lack of financing sources also makes it difficult when Wallace occasionally helps customers with less-than-stellar credit. “I think when people come in they know what their credit history is,” she said. “If they get declined I go through various options with them, and I’ll suggest getting a cosigner.”

First Impressions

 

Despite the financial limitations that hinder her selling abilities, Wallace keeps a friendly and helpful attitude whenever she sees customers. But she admits when she first started the job she was often nervous and didn’t know what to say to customers. “Now I can get it all done,” she said. “It was just about me getting more comfortable with what I needed to have the customer sign. It wasn’t that hard to learn.”

Her newfound familiarity has helped put her customers at ease. Wallace also firmly believes that providing high quality customer service is important for a dealership’s success. “You have to be a people person. You can’t be a sour patch and grumble at people,” she said.

To project a family-friendly vibe, Wallace keeps candy at her desk and allows customers to bring their children to her work area. “I think they’re kind of scared of coming back to the F&I office, but generally they know what’s going to happen,” she said. “If you keep it light and happy I think they have a better time doing the paperwork.”

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Cindy’s 3 Tips for F&I Professionals


1. Know Your F&I Products

F&I managers should understand and believe in the F&I products they sell, Wallace said. Sincerity goes a long way with customers and they appreciate an F&I professional who can explain the benefits of GAP or pre-paid maintenance. “You have to understand how (the products) are going to be beneficial for someone else,” she said

2. Talk to Your Lenders

Lenders who are unfamiliar or inexperienced with financing for powersports may readily reject deals, Wallace said. But instead of getting frustrated with lenders, Wallace said F&I managers should take the time to ask sources why a deal was rejected or how the paperwork can be improved.

“You have to be open to what the lenders are going to tell you … I think people get discouraged when lenders say no, but if you don’t ask questions you can’t get upset about it,” said Wallace. “For instance, a few weeks ago I had a deal where the customer had some money down. However, the person looking at the deal didn’t realize it. I called back and got an approval because of that down payment.”

3. Get F&I Training

Wallace advocates the importance of training, even if it is slightly outside the powersports industry. Upon her boss’ request, Wallace completed a three-day F&I training seminar prior to starting at Ducati Seattle. The program was tailored for auto F&I professionals, which Wallace said worked just fine, especially when it came to learning about compliance issues.


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