Every customer wants a great ownership experience. Our goal is to give them that. Unfortunately, how we think about getting there is antithetical to the customer’s thought process. The focus of F&I has been on selling more products. Customers do not come into the F&I office wanting our products. How do we connect customers to the products we have? Give them a compelling reason to buy! There are three ingredients to make that happen more often and compel more to buy and be glad they did!

Ask great questions! If a customer encounters the same questions as during previous transactions, they feel the person in front of them is like everyone else. Customers have clearly stated that they do not like these prior experiences. Customers have changed and moved beyond the past. Have we? We must ask questions to learn about the person in front of us. What makes them unique? However, we must work consistently to add new questions presented in diverse ways so that the experience is different. Here are a few examples:

• “What is the technology feature that you appreciate most on your new vehicle?”

• “If you could describe this economy in one word, what would that be?”

• “Tell me how having this vehicle will impact your typical week?” 

If customers encounter questions they have never heard before, then they will share information that they may have held back in previous experiences. That will allow us to better understand them and their situation! When they feel like you understand them, it changes everything! Customers are not seeking to understand you, they are looking to see if you understand them!

Listen to them! Listening is more than just hearing the words someone is saying. Active listening is about understanding the context in which words are shared, along with other verbal and nonverbal cues, such as voice inflection, tone, facial expressions, and body language. Knowledge and insight are not discovered by talking but by listening. The customer knows, by our response to their shared information, whether we are listening to them or focused on what we might say next. Understanding them demands that we actively listen to them! 

Customers today are surrounded by a world full of noise, where no one listens anymore. Listening and understanding the other person is rare and almost extinct. When they encounter it, they are moved to evaluate their situation, and the products we offer make sense to many of them. They need our help, yet they will not allow us into their world until they feel we understand that world! 

Enhance the experience! Customers today are struggling with the excessive cost of most commodities. The products and services we offer to them will make their ownership experience more enjoyable and less stressful, as well as help manage their ownership costs. They can transfer the risk of an expensive incident and lock in today’s pricing on those future occurrences. 

That is a powerful option connected to their purchase and one that many people will embrace. Move away from making a sale to helping the customer. Great ownership experience will lead to higher levels of retention, which is the lifeblood of every dealership. Seek to understand as opposed to being understood, and you will oversell every time! 

Rick McCormick is national account development manager for Reahard & Associates.