The greatest danger of mediocre performance in the F&I office is not the lack of skills and opportunities. It is the busyness that demands attention to the immediate that leads to a mediocre level of preparation and practice! A professional who is too busy to practice skills and spend time researching and developing a keener understanding of customer behavior is simply too busy! Everyone wants excellence, and that level of performance is evasive to those who cannot or will not give priority to those things that lead to that level. Here are a couple of things that many are “too busy” to pursue.

Too busy to practice! Genuine practice that drives performance takes place when the office is empty of customers. We should never practice when we are “in the game” with customers. When we are with customers, the level and focus of our practice becomes evident to everyone. Professionals know “you play like you practice.” Every professional sports team can connect its intense practice sessions with excellence on the field. And the opposite is true: Sloppy and ineffective performance on the field reveals a practice regimen that is disjointed, inconsistent and lacking in focus.

Excellence always has a plan and is intentional in nature. Each month a calendar should be developed with scheduled practice sessions and accountability to others as to what was done and the result of the effort. Asking the most effective questions, listening with the intent to learn, and effectively overcoming common customer objections are all skills that must be developed. A lack of production reflects a lack of practice. Show me a great producer, and I’ll show you someone who knows the value of practice. However, many just say they are too busy, and that is the enemy of excellence!

Too busy to learn! Learning is always present tense! Learning is not something you did; it is something you do! It is not an event; it is a life-long process. This demands reading consistently to expand knowledge and understanding and that we make room for in our schedules. Every month I ask the question, “What have you learned in the last 30 days that has made you more effective with helping customers see value in your offering? The ability to change a mind from no to yes demands new information and compelling proof that what we are saying is true.

Customers today are more informed than ever before, and unless we can show them third-party information that informs and compels action, they feel we are wasting their time. However, when third-party, powerful and compelling information is shared, customers trust us and the information we are sharing. That opens up an entirely different conversation and leads to needs being met and decisions made that will make for a great ownership experience. That is excellence in action, and those too busy to learn will never achieve excellence and be trapped in mediocrity.

Spending 30 minutes a day, compounded over time, will lead to amazing growth and results. Busyness will seek to limit or eliminate the efforts that lead to excellence. Each day a choice must be made. Choose busyness or choose intentional growth and excellence in our lives and daily efforts. Whatever choice we make will most likely be achieved. I choose excellence, improvement and growth! Practicing and learning will be on my daily regimen as I fight off mediocrity from entering into my world. The enemy called busyness will be fought vigorously in my daily routine, and excellence will win. Join me on this journey!

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