Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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need to teach [F&I; personnel] how to better get along with people. That's really all it is," she said. "Most of them have never had any sort of leader- ship training." She referred to a book called "The Magic Question" by David Cottrell. In the book, Cottrell proposed that employ- ees want to know six things from their managers: • What's really important. • How they are doing as individual employees. • How their team is doing. • Whether the manager cares. • What difference they make as employees. • Whether the manager is worth following. If the manager is able to answer those six things, the employees will then ask the "magic question," which is, "How can I help?" Vance said this theory also applies to the relationship between the sales floor and the F&I; office, even though one is not subordinate to the other. The architect of the Kentucky-based IPS Agency explained that it's primarily a matter of being clear on each side's expectations and perceptions. When the salespeople under- stand the job of the F&I; office and what is needed in order for them to accomplish that job, things run more smoothly. "They're going to work better together as a team, and when they work together as a team, dealership front-end profits go up as well as back-end profits." Randy Crisorio, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of United Development Systems, Inc., agreed that the finance office's relationship with the sales desk is a critical area that in some cases can make or break things for F&I.; Issues between the sales desk and the F&I; office are "very prevalent," said the head of the Florida company helping dealers maximize their F&I; operations for 30-plus years. The biggest problem occurs when a payment is quoted to the customer that leaves no room for the addition of back-end products. "The relationship between the desk and finance and insurance is a big one, and the desk can crucify a finance and insurance department by virtue of their work ethic and how they promote deals. Or they can assist—they can stay away from payments," said Crisorio. He added this is a training issue that goes back "When the salespeople understand the job of the F&I; office and what is needed in order for them to accomplish that job, things run more smoothly in the dealership." - Shari Vance, founder IPS Agency "F&I; managers tend to make customers wait until the manager is ready to talk to them. That creates customer satisfaction issues and reduces your ability to sell products." - Ron Reahard, president of Reahard and Associates to compliance and how payments are quoted (interest rate, term in months, unpaid principal and monthly payment must be given) and said sales managers are "jamming" customers into payments inappropriately on a daily basis. The solution? "It's all about getting out on the sales floor and getting in- volved in the deals early; not sitting in the F&I; office waiting for a salesman to come and say, 'Mr. and Mrs. Jones just bought a car,' but being out at the desk when that paperwork comes to the desk and work- ing with the sales manager as a team," the CEO said. "Those deals work out the best." Ability to Discover the Customer's Needs Reahard observed that one area often in need of attention is an F&I; manager's ability to effectively discover a cus- tomer's needs. Oftentimes, they ask only a handful of basic questions such as who's going to be driving the car, how long they plan on keeping it and how many miles they drive. "They don't ask enough questions so that they can help the customers see themselves in a situation where the product would benefit them," he said. Mike Cassinelli, a trainer at IPS Agency, said, "The No. 1 problem with failure of the customer interview is just simply that they don't do it. You see F&I; managers who, as they become older and more experienced and learn the tricks of the trade, stop going out on the showroom floor and talking to the customer." Reahard recommended that F&I; managers have about 30 questions ready to ask a customer, but stressed that how the interview is conducted is just as important as the questions being asked. "They need to have that down to a science, so it comes across as a conversation, not an interrogation," he stated. Cassinelli agreed. "If you ask five or six … questions in a row, by the fourth or fifth one, the customer, whether they say it or not, is wondering, 'Why are you asking me all these questions?'" This can cause a customer to put up their guard and become resistant to later efforts to offer products that might benefit them. "The whole purpose of the interview is so that … we can really start to figure out what is important to them with the car purchase," he stated. If the interview is conducted improperly, the F&I; manager might uncover the information he needs but lose the opportunity to use that information effectively. 21