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Reaheard summed up things, saying, "When the customer says, 'I don't need that,' if you can't tell them why they do, you're done. So it's that needs- discovery part that you've got to get really good at." Properly Presenting the Menu "Oftentimes, F&I; managers will use the menu improperly," said UDS's Crisorio. Many times, this means F&I; man- agers inadvertently give more weight to certain products at the expense of others. "If there's one telltale piece of evidence that we're dealing with a weak F&I; manager or one who is using the menu improperly, it's that the results are only in two different categories—service contact and [guaranteed auto protection] GAP, two of the easiest products to sell," he revealed. This can, of course, be a compliance issue as well if the problem has gotten to the point that customers are not being presented with the option to purchase all available products. Compliance issues aside, F&I; managers could be defeating the purpose of the menu and losing back-end profits by unintentionally steering cus- tomers away from products they might find beneficial and would otherwise purchase if given enough information. This can especially be a problem when it comes to lease customers and cash deals. Crisorio estimated that 85 percent of F&I; products are sold with financed vehicles and said F&I; managers have run away from cash deals for years because they couldn't make the finance reserve. He pointed out, "These customers have money … They may want their car to look good—environmen- tal paint protection, maybe paintless dent repair [would be desirable]. Perhaps they had a car stolen and need an anti-theft system. Perhaps they lose their keys frequently. " 22 Improper menu presentation, he said, results from a lack of training and discipline. "We consider it to be a real weak- ness that requires focus and training on … a methodology of delivering the menu the same way, every single time." Once that is being done, the dealership must regularly and consistently track the number of products sold and income per vehicle retailed and make certain F&I; personnel don't start taking shortcuts. Ability to Engage the Customer and Create Interest Along with proper use of the menu, F&I; managers need to make certain they are engag- ing the customer rather than simply making a presentation. "The words that absolutely kill your ability to sell products are, 'Let me show you something,'" said Reahard. "They're trying to make presentations … and today's customers are very resistant to a presentation." Much like conducting the customer interview without making it an interrogation, the menu pres- entation process also needs to take on the tone of a conversa- tion. "We constantly train on engaging the customer in the process so that it's not a pres- entation, it's a conversation," he further explained. "If a customer wants to hear what you have to say, you've got a lot better chance of selling than if you force them to listen to what you have to say." Objection-Handling Techniques IPS founder Vance said most F&I; staff can use help with their objection-handling techniques. The problem is often a fear of rejection; they either accept it when the customer initially says no or they get to a point where they don't really ask the customer to buy the product. "Let's face it. People don't want to be rejected. So, if I don't ask you to buy something, you can't really tell me no." "One telltale piece of evidence that you are dealing with a weak F&I; manager or someone using the menu improperly, is that the results are only in two different categories—service contract and GAP, two of the easiest products to sell." - Randy Crisorio, president of United Development Systems, Inc. She said it is important to not only tell F&I; personnel how to handle an objection but to get them to rehearse their tech- nique using role-playing until it becomes almost second na- ture. "They're much more likely to use [the objection- handling technique] if they have it down," she said. Crisorio concurred, stating, "The role-playing that should be ever-present on the training side is overcoming objections. Answering questions is easy. The training to respond [to objections] is probably the most important piece." Asking Questions That Get a "Yes" Sometimes selling a product is not a matter of whether you ask a certain question; it's a matter of how you ask the question. "Too many F&I; people do not ask good closing questions," noted Reahard, adding that the F&I; manager needs to ask a trial question that will get them a yes, then ask a closing question. The key is to make saying yes easy and not difficult. He said that ques- tions like, "Is that something you'd be interested in?" should be avoided. Reahard illustrated the point with an example of selling GAP coverage which also pays the customer's deductible up to $1,000. He said the best way to phrase the question is, "'Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to pay your deductible?' I've never had anybody say, 'No, I like paying that deductible. I look forward to writing that check.' You always get a yes there, and when you get the yes, you've earned the right to ask a closing question." Consistent, Regular Training on the Basics The biggest thing to remember is that everyone in the F&I; office needs regular and consistent training, no matter who they are. "One of the things that happens over time is … we take shortcuts," said Crisorio. F&I; personnel, he said, "should avail themselves of every [training] opportunity … even if they're superstars doing big numbers." He emphasized training "that gets back to fundamentals— commitment, consistency, discipline [and] role-playing." Regular training that focuses on these fundamentals not only ensures F&I; professionals are always prepared and decreases the chances they'll slide into bad habits or take shortcuts, but it also helps them discover new ideas to try.