It happens to every F&I manager in every dealership. When you're fresh from a seminar or workshop, your presentation and pitch are reenergized and your customers are responsive to the new strategies you picked up. But over time, the effectiveness of the lessons learned begins to fade. Why is that,…

To turn an objection into a sale, you must first welcome the objection, sympathize and demonstrate an understanding of it through your response, tone of voice and body language. Your ability to overcome an objection will depend primarily on your ability to provide the customer with valid reasons why they…

Leasing can be advantageous for both the customer and the dealer. It allows for shorter trade cycles, builds loyalty and, most importantly, keeps payments low. And with credit criteria and income requirements loosening, leasing is becoming a serious option for today's car buyer. To maximize profitability and make the return…

There’s nothing like those first few days of being an F&I manager. You feel like you can sell anything to anybody. Unfortunately, that feeling wears off once you realize that most customers aren’t initially interested in your products and it will take some effort to overcome those walls of resistance.…

For an F&I professional to realize any amount of success, he or she must accept the inevitable, capitalize on changing conditions, and turn those challenges into profit-generating opportunities. But even if a F&I manager can handle all of that, he or she can’t get it done alone.…

The F&I department has to upgrade its level of service from 3G to 4G — the next generation of selling F&I products. This upgrade requires F&I to become more than just a secretarial service for the sales team. It requires F&I managers to get involved early in the sales process…

If you have the right product lineup and selling prices, pre-owned customers will buy F&I products, too. Fewer new-car sales and more used car sales does not have to mean a reduction in F&I income per retail unit. It does mean you need to find a company that offers a…

The goal of the F&I professional is the same as it has always been. Sell products at high penetration and profit levels. The manner in which we’ve tried to accomplish this has varied over the years. In times past, F&I schools taught how to sell products to customers without them…

When the car business is good, it's great! Right now, however, all we're talking about is survival. Survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strongest. The fittest are those endowed with the qualities to adapt, the ability to accept the inevitable,…

Today’s consumer appreciates having a knowledgeable F&I professional help them make an informed decision about the options available in connection with his or her purchase. They loathe listening to a sales pitch. If we’re not genuinely trying to help that person across the desk make good decisions, then the F&I…