The most common complaint among dealership customers is the length of time spent in the business office. F&I managers have a lot of ground to cover, and often, it leaves customers not wanting to engage or purchase protection products. But iA American Warranty Group is looking to change that.
iA American Warranty Group brought together its entire team of training leaders to create a new, updated curriculum for future F&I training efforts. The highlight of this new curriculum is a revolutionary advancement for the F&I office: The 15-Minute F&I Turn, a technique that reduces the time required to complete the F&I process to 15 minutes or less.
“On average, F&I managers spend over an hour per F&I turn, not to mention the time it takes to prepare for the next customer by entering their data into the CRM, preparing the menu and printing out paperwork,” said Eric Mélon, senior vice president of sales, head of training & development. “If you have two or three customers lined up waiting for you to finish with the person ahead of them, it could be hours before they get their turn.
This frustration can be eliminated with an improved F&I process.
What does this mean for stores with little access to F&I technology? Well, it is not dependent upon technology. Rather, it has more to do with the business manager’s abilities and following the process itself.
“Regardless of the level of technology available in the F&I office, dealerships employing a 15-minute F&I turn are reporting significantly higher profits and greater customer satisfaction than ever before,” Mélon said. “More customers are being served in less time in a completely moral and ethical way, which is completely transparent. Although getting here took nearly two years of fine-tuning and development, [we have] achieved what many have thought impossible. This is a game-changer.”
If 15 minutes sounds too good to be true, it’s not. The process still allows customers to learn about and see the value in all products offered in a more efficient time frame. It’s all based on customer engagement, active listening skills (something no dealership employee should be without), and the customer’s ownership experience.
The last impression a customer has as they leave a store almost always has a bigger impact than any interaction they had at the beginning or in the middle of their visit. If they spend only 15 minutes in the business office, they are more likely to leave with a positive impression. Following this process means customers have an authentic interaction, are not “over-sold,” do not “shut down” at the mention of products and are more open to what the business manager has to say.
What could that do for your CSI and your bottom line?
