Last month I was giving a short talk on F&I training at a local automotive dealership conference and Iw as staggered at the number of owners who hadn’t considered investing in this vital aspect of staff training. There is of course a case for outsourcing the finance and insurance aspect of your business but there is also a lot of value in looking to keep it in-house, and at times this may even be the most cost effective option, especially for larger scale dealerships or dealerships wit multiple locations.
If you haven’t considered upskilling your staff in this way, so that they will be able to deal with the finance and insurance side of things, then here are a few reasons why it may be beneficial to you, and therefore the business on the whole.
Outsourcing
When you outsource an area of your business it is only ever a good idea which will work well, if you actually hand over that aspect of the business to the right company. Unfortunately we have seen in recent years that there are many F&I companies who have drastically let down car dealerships and that has resulted in a damaged reputation with the client, who of course does back to where they bought the vehicle when there is an issue. Keeping this in-house means that you’ll have better control over exactly what is happening.
Time
Many will point to the amount of time that it takes to go through the finance agreement or insurance options with someone when they are in the dealership, suggesting that it may take time away from that person being on the forecourt. The truth of that matter however is that even on the business Saturday of the year, nobody sells cars like grocery stores sell beans, and there is certainly time for one member of staff who has been trained, to sit with the customer and go through their information around warranties etc.
Customer Service
One trick which many who have outsourced F&I have missed is that the more time which you are able to spend with the customer, the more easily you can build up a rapport with them and offer them outstanding customer service. In the automotive industry this is of great importance as people are always going to need another car in the future and if they are happy with your service then they may very well come back to see you.
Ease
The truth is that getting a couple of your team upskilled on the inner workings on F&I will greatly help the business and it really isn’t that difficult. In a couple of weeks your member of staff will be able to nail this area of the business and it will provide an added string to your business’ bow.
If you are already outsourcing this and you haven’t found it to be as good as you like, why not have a look at bringing it back home?
