Are you a believer? Do you believe in your products, or do you just sell them? It’s a fair question.
Here is another question that will help you to find out: Which products are you currently enrolled in to protect your personal vehicles? If the answer is none, that might be an indication that you may not be a true believer after all. Maybe the enthusiasm for your products has slipped a little. And if so, chances are your numbers have slipped, as well.
When I ask F&I managers to name their favorite product is, I usually get several types of responses. Some respond with whichever one pays them the most. For others, it’s a product that consistently has the highest enrollment percentage. Or it is a product that they have personal experience with. They enrolled in the product, and it paid a claim for them, and they share the story about it, or they described the experience in a very positive way.
When someone believes in a product or service, he or she usually speaks with enthusiasm and positivity when describing it or recommending it. Many times, a story is a part of the dialogue.
When you see a movie you really enjoyed, or a book you’ve read that was so good you couldn’t put it down, or maybe a restaurant where the food, service and atmosphere were fantastic, you want to share your experience with others. You may go as far as to recommend the movie, book or restaurant to someone. They get excited about the recommendation because your enthusiasm comes through in a genuine way. People pick up on that, and they want to share the same positive experience.
We’ve all seen this behavior in our customers when they tell you that they always enroll in a particular product. Almost every time there is a story of how a claim was paid and what a positive experience it was when it was.
What would you say if your customer looked you in the eye and asked, “Did you enroll in these products on your own vehicle” If you did, you could answer with conviction and explain why you enrolled and how you decided on the term, mileage and so on. If you have ever had a claim paid, you could share the details and tell the story of what happened, how much it cost, and how easy it was to get the claim paid. If you didn’t enroll in any of the products you offer, that’s a different story.
My point is that when you believe in your product, it comes through to the customer in your voice tone and body language. Your energy is positive, and you project the message of, “you should join me” versus, “you should buy it.”
Top-producing F&I pros not only know their products inside and out, but they have also enrolled in them. The best F&I managers are product ambassadors. They achieve multiple product enrollments because they truly believe in the products they offer to each customer each day, and that translates into enthusiasm.
Include expert-level product knowledge, and that promotes trust, and once you have established trust, the customer will relax, open his or her mind and really consider what you have to say. Trust, plus expert product knowledge along personal experience with a product is a winning combination for all involved. We have heard it before: Product knowledge leads to confidence, confidence leads to enthusiasm, and enthusiasm sells.
If you do not own any benefits of the products you offer to the customers who flow through your office each day, maybe it is time to reconsider and “transfer the risk to a third party” or “take full advantage of all the benefits offered to you.” Think of it as an investment in your F&I business. After all, if you do not believe that the products you offer are worth the cost to enroll, why would you expect your customers to think they are?
John Tabar serves as executive director of training for Brown & Brown.
