A well-crafted and consistent process will do more to raise the level of help we provide for our customers and the overall profits in our office, than almost anything else we do! We have driven the concept of the “5 P’s” into the ground over the years. You can place the Products, Price, People and Presentation in a pot and throw in a bad Process and it creates a stew that no one wants to eat. It also produces a process that no one wants to endure. There are three ingredients that must be part of any successful process.
#1: Trust Yourself
Raise the level of trust you have with yourself and that will lead to a higher level of trust others have with you. Before we concern ourselves with how much our customers trust us, we must answer the question: How much do you trust yourself? How confident are you that you can overcome the toughest objections? Our goal is to make “Yes” easy and “No” hard. When you have done the work and spent time researching your craft and practicing your process, you have a confidence that each customer will be glad they met with you to finance their vehicle. They will learn things that they have never known before meeting you, and they will be moved by the passion of your process. That is a process that is provided by a F&I manager that has built a high level of trust in their own ability to help every customer make good buying decisions.
#2: Increase Your Growth Speed
How fast are you growing? A great process is provided by a professional that is constantly growing in their knowledge and expertise. Are you growing at 25 MPH or 75 MPH? Regardless of the Growth Speed you are currently at, if you increase your commitment to activities that will grow your knowledge it will increase your production immediately. Every customer should learn something they did not know before meeting you or they will do what they have always done. Our success depends largely on our ability to change people’s minds. The only way customers will consistently be learning new things from you is if you are consistently learning new things. Ramp up your commitment to activities every week that have you reading and researching your craft and the statements that start coming out of your mouth will surprise you and change a customer’s mind!
#3: Be Different!
If your process is not different, it is just like everyone else’s process that your customers have already encountered. Your process must be more comfortable, fun and enlightening than any other they have encountered, or they will paint you with the broad brush of the bad practices of every past F&I experience. Providing third party information to prove what you are saying to move them to buy a product is something they are not expecting and something that will make you different. When a customer says they do not want any products offered, assure them they don’t have to buy anything, and saying “No” is okay – They will wonder why you are so different than the others. Of course, our next step will be to make them thirsty for our knowledge and expertise and ask us for more information. Every F&I manager has forced them to listen to a sales pitch, however you are getting them to ask you for more information. That is different and refreshing and leads to more buying then selling could ever accomplish.
A well-defined process that has been built by consistent research and practice to communicate effectively, is powerful, and customers will find saying “Yes” easy and saying “No” hard. You have done your job well and everybody wins!
