F&I managers interested in participating in F&I and Showroom magazine's new F&Idol contest have 10 days to submit their entries.
The contest, sponsored by Innovative Aftermarket Systems (IAS) and powered by SmartEye, will honor five managers with the best F&I menu presentation in the following categories: vehicle service contract, GAP, tire and wheel, key replacement and theft deterrent. Each winner will be honored at the 2011 Industry Summit, where one will be named the grand prize winner and the recipient of the F&Idol trophy.
Winners of each category will receive a $1,000 cash prize, free airfare, hotel accommodations and a free pass to the 2011 Industry Summit, scheduled for Sept. 26-28 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Category winners also will appear on the magazine’s Website along with their videos and in the magazine’s special conference issue in September.
The overall winner will then receive the F&Idol trophy and an additional $2,500 cash prize. He or she also will be profiled in the magazine’s October 2011 issue.
“This is for yearlong bragging rights,” said Gregory Arroyo, editor of F&I and Showroom magazine. “It’s also an opportunity for one individual to be recognized in front of the entire industry.”
The F&Idol contest will be accepting video entries from F&I managers until Friday, Aug. 12. Each submission must be five minutes or less, include at least one fictional/stand-in customer in a staged transaction, and show a minimum of two objection-handling techniques.
Judging the entries will be Bob Corbin, president and CEO of IAS; F&I and Showroom’s Arroyo; Marv Eleazer, the magazine’s F&I columnist and an F&I professional at Langdale Ford; Ron Reahard, president of Reahard & Associates Inc.; Steve Veldkamp, training director for Great Lakes Companies; Alan Miller, senior vice president of sales at CNA National; Robert Harkins, president of RAH Consulting; and Randall R. Crisorio, president and CEO of United Development Systems.
Entries can be recorded using an iPhone, Android phone, Flip video camera, iPad, Webcam or any other video recording device. Videos can then be uploaded to the contest site at www.fandidol.com.
