3 Min ReadDecember 21, 2023

Pull Back the Curtain on Your Dealership’s F&I to Modernize the Car Sales Process

Pull Back the Curtain on Your Dealership’s F&I to Modernize the Car Sales Process.

Today’s car buyers value a fast, easy and convenient experience. Transactions have become faster over time due to tools like digital retailing and mobile applications. However, the F&I office continues to eat up time. A CDK study found that 65% of consumers spend up to 45 minutes waiting to see the F&I Manager.

Dealers need to innovate the F&I process to truly modernize the buying process and deliver on customer expectations. The promising news is that remote selling and showroom tools provide an intuitive F&I experience for customers while remaining within guardrails set by managers.

Going this route does require the F&I office to trust sales staff to take the wheel when required. If this sounds daunting, consider the long-term costs to the dealership if waiting for F&I results in a poor consumer experience. Here’s how to get started.

Train Sales Staff on F&I Product Menus

Even customers who prefer to do most of the purchase steps online appreciate an expert consultation. Sales staff need to be familiar with F&I menus and trained to speak about the benefits of the products to the customer. This can put the customer more at ease when they finally do enter the F&I office.

Build a Strategy and Share It

Assess your F&I profile and build a strategy around selling the products that are most valuable to your dealership. Share the strategy and compensation structure with sales staff. For example, prioritize pre-paid maintenance and other downstream revenue-generating products instead of focusing first on guaranteed asset protection (GAP), which has no benefit to the dealership beyond that initial sale. One caveat: Don’t jeopardize personalization. Make sure presentations are still tailored to the customer’s needs by referencing buying history and comparable shopper data.

Include F&I on the Sales Platform

Allow customers to view your entire menu of vehicle accessories, protection plans and other F&I add-ons as part of the sales process. This enables a continuous, intuitive experience with the benefit of showing the customer exactly how the selected products will change their total monthly payments.

Loosen the Reins

The ingrained habit of bringing customers to the box will be hard to break. But loosening the reins and allowing customers and sales staff to handle remote interviews and presentations can net many benefits. Start the interview before the customer comes in — give them the option to see products on a tablet away from the dealership — to eliminate time spent in the F&I office.

At the dealership, the salesperson also doesn’t have to leave the customer’s side to get approvals because managers can track activity from a dashboard so they can run deals faster. This makes for happier customers and more productive sales staff.

If you want to modernize the F&I process, include F&I on one sales platform with prescribed and mandatory steps. This modern retailing approach will speed up transactions and improve the customer experience. And with a selling strategy that prioritizes downstream-revenue-generating products, you’ll speed up the purchase process, which ultimately delivers happier customers.

Related
F&I at the Dealership white paper

Share This

Jason Swiech
By Jason Swiech
Product Marketing Manager

Jason is the F&I Product Marketing Manager for CDK Global’s Modern Retail portfolio, orchestrating the launch of multiple solutions to help dealers meet the needs of customers in this ever changing market.  This includes the signing experience as well as the processes to move the F&I office into a fully digital workflow. He is responsible for the coordination between CDK customers and our product teams to improve the F&I experience for both dealers and car shoppers.

Recent Insights

How to Spot Generative A I in Automotive Retail.

How to Spot Generative AI in Automotive Retail

Every vendor in the automotive retail industry is touting artificial intelligence and innovation. From marketing tools to sales assistants, dealerships...
3 Min ReadMay 21Amber Good
How Dealership A I Tools Can Help Service Team Productivity.

How Dealership AI Tools Can Help Service Team Productivity

Eight minutes and 12 seconds may not seem like a long time, but for dealership customers stuck on hold trying...
3 Min ReadMay 14CDK Global
Make Your Entire Dealership’s Phone System Smart.

Make Your Entire Dealership’s Phone System Smart

A dealership’s phone system is integral to generating business and if it’s not up to today’s challenges it may be...
3 Min ReadMay 9Natalia Mischenko
How Your Dealership Can Prepare for Auto Parts Tariffs.

How Your Dealership Can Prepare for Auto Parts Tariffs

Navigating the world of tariffs is no easy task. It seems there’s news of changes nearly every single day. But...
3 Min ReadMay 7Adam Bigelow
Car Pros Optimizes Operations With C D K Dealership Experience.

Car Pros Optimizes Operations With CDK Dealership Xperience

Car Pros Automotive Group has a rich history, starting in the mid-'90s as a used car lot founded by CEO...
2 Min ReadMay 5CDK Global
Car Buyers Hit More Dealers Amid Tariff Turbulence

Car Buyers Hit More Dealers Amid Tariff Turbulence

If there’s any question about tariffs impacting car buyer behavior it seemed to prove out in April. While 90% of...
3 Min ReadMay 1David Thomas
The Importance of Scheduling Appointments for the Test Drive.

The Importance of Scheduling Appointments for the Test Drive

Long wait times at the dealership are a significant source of frustration for car shoppers. It’s not just an inconvenience;...
3 Min ReadApr 29CDK Global
Most EV Owners Stand By the Technology in New Study

Most EV Owners Stand By the Technology in New Study

Opinions about the political shifts and impacts on the ever-evolving electrical vehicle industry vary greatly across the automotive industry including...
1 Min ReadApr 21CDK Global
Dealership Appointments. Car Shoppers versus Service Customers.

Dealership Appointments: Car Shoppers vs. Service Customers

Whether you’re shopping for a new vehicle or looking to service your current one, going to a dealership can be...
3 Min ReadApr 18CDK Global
The Power of Online Reviews for Car Dealerships.

The Power of Online Reviews for Car Dealerships

Word-of-mouth marketing has long been heralded as the top marketing strategy. As the internet continues to shape consumer behavior, traditional...
3 Min ReadApr 11CDK Global