F&I Desk Integration Part 1: Working with the Sales Department

A Finance Department cannot operate alone. To fully realize its income potential, the Finance Department must have an outstanding working relationship with every other department within the dealership. This is accomplished by fostering a professional work environment among all dealership management and support personnel. This, in turn, helps generate sales.  While this cooperation is required dealership-wide, nowhere is it more vital than between the Sales and Finance Departments. In fact, how successfully a dealership’s Sales and Finance Departments internally relate to one another largely determines whether or not the dealership itself will succeed.

Working with the Sales Department

The Sales Department sells the vehicle and secures the front-end gross. The Finance Department completes the legal paperwork to deliver the vehicle and secures the backend profit. In order to maximize the total profit both departments must work together on every deal.

The two biggest problems that cause most Finance Departments to lose income are:

1. The failure to properly familiarize the customer with a dealership’s financial services and F&I products.

2. The manner in which a customer is introduced to the finance manager by the salesperson.

The contributing factors for these problems will, of course, vary from dealership to dealership, but the dealership that best handles them comes closest to maximizing its profit opportunities.

Sales management should make it a standard policy that all customers, regardless of their intentions of financing, must be given the opportunity to be professionally exposed to the dealership’s financial services and F&I products.

The proper introduction of the customer from the Sales to the Finance is critical to ensure a successful transaction. An improper comment from a salesperson can leave the finance manager to discuss his services in an unfavorable environment.

The Chain of Custody

Transitions, whether in life or in business, set the stage for what’s to come. In many cases, a smooth transition can lay the foundation for success from one phase of a process to another. Think of it as a rushing play in football. If the quarterback can hand off the ball to his halfback with grace and precision, yardage will be gained. However, if the ball is fumbled during the transition, it could spell disaster for the team.

The same is true in automotive sales. The transition of the customer from the salesperson to the finance manager is critical to ensure a successful transaction. Without a proper introduction at the appropriate time, the customer will be ill-prepared for the final, and arguably, most important aspect of the sales process.  The best strategy is a well-practiced, seamless sales process.  Customers must never sense they are working with two separate departments. 

There are two traditionally accepted methods of turning over the customer to the F&I manager. One system calls for the salesperson to escort the customer to the Finance Department, while the other entails the Finance Manager meeting the customer on the showroom floor or at the salesperson’s desk. The key is consistency. Whichever policy is in place should be followed with each and every customer to ensure a winning game plan. The Sales Department and the Finance Department must always keep in mind that they are playing for the same team. In order to win, the transition needs to be handled flawlessly.

The proper time for the introduction is at the point of sale. A premature introduction could scare off the prospective car buyer; if they’re not yet committed to the new investment, how can they consider the additional products and services designed to protect that investment? Conversely, if the introduction occurs too late, say at the time of delivery, the customer probably has already made arrangements for financing and other insurance needs.  Either way, the team has just fumbled the ball.