Every industry measures the performance of its employees in terms of the good, the bad, and the mediocre.  The standards are especially high in the automotive field, where competition is tight, and the stakes are high.  A Finance Manager who is unethical, unorganized or underachieving won’t be around long.  The position is [...]

As competition in the automotive industry grows increasingly fierce, more and more industry professionals are looking to technology to gain the advantage over their competitors.  Foremost among these technology-based strategies is electronic contracting (e-contracting), which has been steadily gaining momentum among auto lenders and dealers in recent years.  Read [...]

Finance Manager now must build a rapport with his customer.  This includes getting to know the customer by asking questions designed to encourage the customer to talk about himself.  This simultaneously reveals the customer’s needs, and helps establish a connection between the customer and the F&I Manager.  Expansive questions [...]

The consultation process is an integral part of the F&I sales process.  It enables the Finance Manager to effectively “meet and greet” the customer and verify the purchase order.  It is also the point at which the Finance Manager can build rapport with the customer and determine his wants and [...]

With the advent of every new year, most of us make new resolutions. Usually, they involve something that might improve our health:  we will lose ten pounds (or more!), or cut out fried foods, or cut down on coffee, or quit smoking, or exercise more. Over the years, unfortunately, we’ve learned [...]

The salespeople are very important to the dealership in general and the finance department in particular. Nothing happens in a dealership until a vehicle is sold. The salesperson has the first opportunity to influence the position of the customer toward the Finance office and all the F&I products. Salespeople must have [...]

There are purely psychological barriers that could inhibit a smooth transition. Salespeople are protective of “their” customer, and are aware that the sale they worked so hard to achieve could conceivably fall apart in the Finance Office. Consequently, their reluctance to introduce their customers to a third party that was not [...]

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.  [...]

A Finance Manager cannot operate alone.  A large part of your success as a Finance Manager is determined by how well you develop professional relationships.  This series of positive relationships extends beyond the dealership and its customers; in finance, in particular, success is dependent on many different service providers, all [...]

Your Special Finance Office now has all the necessary components for success in the non-prime market.  The staff is fully-trained and qualified to handle the challenges of serving special finance customers.   They have established and maintain professional relationships with a network of lenders whose different special finance guidelines will cover a [...]