The Proper Introduction to Finance

The transition of the customer from the salesperson to the finance manager is critical to ensure a successful transaction. Here’s how to achieve it.

The chain of custody as it refers to the customer is essential in all aspects of the automotive sales process. The customer must be controlled at all times, beginning with the salesperson. One aspect of that control is maintaining a consistent turnover strategy, from sales to Finance.

This can be accommodated in several ways: having the salesperson serve as an ambassador of the dealership by taking the customer to the Finance Office and introducing him to the F&I manager, explaining briefly along the way what will occur in that office to help put the customer at ease. Or, having the F&I manager meet the customer on the showroom floor or at the salesperson’s workstation, and letting the F&I manager mention briefly what will soon transpire.

Both methods are effective, and serve to de-mystify the overall vehicle sales transaction process. If the customer has knowledge of the process, he can mentally prepare for it. That means he won’t be surprised, or upset, when he is asked to spend another 30 minutes at the dealership in the Finance Office after he already has spent hours making his deal.

For either chain of custody transition to work properly, the salesperson and the F&I manager need to work together. Educating the Sales staff on the importance of F&I products and processes accomplishes that. It enables the salesperson to have insight, which translates into trust, when the transition occurs. This, in turn, allows for higher backend sales as the customer is better prepared for the F&I portion of the sales transaction. If there is good communication between the F&I and Sales departments – the F&I managers keeping the salespeople updated on the progress of their deals, and the salespeople prepping their customers for the F&I experience – then everyone wins, including a more relaxed customer.