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F&I Featured

Dealer Marketing Magazine: Drive Revenue and Build Loyalty Through Improved F&I Product Administration

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Contributing Author: Ken Overly, Vice President, Operations, EFG Companies

If you follow industry trends, you probably expect the vehicle sales momentum of the past few years to continue through 2015. The first quarter started strong, with year-over-year sales up 13.7% in January, according to Autodata. The market will level out eventually, however, and smart dealers are utilizing the increased foot traffic to turn new customers into repeat customers.

Ken Overly Blog HeadshotWhile this starts within the dealership with service incentives, referral campaigns, etc., cultivating repeat business also extends into the F&I space and the customer experience with product administrators. Customers associate the selling dealership with the vehicle ownership experience . . . and F&I product administration. Service provided by the F&I product provider that reflects the dealership’s high service standards fortifies the customer’s relationship with the business.

Good experience with an F&I product goes beyond claims paid. It extends to customer service provided to your customers and your service center. Think of your own experience with call centers. The ones you hate are those that keep you on hold too long, don’t address your questions, or keep transferring you between departments. Good customer service includes answering calls immediately, listening to customer concerns, and responding to all questions politely.

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Compliance F&I

Are You In Control of Your Profit Potential?

Karen Klees, Certified Consumer Credit Compliance Professional, EFG Companies

 

Contributing Author: Karen Klees, Certified Consumer Credit Compliance Professional, EFG Companies

If you’ve been paying attention to industry news, you probably know about the Federal Trade Commission once again setting its sights on add-on products. While large industry players expected this on the heels of the CFPB’s increased oversight into auto lending practices, many dealerships looking to make up for lost dealer reserve with the sale of F&I products are looking to tighten up their policies and procedures.

If you haven’t already begun re-evaluating your compliance procedures, now is the perfect time! While there are many elements to consider as you review your current policies and procedures for your existing product offerings, there is an upside. When sold in a compliant manner, F&I products provide dealers the ultimate control in their profit potential.

This being said, applying compliance standards and scrutiny to your policies and procedures is growing in importance.  A recommended starting point, as you evaluate your product offering, is to ask a simple question:  Do your products’ benefits fulfill a real and mathematically calculable customer need? 

Starting with this premise, here is a checklist to perform due diligence:

Categories
F&I

Automotive News – Consistent F&I Pricing Key to Compliance

Jim-Henry

 

Contributing Author: Jim Henry, Automotive News Special Correspondent

As regulators scrutinize auto lending practices, companies in the F&I space have made compliance with state and federal rules a priority too.

F&I product administrator EFG Cos., of Dallas, is one such company. About a year ago, it appointed Karen Klees to fill the new role of compliance specialist. Klees recently amended her title to certified consumer credit compliance specialist after completing the Consumer Credit Compliance Certification Program from the National Automotive Finance Association.

Klees explained to Automotive News Special Correspondent Jim Henry how she would put her training to work at dealerships in 2015.

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The talk at auto finance industry conferences centers on compliance as the growing arena in the CFPB era. Is that your experience, too?

Everyone I’ve come into contact with recently has identified … stresses they are under from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators. It’s been a huge kind of coordinating task.

At the same time, the industry says it didn’t just discover compliance, right?