Author: efgmarketing

Selling WHY – Not What

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date January 10, 2019

Contributing Author: Eric Fifield Chief Revenue Officer, EFG Companies

When presenting F&I products, are your F&I managers focusing too much on the product details? How’s that working for you? Are you happy with those product penetration rates?

Think about when you review long lists of information, you start to tune out, right? The same thing happens when F&I managers approach a product presentation from the standpoint of selling what the product does. Tallying off coverage levels, terms, systems, and parts is the fastest way to disengage from the customer and get them watching the clock instead of listening to the presentation.

At EFG, we teach professionals to approach the F&I product presentation from the standpoint of WHY. Why should a customer purchase a certain product? How does it benefit them? You could say that the product benefits customers by listing off everything it covers, but once again, that long list isn’t directly relatable to most customers.

Training

A New Approach to Menu Presentations

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date December 12, 2018

Dave Gibbs
Training Manager
EFG Companies

It’s a common practice in most F&I offices to utilize menus of various types to present F&I products to customers. They can help to maintain compliance and ensure that every customer knows their choices when it comes to protecting their purchase. However, few subjects inspire more debate than how to effectively utilize menus to enhance the customer experience and effectively present F&I products.

While most F&I Managers still use menus to sell F&I products, there is another approach or philosophy that can be even more effective than using them as step-selling tools. I would encourage you to consider the menu as a natural conclusion to a benefits presentation and discussion, tailored to the needs of your customer that have been identified.

I do not recommend only using a menu to present and sell your F&I products. Many of your customers have most likely been through a similar presentation and are conditioned to reject any proposition you may have for them immediately. Most of us have experienced the “No thanks, I will pass” response that comes as soon as you begin to review the menu. The wall goes back up and the customer stops listening to you. Many times, all they can see is the cost of the products and they aren’t even hearing the benefits you may be trying to convey.

A better approach would be to identify the customers’ needs through conversation prior to presenting a menu. Utilizing the information that both you and the sales associate gathered from them, you can then transition to a product discussion and a review that is tailored to their individual and unique needs. This can help the customer see areas where they may have risks during their time of ownership and cultivate a value-based proposition.

Tags dealership training, F&I menu, Finance & Insurance, menu presentation

Dealership Recruiting

Interviewing 101

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date November 28, 2018

Contributing Author:
Amber Hash
Recruiting Manager
EFG Companies

Have you found yourself wondering what happened to that stellar candidate who came in for the job interview? They were impressive in the interview, so why are they not measuring up on the job?

This scenario happens because some people are just better at interviews than others. It could be that you find yourself passing on potentially top-performing employees and hiring less apt candidates, all due to the interview.

So, as an employer, what are you to do? Approach an interview the same way you would approach a needs analysis with a potential customer.

First, put the candidate at ease with some small talk and set expectations on the interview itself, including timing. This step helps those people who are nervous interviewers. Putting them at ease will help them open up about their experience and what they can bring to the table.

Then, ask behavioral questions. Again, let’s go back to the needs analysis with a customer. Those questions typically revolve around driving habits and lifestyle, i.e., behavior. The same thing applies in a job interview. Ask candidates for examples of goals they reached and how they achieved those goals. Have them describe a stressful situation, or a situation where they made a mistake at work and how they handled it. Ask them if they’ve ever been in a situation where they needed to change a person’s mind, and how they achieved that change.