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A New Approach to Menu Presentations

Dave Gibbs Training Manager EFG Companies
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.

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Industry Trends Training

Preparing for a Car-Buying Surge

Contributing Author: John Stephens Executive Vice President EFG Companies
Contributing Author:
John Stephens
Executive Vice President
EFG Companies

As a native Houstonian and an automotive industry executive, I am closely following the news coverage of both the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the Houston area itself, and on the automotive industry within the area. A recent article from Wards Auto caught my eye, with the headline, “Expect Post-Hurricane Car-Buying Surge”. The article details how auto demand will increase in the extended aftermath of the hurricane as people evaluate the damage to their homes and vehicles, and begin receiving insurance payouts.

This is good news for those dealers who are able to quickly replace their damaged inventory with new vehicles. With an estimated 500 dealerships affected by the storm, it can be expected that while it will be a race to update inventory, there will be a period of “downtime” while both dealers and consumers survey their homes and businesses to understand the full scope of the damage.

When a large scaled natural disaster occurs, dealers can typically expect an upsurge in unit sales. However, this means that in addition to addressing inventory concerns, dealers need to prepare their teams to better manage an increase in foot traffic. In the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, dealers have the time to undergo these preparations, and it’s important that they use that time effectively.

One of the biggest challenges during a car-buying surge is simply servicing the increased traffic. This could mean extending dealership hours, scheduling to have more employees cover the showroom floor for longer hours, and even hiring more sales and F&I team members to help spread the load. In addition to ensuring coverage, it’s important that your sales and F&I teams manage each customer’s time effectively.

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Training

Aligning Dealer and Consumer Needs

Dave Gibbs Training Manager EFG Companies
Dave Gibbs
Training Manager
EFG Companies

The results of a new poll released in May by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research state that two-thirds of Americans would have difficulty coming up with the money to cover a $1,000 emergency. According to the poll, this spans all income brackets with 75% of people in households making less than $50,000 a year, 67% of those in households making between $50,000 and $100,000, and 38% of households making more than $100,000 all stating they would have difficulty coming up with $1,000 to cover an unexpected bill.

The poll also states that one of the main reasons for this lack of savings is lack of wage growth. 46% of workers said their wages remained stagnant in the last five years, and 16% said they’ve seen salary cuts. During this time, costs for basic needs such as food, housing and health care have risen.

Furthermore, the poll found that a third of Americans would borrow from a bank, friends, or family, or put the bill on a credit card to pay for the unexpected expense. 13% would skip paying other bills and 11% would not pay the bill at all.

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