David Robertson - Dealership Corridor

Contributing Author:
David Robertson, Executive Director, Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Watch a couple of TV programs and you’ll likely catch at least one commercial for an online college degree. The boom in online training is true for our industry, as well. Given the emphasis on formal dealership CMSs, the ranks of online training providers are growing.

E-training can be a cost-effective and convenient instructional tool. However, it’s not a one-size-fits-all proposition.

Online training with self-testing – as a standalone method – appears to be conducive to human resources, occupational safety and administrative procedures. Areas where the focus is directed inward – the implementation of task-specific directives by individual employees.

F&I activities, on the other hand, are directed outward. In addition to the practitioners themselves, other people are key components of the compliance equation. Chief among them are hundreds of prospective customers, as well as funding source paper-buyers, aftermarket product service reps – and sales managers and vehicle sales personnel.

Contributing Author:
David Robertson, Executive Director, Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals

The number of F&I professionals laboring under impossible F&I performance bogies appears to be on the decline. However, enough still struggle to warrant addressing the inequity of this scenario – with a few tips on personally avoiding the catch-22 trick bag.

The story is always the same. You must meet two requirements to keep your job. First, you can’t cheat the customers – commit an illegal or unethical act – or you’ll get fired. Second, you must consistently hit your performance quotas – IPRU, product penetration thresholds or a combination of both – or it’s adiós as well.

On their face, both requisites appear to be reasonable demands by any employer, regardless of the industry. However, in our business, they can carry a sinister and unspoken twist. By design, it’s virtually impossible to achieve the production thresholds set by management without “cutting corners” at some point in the F&I process.