One thing I’ve always found interesting about F&I is that customers often walk into the office expecting a sales presentation.
Sometimes that’s exactly what they get.
But the best experience I’ve ever had wasn’t because someone convinced me to buy more products. It was because the business manager actually talked me out of a couple of them.
When my wife and I purchased our Jeep Wrangler, he spent a few minutes asking questions before we ever looked at a menu. How long did we plan to keep it? How would we use it? How many miles would we put on it? As the conversation went on, he started crossing a few options off his own list.
He looked at us and said, “I don’t think these make sense for you.”
I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting that. In that moment, something changed. Instead of wondering what he was trying to sell me, I started paying closer attention to the products he did recommend. He had earned our trust because it was obvious he was listening instead of following a script.
That experience has stuck with me over the years.
I’ve sat in enough dealerships to know customers don’t mind buying products they believe have value. What they don’t like is feeling like every customer receives the exact same presentation regardless of how they ride, drive, finance, or plan to own the vehicle.
Someone buying a side-by-side for weekends at the hunting property may have different needs than the customer commuting on a motorcycle every day. A customer planning to trade every two years probably shouldn’t have the exact same conversation as someone intending to keep the machine for the next decade.
That seems obvious, but it’s easy to forget when the process becomes more important than the person sitting across the desk.
I’ve started to wonder if one of the most powerful things an F&I manager can say isn’t “I recommend this.”
Maybe it’s, “I don’t think you need that.”
Customers remember moments like that. I know I did.
.svg){kind=small}