Some dealerships are doing away with traditional F&I departments in favor of salespeople who can wear both hats.
“I really like it; the sales folks really, really like it; the customers like it,” said John Chalfant, general manager of Edmark Superstore, which sells Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, and Kia in Nampa, Idaho.
It's not a new concept, but it is timely because dealerships are working to cut costs, said dealer management consultant Mark Rikess, who advocates the concept. He is CEO of Rikess Group of Los Angeles.
The recent 2010 J.D. Power and Associates Sales Satisfaction Index confirms that customer satisfaction goes up when customers deal with only one person in the sales process.
Dave Robertson, executive director of the Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals, of Colleyville, Texas, says it is a theoretically sound idea to have the same person handle the entire transaction, including F&I.
But he says it could be “ill-timed” to move away from an F&I specialist because there are so many different aftermarket products on the market and because F&I is subject to so much regulation.
Chalfant and Rikess say giving salespeople responsibility for F&I puts a heavy emphasis on recruiting highly qualified salespeople. In addition, Rikess said dealerships need to create a new position, “document processor,” to help customers through the paperwork process, including required F&I disclosures.
Edmark Superstore adopted the approach a year ago, but it took about four months before the system was performing well, Chalfant said.
He said the hardest part was getting salespeople acquainted with which lenders would approve which deals, and how to correctly interpret a customer's credit report.
“I really like it; the sales folks really, really like it; the customers like it,” said John Chalfant, general manager of Edmark Superstore, which sells Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, and Kia in Nampa, Idaho.
It's not a new concept, but it is timely because dealerships are working to cut costs, said dealer management consultant Mark Rikess, who advocates the concept. He is CEO of Rikess Group of Los Angeles.
The recent 2010 J.D. Power and Associates Sales Satisfaction Index confirms that customer satisfaction goes up when customers deal with only one person in the sales process.
Dave Robertson, executive director of the Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals, of Colleyville, Texas, says it is a theoretically sound idea to have the same person handle the entire transaction, including F&I.
But he says it could be “ill-timed” to move away from an F&I specialist because there are so many different aftermarket products on the market and because F&I is subject to so much regulation.
Chalfant and Rikess say giving salespeople responsibility for F&I puts a heavy emphasis on recruiting highly qualified salespeople. In addition, Rikess said dealerships need to create a new position, “document processor,” to help customers through the paperwork process, including required F&I disclosures.
Edmark Superstore adopted the approach a year ago, but it took about four months before the system was performing well, Chalfant said.
He said the hardest part was getting salespeople acquainted with which lenders would approve which deals, and how to correctly interpret a customer's credit report.
Jim Henry - Automotive News -- December 8, 2010
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