Could the F&I manager be considered a member of the team? A teammate mentality between the F&I and sales staffs could soften customer perception of the F&I manager role.
The F&I manager has one of the most difficult roles in the dealership and one of the least appreciated, says Jimmy Atkinson, CEO of F&I product company AUL Corp.
"The F&I manager is like a placekicker on a football team — they're not considered part of the team until they need to kick the ball across the field," says Atkinson. "If they make it, they're a hero, but if they miss it, they're not."
Bonding with the salesperson and the customer outside the office can help save a deal before it's in jeopardy, Atkinson says. Greeting the customer on the showroom floor helps to break down the wall between the F&I office and the sales department. In certain cases, it can lower customer resistance to the process and reinforce its value.
"If the F&I manager will proactively go to where the customer is with the salesperson on the sales floor, and then they go back to F&I together, it softens that," Atkinson says. "We dread that walk — the impression that there's a confrontation coming from a customer perspective."
If an F&I manager is not making much headway with a customer, having the salesperson drop by can help put the customer at ease.
F&I managers and sales staffers often find themselves at odds, each with a different role to play in the vehicle sale. But as with any team, there are benefits to receiving an assist from another player.
