TO THE EDITOR:
A great F&I manager will cover a lot of ground in a short time ("How to break the F&I stereotype," autonews.com, Feb. 20). Yes, the consultative approach is best. Period. I start with the mundane state, federal, registration, insurance paperwork. Build a rapport, and when it's time to disclose the important financial and legal documents, your credibility is already established. Be professional, polite and transparent. If the products offered and sold are disclosed properly, your cancellations will be extremely rare.
A well-trained F&I specialist is expected to properly complete a mountain of paperwork, professionally answer tons of questions in many cases, sell soft added-value products, make huge money per customer — and wrap it all up with a bow and have the customer leaving with a large smile and giving a great review. And the F&I specialist is expected to do this in what others, who have probably never performed the job, believe to be a reasonable time frame. There are great dealer principals who understand exactly what is happening and the realistic time it takes, and those of us who have them should be thankful!
Having multiple people do this important work could leave a dealership open to litigation over disclosures, compliance, etc.
I highly recommend the people who do this work be certified by the Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals — a great organization that made a tremendous impression on me and my career.
MICHAEL MANS, Finance manager, Lombard Ford Inc. Barkhamsted, Conn.
