Props ease F&I product sales

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Simple, inexpensive props can include faux coffee or juice spills, samples of seat fabric with and without stain protection and damaged tires and wheels from the service department.

From photos of cars crushed by trees that ask “Got GAP?” to cups filled with debris pulled from flattened tires to impromptu sketches on brochures highlighting key points, visual aids and other props can be effective F&I sales tools.

“Props work to engage people and get them to think about the product,” said Howard Lowenthal, F&I manager at Bob Davidson Ford-Lincoln in Baltimore. “Whenever they can visualize [in terms of using a product], it’s easier to sell that product.”

Simple, inexpensive props can include faux coffee or juice spills, samples of seat fabric with and without stain protection and damaged tires and wheels from the service department. Some are easier to store and use than others, though.

“Those tires and wheels are some of the best conversation starters,” Lowenthal said. “Some [F&I managers] don’t have the room to keep that kind of display. That is an issue. Some of those things can be kept in the hallway of the dealership.”

Bell

Lack of physical space is one reason why the F&I professionals at David Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram in Glen Mills, Pa., don’t use props, said dealer David Kelleher. Another is the time spent discussing the props themselves given how long it already takes to walk customers thoroughly through the F&I product menu.

“There is a place for them, but you’re seeing less of them,” Kelleher said. “We [had to refine presentations] a little bit when the menu came into play.”

‘Play and touch’

Melissa Bell, finance director at Findlay Honda Henderson in Henderson, Nev., near Las Vegas, says her dealership relies heavily on F&I product menus but has subtly worked props into the presentation by placing displays throughout the showroom, where there’s more room for them.

“Our offices aren’t large, and we keep them very clean,” Bell said. “All the offices are set up in the same way with the same forms, the same corkboard on the wall and nothing out in the open. Most people are not comfortable in a cluttered space. It agitates them.” Plus, she said, the extra office space is best used for bins of children’s books, crayons and blocks that kids can play with while their parents go through paperwork.

Lowenthal

Findlay Honda Henderson uses an array of props from simple faux spills to interactive displays. The interactive displays enable customers to experiment with options such as tires, wheels and window tints to determine what works best for them. For example, customers can input their annual mileage and the car they’re considering purchasing to figure out which tire they should buy.

“Customers can go in and play and touch,” Bell said. “Our customers are definitely tech-oriented, so the menu and those interactive displays work best.”

‘Ice breaker’

Enabling customers to use the interactive displays before they enter the F&I office allows them to mull options. Later, when they discuss their driving habits with the F&I manager, they are more readily able to decide whether a product will suit them.

Customers leave the dealership with paperwork that outlines the options they selected and ones they can purchase at later dates, such as LoJack. The impact on payments is also stated.

The props do more than prompt customers to buy, though.

“The coffee or juice spills make me laugh,” Bell said. “We have a lot of fun with those in cars and offices. People will look at them and then look at their kids and say, ‘Did you spill that?’ It’s an ice breaker apart from selling them helpful products.”

Visual aids

Even the simplest props can help customers visualize how F&I products can protect their vehicle and their wallet. F&I managers who wish to experiment with props may want to consider these low-cost options.

• Automaker and supplier brochures. Personalize aids with relevant notes, such as the customer’s annual mileage or cost of replacement keys. Also circle key selling points, such as lifetime warranty. That will reinforce customers’ interest.


• Faux coffee and juice spills. Everyone is wary of spills in a new car. Faux spills break the ice with customers and prompt them to think about fabric protection.


• Fabric displays. A wall display showing treated and untreated interior fabric — perhaps combined with a brief narrative — shows clients how a small investment will save them major replacement and cleaning costs.


• Cup full of nails. Take the nails, bolts and other debris that service techs pull from tires and keep them in a cup to show actual items that resulted in customer repairs.


• Damaged wheel and tire. Take these items from service and display them in your showroom with a brief description telling customers how a minor accident can cause major damage.

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Props ease F&I product sales