Get personal to get buyers to protect tech

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When trying to convince customers of the importance of having an extended service contract to protect their tech-laden new vehicle, do your F&I managers spell out the intricacies of Bluetooth or stability control? If so, tell them to take a step back and zero in on the customers’ interests.

“We bring the conversation to points that affect them, like the touch screen,” said Anthony Velardi, finance director at Findlay Toyota in Henderson, Nev., outside Las Vegas. “Even if they only use the touch screen to play the radio, if that goes out it will affect them. There is no [radio knob] to use anymore.”

Most car buyers understand that automotive engineering has advanced to such a degree that cars are more reliable and easier to maintain than at any time in history. That knowledge is a double-edged sword, though, causing confusion in the F&I office, especially when they are presented with a choice of extended warranties.

“It’s important to present extended warranty information in the appropriate way,” Velardi said. “You’ll get people saying, “Well, Toyota has a warranty. Why do I need an extra one? Are you saying the car [isn’t any good]?’ Of course we’re not saying that. What we’re saying is the technology takes the car to another level, beyond the engine. The technology runs the car.”

Age appropriate

Younger buyers walking into showrooms with the latest rage cellphone generally understand and embrace automobiles’ new technology. That’s especially true if they’re trading in a car that’s 1 to 3 years old, said Stephanie Cooper, finance manager at Timbrook Chevrolet in Keyser, W.Va.

“Usually, the customers who need to be convinced about technology haven’t traded in a car in seven or eight years. They didn’t have a problem with it, and Uncle Jimmy down the road could work on it,” she said. “That vehicle probably has 60 percent less technology than today’s cars.”

Cooper: Show customers the tech that interests them, then the replacement cost.

Cooper overcomes objections by likening the technology to the human brain. 

“We discuss how the brain is what makes your body respond to what your body wants and needs. It’s what makes your body breathe when you go to sleep,” she said. Middle-age and senior customers “are generally a bit more health-conscious than some younger people, so that example works well for them. They know that as you go from ages 30, 35, 40, 45, you continually face more health issues. It’s the same with cars.” 

But helping customers fully understand the need for extended service contracts also involves some show and tell. Cooper routinely invites customers to go with her to a car. She starts the engine and shows them technology that will interest them, such as the touch screen. After demonstrating functions in which they are interested, she shows them an invoice detailing the cost of replacing it. 

“They may not know or care what 95 percent of the touch screen does,” she said. “But if it blacks out, the 5 percent of things they use on it won’t work. And it will cost a lot of money to make it work again.” 

Not only do actual examples help, Cooper said, but “it’s also vital to bring personal examples into the conversation.” 

“I use my mom as an example a lot,” she said. “She was afraid to unhook her entertainment system because she never thought it would work again. Once she overcame her fear of technology, she really did well. Now her cellphone is more modern than mine.”

Did you know?

One effective way to educate customers about technology without making them defensive is to introduce information with the phrase “Did you know,” said dealer Phil Maguire, owner of Maguire Family of Dealerships in Ithaca, N.Y.

“When you say, “Did you know,’ that really begins the education process,” he said. “”Did you know’ is an open-ended question that really opens up the conversation and helps you understand what is important to the customer so you can work from there.”

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Get personal to get buyers to protect tech