F&I and Showroom, December 2020

S Flexibility helps create an environment where its truly a win win for both the dealership and the customer BY JUSTIN B GASMAN MPFS GETTYIMAGES COM MARTIN DM FINANCE INSURANCE budgetary constraints I tried to think of a way to give him some payment relief and still sell some products I then remembered something my good friend and mentor Tony Dee told me at one of his classes I attended a few years ago regarding using the odd term The lightbulb went off I then adjusted the term from 60 months down to 51 months 51 months is an odd term that we typically dont even think about This is because most of the lenders we use typically publish a rate sheet with 24 36 48 60 72 84 and 96 month options What a lot of us miss is that it says up to Meaning I was able to protect my customer and only increase his term by three months which he agreed to MIX IT UP The same technique can be used when working a car deal where you are a few dollars away on a payment or you have a customer who needs their payment on a certain day to make the deal work for them on a monthly payment basis Many lenders will allow you between 30 days and 45 days until the first payment Some even offer 90 day and 120 day deferrals depending on the lender and the promotion at the time of sale The take away here is that you dont have to use one or the other If making a payment due in 38 days or 41 days makes the payment right or the customer feel better about the deal then adjust the days to first payment and print your paperwork Observe your rigid behavior when you are not able to close the deal and practice this technique and youll catch yourself selling more often more consistently GO WITH THE FLOW Not being so rigid sometimes pays off when you are fine tuning the numbers on a deal in the business office Being flexible allows us to see things from a completely different perspective When we are flexible we tend to be more open realize more opportunities and create an environment in our office where it truly is a win win for not only the dealership but most importantly the guest and their experience bing ABOUT THE AUTHOR Justin B Gasman MPFS is the financial services director at McCaddon Cadillac Buick GMC in Boulder Colorado IN TERMS OF CREATIVITY 20 F I and Showroom December 2020 Sharpness creativity and skill allow a true pro to have endless resourcefulness which will pay huge dividends over the course of ones career Having discipline great organization and true consistency are all highly desirable traits of professional business managers If you are open minded enough to try something new I have a technique that will without a doubt help you make more money on the next deal you touch Sometimes we get so caught up in the moment of each particular deal that it becomes easy to overlook another way to sell more products and make more gross BE IN THE MOMENT I had a deal the other day where a guest wanted an OnStar upgrade the windshield replacement program and the tire and wheel road hazard coverage He qualified for 0 for 60 months but only wanted to take the retail installment contract out to 48 months His rationale was that the Cadillac he was buying comes with a four year 50000 mile bumper to bumper factory limited warranty and he doesnt keep them outside of that period Therefore he wanted to have a paid for asset in four years when he is ready to trade again I realized my chances of a vehicle service contract were pretty much gone understandably But rather than get cracked about a 100 flat on a 0 deal with no VSC sale I continued to focus on the needs he had that I could fill thus maximizing the deal When I added the additional options that he expressed interest in it took his payment up to almost 800 month at 48 months When I showed him the 60 month option at the same 0 he liked the payment but didnt want to have a balance at trade time with the longer term He then said he was currently paying 761 month and wanted to stay close to that He began to waiver on the additional coverages we discussed because of