F&I and Showroom, February 2015

The No Need Objection A Kentucky F I pro asks how to build value in the service contract when a customer feels confi dent in the quality of the brand theyre buying By Ron Reahard A s outlined last month So Heres the Deal is designed to help you help more customers Well F I and Showroom wants to help even more and has agreed to reward the F I pro whose question I address on this page with a free pass to Industry Summit 2015 And our fi rst winner is Chance of Paducah Ky home of the Purple Toad Winery In his video he states the following I work for a dealership that sells a car brand that is highly rated on Consumer Reports Kelly Blue Book all those places Even after talking about the technology the changes in auto manufacturing and the components on the car in the last several years Im still having a tough time getting customers to see the value of a service contract What would your advice be to get those customers to see that even though that car is a wonderful brand there is still value in that service contract Chance youre off to a great start Educating buyers about all the items you mentioned is critical But the key to helping a customer see value in any F I product is needs discovery It is the foundation upon which you build your presentation When a customer feels they dont need the service contract if you cant tell them why they do youre done Lets assume a primary reason the customer is buying this brand of vehicle is because it has an excellent reputation as you mentioned either because it is highly rated or the customer has personally owned one or more in the past without issue Rather than make the vehicle the initial focus of your presentation 26 F I and Showroom February 2015 begin your discussion as to why they need a service contract by linking the protection to something you learned about them earlier In other words focus your service contract discussion on their ownership and driving habits For example maybe they keep their vehicles long after the manufacturers warranty expires or maybe they expect to put a lot of miles on it Whatever the case try starting with something like this F I manager I understand Thats why youre buying the same brand because its one of the best brands available and you dont expect any problems Thats why I drive one Although I do fi nd it surprising youre not interested in extending your basic coverage based on what you told me earlier Customer What did I tell you earlier F I manager You said its been fi ve years since you bought the last one Customer So F I manager Obviously you tend to keep your vehicles far in excess of the manufacturers warranty And unfortunately if this one breaks we cant fi x it Customer What do you mean you cant fi x it F I manager Our technicians have become component replacement experts If a computer chip or resistor fails in your ECM they cant replace the chip They have to replace the entire engine control module If your gas gauge quits working you cant buy a gas gauge You have to replace the instrument cluster The same is true if a faulty switch limits the air conditioner to one speed Thats why especially on the 2015 model a service contract is absolutely critical Its not that you have a lot of repairs its that when you do its a lot more expensive to fi x And you plan on keeping this one at least four or fi ve years right Customer Right That positive response means youve earned the right to go for the close While this is probably not much different than what youre already saying the key is to begin your product conversation with information specifi c to the customer Our next question comes from Selena in Lexington Ky home of Jif peanut butter In her video she says Our store does a lot of leasing We have many customers trading out of their lease early while leaving their payment the same My problem is GAP is included in every one of our leases and not everyone is seeing the value of our tire and wheel products What can I do to get my products per lease up You can fi nd my response to Selenas question at www fi magazine com Dont forget to submit your video question for a chance to win a free pass to Industry Summit Congratulations to our fi rst winner Chance Until next month remember Its a beautiful day to help a customer Ronald J Reahard is president of Reahard Associates Inc an F I training company providing F I classes workshops in dealership and online training To get his advice use your mobile phone to record a video of you posing your question and upload it to www hightail com u REAHARD The notify Ron by emailing him at ron reahard@ bobit com So Heres the Deal