F&I and Showroom, February 2019

www fi magazine com 32 F I and Showroom February 2019 MAD MARV A An old Biblical passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes reads in part there is no new thing under the sun These are profound words from a writer who obviously had lived long enough to witness firsthand how things including history have a way of repeating themselves We humans are creatures of habit We have a strong urge to keep repeating things in our own lives because we can see the end results in our minds eye Success breeds success in the same way failure can do the opposite that is unless we recognize the trend and put on the brakes And like an old favorite song or movie this is true of mankind I mean if that movie or song was great the first time around then its worth listening to again wouldnt you agree Even as Im writing this right now Im thinking of my favorites and I usually stop what Im doing when I hear that song or see the movie playing when Im channel surfing Habits are easily understood and followed because we have an expectation of the results The more frequently we do a thing the more familiar and mechanized we become in its execution If were not careful it can become rote habit meaning were just going through the motions and giving little conscious thought to what were doing In F I there are a great many things we must overcome every day to hit the mark were after Not the least of these are Line 3 and Line 5 calls from finance sources You work your butt off getting someone financed and then get your back end limited by a bank More frustration sets in when the customer cant come up with enough cash to offset the situation So you take the short deal and deliver the car Hitting a run of these kind of deals can easily have an effect on your approach if youre not careful especially when the finance company only allows you enough for GAP or a shortterm powertrain service contract Instead of letting your next customer choose you do their thinking for them and only offer GAP and VSC Next thing you know your PPR has sunk along with your PVR and you cant figure out why Bad habits can form when you stop following your training and get off track Smart F I managers realize when this is happening They start cramming and bouncing ideas off their co workers They dig out old training materials and begin poring over them again YouTube videos training articles and anything they can get their hands on to right the ship Now theyre not going to find anything new or a major revelation and they know it What theyre looking for is something to reinvigorate themselves or spark an idea Maybe even some inspiration from a training class they sat through in the past or a close they havent used in a while Its kind of like a master technician who is stumped on an electronic or mechanical issue he cant solve He digs out those old tech manuals blows off the dust and starts to dig in trying to figure out what hes overlooking In most cases the answers is staring him right in the face Then suddenly the lightbulb goes off He remembers that seldom used tool stored way back in his tool chest He slaps his forehead and says to himself I cant believe I forgot I had this tool For the tech it isnt a new tool or some great revelation from above Nope It was simply a pause on his part to return to the basics of his training Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once said that When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains however improbable must be the truth Work habits and deal conditions can cause us to easily dismiss the reasons why customer acceptance of our products fade More likely than not its because were not applying the necessary tools of our trade preferring to rely on the same habitual actions Every time I pick up a trade journal or open up an online blog ready to absorb more knowledge Im reminded of another old adage Everything old is new again My message to you this month is to revisit those old closing ideas and objection handling techniques You might be surprised just how well they still work kind of like that old familiar song Good luck and keep closing ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marv Eleazer is the F I director at Langdale Ford in Valdosta Ga Email him at marv eleazer@ bobit com Change Your Own Oil Bad habits form quickly when finance friction affects your performance His Madness explains how true F I professionals roll up their sleeves and seek inspiration to get back on track BY MARV ELEAZER THE MORE FREQUENTLY WE DO A THING THE MORE FAMILIAR AND MECHANIZED WE BECOME IN ITS EXECUTION IF WERE NOT CAREFUL IT CAN BECOME ROTE HABIT