F&I and Showroom, Industry Summit 2014

Finance Insurance Its a dirty sale And when the pressure to do something unethical comes from management Girard said this If your boss is asking you to do something unethical this is the one time I will tell you to quit I often get calls from dealers and agents asking about potential F I candidates And the main question theyd ask in the past was How much money can this person make me Today the question I most often get is Will this person keep us out of trouble or How were their CSI scores at the last place they worked Step 2 Measure Your Words In the Internet age it is easy to go online and post some kind of offhand remark about how you got one over on some customer Restrain yourself Everything you post online is permanent and never gets erased My suggestion is that you assume everything you post online will be printed on your resume every time you apply for a job If you wouldnt say it in a job interview dont post it So if you are a member of a social media group be careful These groups can provide valuable information but your brand will quickly be defi ned by what you post So dont go online to brag about how much money you are making or how great you are In fact I know of one dealer who shows a competitors 26 F I and Showroom Industry Summit 2014 posts to its customers and the dealer whose employee is posting these things on a closed forum so they think doesnt even know it Truth is bragging about a recent sales conquest on one of these social media groups is just bad form It also sends the message to however many people are on that page that you are probably an arrogant jerk Besides do you really have any business sharing your dealers proprietary information online Step 3 Build Your Relationships Years ago I heard a colleague say You can have lots of friends in this business but you should choose your enemies very carefully It really stuck with me because its true The relationships you build today both good and bad will stay with you throughout your career You should also pay particular attention to your relationships with your fi nance sources I work with bank and credit union personnel all the time You might be surprised at how freely they discuss who the good dealers and F I managers are not to mention the ones they cant trust And these people stay on the job for 30 years or more And they talk to each other too Finally develop your relationships with factory personnel Get to know the reps who visit your dealership And attend factory sponsored events as often as possible because your reputation at the factory is important to your long term success Step 4 Become a Student of the Business Educate yourself Attend every training event your dealer will pay for Not only will you grow your knowledge base but these events offer a place for you to network with your peers In our case the F I personnel we train and our agents and product providers communicate regularly and share tons of valuable ideas and information There is no question that paying a little attention to your personal brand and your reputation in the industry will pay dividends for the rest of your career As my grandfather used to say Everything you do and say with people plants a seed Are you going to plant fl owers or are you going to plant weeds George Angus is the training director for Team One Research and Training a company specializing in scientifi c research based program development and training Email him at george angus@ bobit com