When it comes to F&I, one person stands out as an ideal for others to live up to: Dina Wilson, director of finance for Timbrook Automotive, based in Cumberland, Md. and Keyser, W.V. She was this year’s winner of the Best Vehicle Service Contract Presentation category and the overall winner of the F & Idol contest, which was sponsored by IAS and presented at the Industry Summit held in Las Vegas last month.

She decided to enter a video this year after seeing the 2011 videos, and feeling like she could do that. “After reviewing last years videos, I felt that I could do just as well and maybe give them a run for the money! The training that I have received from Resource (The Warranty Group) has been great,” said Wilson. “I take what they have taught me and learn it verbatim and then add my personality to it. So, with their training through the years and my personality I really thought I could at least win one of the categories.”

That being said, Wilson admitted that she didn’t really consider winning. In fact, she admits that other than a few close co-workers who helped put her entry together, no one, not even the owner of the company, knew she was competing! “Just a few days before I heard I had won, I told my husband I didn’t think I had won because I hadn’t heard a word,” she noted. “I didn’t tell Mr. Timbrook that I had entered the contest because if I didn’t win he wouldn’t need to know that I had entered. That night when I got home I announced to my husband and son that they were looking at the Vehicle Service Contract Winner in the F & Idol Contest. My family was very happy for me.”

Even so, when she won, she said it was yet another surprise. “I was in shock for a moment. I turned to Chris Bell from New Jersey who won the Tire and Wheel and said, ‘that’s me!’ I was overwhelmed and shocked.”

Anatomy of a Winner

So what does Wilson attribute her success in F&I to – which is what came across in her video and won her the top prize? She noted that the top three key elements are attitude, process and never pre-judging any customer.

Attitude, she noted, is everything. “If you have a negative attitude it will come across to the customer,” she said. “If you have a positive attitude, it will come across as well. You have to be positive and happy with your customers. Find some common ground.” She went on to note that she tries to make the whole process easy and fun, because if customers don’t like you, they won’t buy anything from you. “When someone comes in my office I envision them to be someone I know. What I mean is if I have 20 year old in my office, I think as if that person is my son and how I would want him to be treated. The elderly person – how would I want my mother or grandparent to be treated. It’s the Golden Rule - treat others like you want to be treated.”

Process is just as important, she noted, advising that a good F&I manager can’t change their process to try and boost short term sales because it doesn’t work. “To take from the movie Forest Gump, ‘customers are like a box of chocolates….you never know which one you are going to get.’ You may get the customer that buys everything you offer; you may get the customer that never buys any product; or, you may get the 60-75% that you have to create the need and show the value in the product. Keeping the delivery process conversational and interacting the customer makes them feel more involved as well. My process and presentation does not change…ever!”

Finally, she noted that she is careful to never pre-judge any client, treating the sub-prime credit scores the same way she does the prime. “The bad credit people are human beings too. They deserve the same respect. To that customer, it is their transportation and that $6,000 car is as important to them as the $50,000 vehicle is to the excellent credit customer. Bad things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. The current state of economy, especially in our depressed area, has hurt a lot of people.”

Advice for the Future

When it comes to thinking about the future, both for those who are F&I pros and those just entering the market, Wilson believes training is a huge element in success. For herself, she said her greatest success in F&I started when it all just clicked. “You know when you start out you gather all kinds of information and get trained on all kinds of products and it can be overwhelming to someone in F&I starting out. But one day, it seems like it all comes together and the customer gives you an objection and you know exactly which method of overcoming it you are going to use without hesitation and you sell the product! I can’t stress how important training is to F&I. I take the training that was provided me by Resource and use that same training each week in our own F&I meetings. We learn, roleplay and use it in our presentations. Joe Verde once said, ‘Amateurs practice to get it right and professionals practice so they don’t get it wrong.’ We are professionals and if not, we should be!”

She also stressed that for those just starting out, another key component to success is to find a great mentor – then listen to them. She also noted that they need to understand that training, and learning, never really ends. “I continually study about my field and seek methods to make it better for everyone. Remember, you are going to have good days/months and not-so-good ones. There is a saying that expresses it best ‘Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s learning to dance in the rain!’”