We all envision being the most successful in our profession. I have worked with hundreds of F&I professionals, and I consistently hear their goal is to be the best at what they do. What really separates the best from the rest? It always comes down to knowledge. Product knowledge, customer knowledge and process knowledge. 

Know your Product: Product knowledge continues to be the differentiator of the masters of F&I. Knowing what your product will do for a customer allows you to paint a picture with words of the customer using the product. Doing this enables the customer to see and feel what that product will do for them. Customers do not buy our products because of the facts we share about the products. They must be able to see themselves using it. The most compelling benefit of a product is the peace of mind it brings. When all the risk of any harm an incident could cause a customer is transferred to someone else, the result is peace of mind! The emotional brain, which is the driving force to buy, is more concerned about being safe than it is about being right. When you know the details of a product, the claims process, and can share real life accounts of what it has done for others, you will engage the emotional side of the customer’s brain, thereby moving more to buy. Without product knowledge, this is impossible and will limit your success. Increase product knowledge and increase sales!

Know your Customer: Every customer is unique. All come to us with unique perspectives, stories and history. Connecting with customers and listening to them enables us to get to know them in the limited time we have with them. Connecting is more powerful than closing! If we want to see record levels of success, we must become skilled at listening and getting the customers to talk, sharing information about themselves. It should not be surprising that customers want to be heard more than they want to listen to us. So listening more and talking less is the concerted effort we must make with each customer interaction. Every customer will not buy from us, and that’s OK. However, every customer wants to be heard. And the more skilled we are at getting each to talk and actively listening when he or she does, the more we will be able to help. Am I suggesting that the way to increase sales and profits is to get to know each customer at a deeper level? Yes!

Know your Process:  Your process is your plan for what customers will experience. A consistent process must be employed with every customer. To do this, decisions must be made. You must decide that what the customer wants from the process is more important than what you want. Your process must be customer-focused! To implement this, you must allocate more time for needs discovery than for selling. Otherwise, you might be selling a product the customer doesn’t need or selling it for the wrong reasons. Both will lead to less-than-desired results. The right process will lead to high levels of profits, because it is focused on your customer, not you. To sell more, you must sell less. To learn more, you must talk less and listen more. Lou Holtz, former football coach for Notre Dame, said, “I have never learned anything while I was talking.” The depth of needs discovered when actively listening is life-changing and profit-building! Build a process that focuses on the other person, every time.

If you must know, the key to rising to the top is hidden in what you know. Increase your knowledge and increase your profits. It’s decision time! 

Rick McCormick is national director of training for Reahard & Associates.