Companies go the extra mile to make sure dealership teams are fully-versed in their products and how to promote them.
Finance and insurance is a key driver of profitability for dealerships, and many are taking advantage of training programs available to their managers to boost that aspect of the business.
Sym-Tech Dealer Services and iA Dealer Services are companies that have robust F&I training programs that are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, Sym-Tech’s training called the Performance Plan has grown so much it was introduced into another province, New Brunswick, in September.
Sym-Tech and iA Dealer Services both offer five-day programs and follow up assistance. Sym-Tech has Performance Centres in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary.
iA Dealer Services’ APEX program is available for in-person training in every province and online.
The objective of both companies is to increase customer retention and grow loyalty with F&I products and services.
“While we provide protection products, we also ensure that we support dealerships with information, tools and development opportunities that will help to promote their dealership, brand and provide the best vehicle ownership experience to their customers.” — Danielle Campbell, Regional Sales Vice President Western Canada, iA Dealer Services
“F&I is a vital part of a dealership’s operations and we are very proud of our protection products,” said iA Dealer Services’ Danielle Campbell, Regional Sales Vice President Western Canada, Ontario and Atlantic. “While we provide protection products, we also ensure that we support dealerships with information, tools and development opportunities that will help to promote their dealership, brand and provide the best vehicle ownership experience to their customers.”
Derek Sloan, President Sym-Tech Dealer Services, said F&I managers who take the training course realize a 90 per cent retention of the process and material trained. He said the reason for this is facilitators use video recording in mock F&I offices that simulate a real customer experience. The facilitators then review these recordings and score the F&I manager for accuracy and improvement.
“Daveplus is flexible and allows different approaches to the customer. It allows for the single point of contact process where the sales representative can handle the customer from beginning to end with the technology and sales process because it’s easier and is more efficient.” — Derek Sloan, President, Sym-Tech Dealer Services
“The training is state-of-the-art because our goal is to have a high level of retention from the F&I manager,” said Sloan, who was hired in 2010, in part to build up the training program. “We train by showing, not by telling. Our approach is more so about the customer journey through the F&I process.”
Following the in-class training, the trainers spend a week with the F&I managers in their office in the dealership and help them take the practical classroom knowledge and put it into real situations with customers. Sloan said because the trainers are OMVIC and AMVIC certified, they can participate in — or completely do — the deals themselves.
“We sit in the chair in the F&I office,” said Sloan. “It impacts the F&I managers in the stores because we’re having a huge impact on them immediately. They get to see the process.”
In addition, the trainers spend one full day each month with the F&I managers to assist in training and development with anything they need. The program is available for as long as the dealership is selling Sym-Tech products.
When a new store opens retaining Sym-Tech products, a Sym-Tech representative will spend two weeks taking all the deals and then switches it back to the F&I manager.
Sym-Tech will soon be launching a variation of its proprietary technology ”dave” which is an acronym for Dealer Automated & Verified E-solutions. It was created in 2012 and features built-in menus that are customized with prescriptive analytics that take the customer’s driving habits and past history and tailors it to their needs. The new iteration, daveplus, was done in partnership with JD Power and Darwin Automotive in the U.S.
“Daveplus is flexible and allows different approaches to the customer,” said Sloan. “It allows for the single point of contact process where the sales representative can handle the customer from beginning to end with the technology and sales process because it’s easier and is more efficient…If you’re a store that wants the journey for the customer to be with one representative throughout the whole process, including F&I, then daveplus allows them to that with ease.”
iA Dealer Services has been an F&I partner to dealerships for 60 years and is one of the largest of its kind in Canada. It provides learning and development services to dealership Financial Service Managers through its Centre of Excellence and APEX.
“Many of our trainers and our sales consultants come from a dealership background, whether it’s sales management or financial services themselves. They have real-life knowledge of the ins and outs of the finance office as well as the dealership.” — Sophie St-Laurent, National Director, Learning and Development, iA Dealer Services
Sophie St-Laurent, iA Dealer Services’ National Director, Learning and Development, said APEX provides those new to the F&I role with tools in presentation, financing processes, turnover etiquette, knowledge in products and compliance regulations. It has interactive role play, job practice and practical exams. There are also regular follow-ups to determine if more assistance can be offered to support the dealership’s F&I objectives.
Of the 150 people that iA Dealer Services has in the field, 23 of them are dedicated specifically to learning, development and training. These trainers, who are based across the country, are able to provide a whole range of learning and development sessions to FSMs, from workshops to customized one-on-one sessions, that provide dealerships with F&I support and that will hone their F&I skills.
St-Laurent said all of the company’s learning and development programs are heavily promoted and attended. “For us it’s a great way to introduce new FSMs to dealerships that require people,” she said. “The goal is to provide them with the necessary information, knowledge, and tools so they can perform to their fullest in their dealership career. Many of our trainers and our sales consultants come from a dealership background, whether it’s sales management or financial services themselves. They have real-life knowledge of the ins and outs of the finance office as well as the dealership.”
She added her company’s product and training pivots from what is required in the market.
“There’s been lots of emphasis on different products post-COVID,” said St-Laurent. “We are listening to the dealers where they want assistance and where they need support.”
“The company is invested heavily in the growing problem of auto theft with an antitheft trackable device called InvisiTrak Locate. It is covertly attached to the vehicle and engineered to be virtually undetectable by thieves and can help in recovery in up to 98 per cent of the cases with law enforcement. It has a 24-7 phone number that can be called to begin the process of recovering the vehicle with local law enforcement authorities.” — Steve Clelland, VP, OEM Partnerships, iA Dealer Services
Steve Clelland, VP, OEM Partnerships, with iA Dealer Services, said his company’s product portfolio is the most comprehensive in the industry, ranging from Extended Warranty, GAP and Replacement Insurance to Appearance protection and Loan Protection.
He said the company is invested heavily in the growing problem of auto theft with an anti-theft trackable device called InvisiTrak Locate. Clelland said it is covertly attached to the vehicle and engineered to be virtually undetectable by thieves and can help in recovery in up to 98 per cent of the cases with law enforcement. It has a 24-7 phone number that can be called to begin the process of recovering the vehicle with local law enforcement authorities.
He said InvisiTrak Locate is the first solution of its kind to function from inside a shipping container and allows authorities to pinpoint the precise container containing the stolen vehicle.
“InvisiTrak Locate offers consumers the best chance for them to recover their vehicle and the greatest value with auto insurers recognizing the recovery device and enabling consumers to benefit,” said Clelland.
