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Charlie Jansing , Owner Alcoa Good Times Louisville , TN

BY BRENDAN BAKER EDITOR IN CHIEF

We sat down recently with F & I expert Rob Greenwald , president of PowerSport Solutions . He has coached hundreds of dealers on making the most of this often-ignored part of the powersports store . According to Greenwald , the finance and insurance department IS the most profitable part of the dealership per square foot and investment , and has the lowest overhead compared to the other departments . Of course , Greenwald may be slightly biased with his opinion as he has been teaching the finer points of F & I since the late 1980s .

He started with F & I in the automotive world , but he hated it . Regardless of his dislike of the job at the time , he was considered one of the top F & I producers for Chrysler / Dodge in the Southeast back then , using his own unique style . But he loved motorcycle racing and decided to turn in his menu ( they didn ’ t even have them back then ) for twisting the throttle at racetracks around the country . But , like many racers , he eventually needed money to keep going , so he brought his unique brand of selling F & I products to the powersports world . He was able to combine his passion with his knowledge when F & I was in its infancy in the powersports industry . And the rest is history ( some of it is still in the making ). Greenwald utilizes unique approaches , some of which stem from his psychology background blended with his real-world experience to make for what he calls , “ a very spicy gumbo !”

What are the biggest pitfalls dealers have regarding F & I in their stores ?

Greenwald says that success in F & I comes down to people . “ Your people are your X factor when it comes to F & I , so when you have weak managers or people who don ’ t follow structure well , it can impact performance . For example , a menu is great because it gives you structure when you have someone who is not producing well or needs to follow a system ( although Rob says most elite performers follow a completely different approach ). Many things make you successful in F & I . There ’ s a rule that says you should sell 100 % of the products to 100 % of the qualified people 100 % of the time . You can never prequalify with any sale . You can ’ t assume you know what someone will want even if you ’ ve been a salesperson for a long time . Everyone ’ s guilty of that one . So , people are one of the biggest pitfalls for dealers and how they treat F & I . The right people are the biggest X factor in F & I .”

Greenwald goes on to explain why F & I is the most profitable department in the dealership per square footage . He says that compared to other departments , such as sales , where you need a huge showroom full of inventory , or a parts department with thousands of parts on the shelves , the F & I department only needs an office or maybe two or three offices , depending on the size of the dealership . “ Some dealers don ’ t even want to invest in a quality F & I office ,” he says .

Greenwald claims that all a dealer needs to make money in F & I is a computer and a well-trained manager . “ I have a lot of F & I managers that I work with in metric stores that are getting over $ 1,500 per copy , some

ROB GREENWALD

are even eclipsing $ 2,000 per unit . According to data in the PSB Market Data Book , the national average F & I per copy as of a year ago was $ 370 . “ It was running at about $ 300 for years . My benchmark is $ 1,000 per copy at a metric store . Harley is a different animal , the PVRs there are even higher due to the nature of the beast . But when you ’ re carrying Japanese brands , Polaris , and other brands like that , $ 1,000 a copy is starting to do a decent job in my book .”

Greenwald points out that a typical dealer will have invested a lot of money in advertising to get the customer in the dealership , and it may only be for $ 100 profit on the front end . “ You are spending millions in floorplan inventory , but the customer goes to the F & I office , and 40 minutes later , you can have a much larger profit if you do it right .”

Some dealers worry about F & I scaring the customer away , according to Greenwald , and many want to get them in and out as quickly as possible . But that may only sometimes lead to success or profit on the back end . “ I talk about how time is money in many of my classes . It ’ s all about time management and how you invest your time throughout your day as well as in your deals . I often get asked , ‘ What is the proper amount of time to spend in F & I ?’ It depends completely upon the customer engagement . If your salesperson has been working on the sale for multiple days and has four to five hours invested in the customer , you don ’ t want to scare them off , but a good F & I manager may generate more than the front-end profit . So do you really want to rush the customer out of there in 20 minutes ?”

Greenwald notes that if the customer is engaged , and the process is going well , giving full disclosure , and so on , the answer is whatever time it takes to complete the process . “ I find it averages around 40 minutes , sometimes a little longer , but that varies based on the experience .”

This goes back to the original question : What are dealers ’ biggest pitfalls with F & I ? According to Greenwald , many dealer principals need to invest in training or having a quality F & I manager . He says that in many of the stores he coaches , the F & I manager is

See F & I , Page 12