When is the best time to present products to customers?
The question has been asked within our F&I 20 Group before. For many years, some dealership practices demanded customers first complete their orientation of the RV before completing their finance paperwork. How does placing the service department first affect customers’ decision-making regarding ancillary products?
Some orientations can last two hours or more. While I agree the service department is essential, and the tech’s time is valuable, I also know customers buy when their minds are fresh and they are excited about their RV.
The old saying “Fatigue makes cowards of us all” is true. When exhaustion is applied to the buying experience, tired customers simply say “No” and “Where do I sign so I can leave?”
Customer satisfaction with the RV is essential. This solid business practice enables the finance department to complete the financial delivery before the exhaustive walk-through orientation occurs.
First, establish a set delivery time during the day. Make the delivery times consistent. Provide two to three hours for the total process. Have the customer arrive 30 minutes before the delivery time.
For example, one delivery schedule might have consumers at the dealership at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. This schedule usually works well.
Next, have the sales associate greet the delivery customers when they arrive at the dealership.
Have the sales associate take the customers and their tow vehicles to the service department to begin the process. Check in the tow vehicles and take a quick peek at the RV to verify whether the RV has any additional installed equipment such as a generator, awnings or solar panels.
Do not conduct the orientation at the RV—this is crucial. After all, this is a quick peek to remind consumers about their RV’s wonders and to get them excited about being proud RV owners. This process stage should take no longer than 10 minutes.
Next, while the orientation team is preparing, have the sales associate walk the customer to the finance department to complete the documentation.
The finance department must receive consumers who are fresh, not fatigued and not on information overload. Conducting the finance delivery first does not mean consumers have not inspected the RV before the documents are processed. Instead, finance delivery first means the finance representative will have consumers’ full attention for the critical ancillary product presentation.
The finance manager will explain to customers that they must sign the loan documents and pay the full initial payment before the orientation. However, the document processing will not be completed until the consumer is satisfied with the orientation and the RV. Tell consumers their files will remain in a drawer until they signal OK.
Next, give customers a due bill (some will refer to this as “we owe”). Occasionally, a consumer will see something needing to be replaced under warranty. Perhaps another item will be missing, and the dealership will owe it to the customer to correct that issue. I find providing open communication and a paper audit trail will satisfy consumers and this process will place them at ease.
Finally, after the customer completes orientation, the consumers need to walk by the finance office and give a thumbs-up hand signal to the finance manager. This signal lets the finance manager know the consumer is happy with the delivery and ready to proceed with the completed loan documents’ processing.
In essence, the ancillary products are presented at the point of delivery.
Often, consumers will inquire about the service agreement during the initial visit, when they sign the purchase order and when they make the initial payment.
The professional financial presenter will tell customers that pricing depends on the RV’s size, classification and, often, accessories. Pricing takes time and is done after loan approval. After all, consumers do not want to be overcharged, do they?
Many view this process differently. Some say providing all pricing information to consumers at the purchase order stage enables them to shop your pricing online. This does indeed occur; sales have been lost because of negative comments left on various sites regarding our ancillary products.
Once customers read negative reviews, they become like people infected with viruses—nothing good comes from it, and no sales are achieved.
The finance professional must know customers in advance. If consumers know and trust the financial representative and have a positive experience along the road to the sale, they will be open to all the ancillary protections the dealership provides.
Many of you may think customers have changed since the pandemic. Some have altered their buying habits. They do research before coming to shows and the dealership. Customers, however, still want value for their dollars spent. They want fair and consistent pricing regarding all the ancillary products. The customers still want a happy buying experience. Ensure you provide full disclosures before obtaining signatures and a thorough explanation of benefits before discussing the financial cost.
The process described has a proven track record. I encourage you to track your consumers’ energy levels when they arrive at the finance department. If they are tired coming in, what is the success rate of your presentations?
Changing the process or the order of delivery time may provide higher take rates with the ancillary products and benefits.
Jan Kelly is an educator and consultant, convention speaker and writes frequently for industry publications.
