TO:   Sales Consultants & Sales Managers
SUBJECT:  CSE Quick Tip #4 – Expediting F&I; Making the most of the Customer's Time
Date:  September 2020

Delivering a great customer experience in the F&I office starts before F&I begins. By understanding the customer’s needs and expectations and providing F&I eMenus you can help educate your customers, reduce F&I pressure, increase sales, and get customers into their new vehicles faster.

During these extraordinary times where we are asked to observe social distancing, having digital retailing tools available on dealership websites is more important than ever and will allow customers to do most, if not all, of the vehicle transaction online from the comfort and safety of their own home.

Here are some best practices to speed up and improve the sales experience while in F&I:

1. Provide digital retailing tools on the dealership’s website, so customers can transact online
2. If in-person transactions are necessary, schedule an appointment to complete the transaction either at the dealership or the customer’s home with all documents ready in order to reduce the transaction time
3. If at the dealership, introduce the Finance Manager early in the sales process
4. Explain the purpose of the F&I meeting
5. Set expectations on the time it may take in F&I
6. Use eMenus to present protection products that are most important to the customer

If there is a wait for F&I, use the time to go over the maintenance schedule and introduce the customer to the Service Manager. Also, with the complexity of today’s vehicles, this is a great time to walk the customer through the Difficult to Understand (DTU) and Hard to Operate (HTO) features on their new vehicle – especially those specific features that are most important to your customer.

As the wait time allows, give customers a hands-on experience in operating and using some of the following features to ensure understanding and retention of the features and functions below. During this extraordinary time, however, observe social distancing while informing customers about their new vehicle. Allowing the customer to sit in the car while the Sales Consultant stands outside at a distance can help. Refer the customer to the Kia Features & Functions YouTube^TM channel can also provide the customer the information they need about their new vehicle while observing social distancing.

• USB/Device Ports
• Support for Apple CarPlay^® and Android Auto^TM
• Bluetooth^® connectivity and phone pairing
• Voice Recognition (VR)
• Climate controls, including auto defog
• Key fob
• Available Smart Power Liftgate^TM/Smart Power Trunk^TM
• Steering-wheel-mounted controls and personalizing cluster settings for Kia Drive Wise (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and other features
• Wireless phone charger
• Raising windshield wipers (wiper service mode)
• Idle, Stop and Go (ISG) system
• Drive Mode settings

By providing digital retail tools, explaining the F&I process, setting customer expectations, and using any time the customer might be waiting for F&I to communicate valuable information, you leave the customer with a satisfying overall sales experience.

During this time, please continue to practice social distancing and recommendations from the CDC, such as wearing face coverings.

Sincerely,

Sales and Field Operations Team
Kia Motors America, Inc.