Pub. 14 2015-2016 Issue 2

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 11 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G equity in the itemization of the amount financed. The Right Pay Plan A successful F&I department will reward the F&I manager who does an outstanding job in every area. What constitutes the Right PayPlan?Everyonehas ex- perienced the employee who left thedealershipbecause, “Theycut my pay!” A straight percentage pay plan could end in this sce- nario. A good pay plan includes the percentage of finance profit paid, the total amount of finance products sold, and the number of customers each finance man- ager delivers. Examine the break- down of the profit generated in the department. A good formula for profit iswhen 60%of the total finance department’s income is generated fromproduct sales and 40% is generated from reserve. In order to attain this formula, a pay plan incentivizes the finance manager for the percentage of products sold. The Right Technology The amount of technology being introduced can be difficult to sift through. A sea of terminals, menu systems, docu-pads, iPads, and billing systems would con- fuse any dealership looking for the right technology solution. Everyone is looking to speed up the delivery process. Let’s face it; buying a car is not a simple or speedy endeavor. Most cus- tomers spend 3-4 hours in a dealershipbuyinganautomobile. Does your system provide the credit report, credit application processing, payment quoting, the OFAC check, red flag check, themenu system, billing system, credit applicationprocessing and the document retention require- ments? With the millennial generation becoming the largest groupof car buyers, there are sev- eral new technologymethods for presenting F&I products. Many dealerships have found that uti- lizing their websites to promote their finance products is a good way to reachout to themillennial customerwhowants information immediately when making their buying decision. The Right Training It is essential, in today’s regula- tory environment, to have well- trained employees. The F&I director has become an integral position for most dealerships. The Association of F&I Profes- sionals (AFIP) Certification allows individuals to achieve a professional acronym, Certified Professional in Financial Ser- vices (CPFS). I have personally mentoredandproctoredover 500 dealership managers to achieve their AFIP Certification with a 93% pass rate. I can attest to the fact that these individuals hold themselves to a higher standard. Most state associa- tions also offer great training for dealerships. NJ CAR offers seminars and workshops lo- cally for every department of the dealership and also provides a 2-Day Compliance Certifica- tion Course for upper dealership management to address all of the New Jersey laws regarding con- sumer fraud, wage&hour issues, sales tax issues, and much more. Judy Vann is President and Founder of JV Solutions LLC. She can be reached at (732) 492-1818 or by e-mail at jvann59@earthlink.net .