Tag: menu

Wanted: Experienced F&I Trainer

I am in the process of creating an eCommerce department for Safe-Guard.  Regular readers know that I specialize in creating new organizations, and my record is pretty good.  The training function, which is also a kind of sales function, is likely to grow.  So, this is an opportunity to get in early.

The job is to train all of the F&I managers who sell products administered by Safe-Guard, and ensure they know how to present them properly using any of the top ten menu systems.  For one person, at least to begin with, this will be a challenge.  We are in thousands of dealerships.

Thus, the successful candidate must have the skill and temperament to leverage the resources of our affiliated agents, vendors, manufacturers, and dealer groups.  Self-starter.  Travel.  Proficiency in F&I procedures and software, notably menu systems.  Salary commensurate with experience.

Six Month Term Bump for Menu Selling

Whenever I design a menu system, I always include a second finance term that defaults to the base term plus six months. When I did the first menu system for AutoNation, I was coached on this by Arthur Knosala who learned it, I believe, at JM&A.

We had an object lesson when I was working on Route One’s menu. The team was just getting into this requirement when the product owner happened to buy a new car, and took the term bump. She was able to maintain the agreed payment, and still buy some good products.  Even a three-month bump is significant.

My spreadsheet, below, shows how this works. The idea is to goal-seek the amount of product that maintains the original monthly payment, at the longer term. The input values are blue. Everything else is calculated. This allows the possibility that the APR may be higher with the longer term.

Term Bump

If your menu system won’t do this, you can download my spreadsheet. It automatically calculates the finance amount which, with the term bump, results in the same payment. Remember, only type in the blue cells.

Magic tricks are easy once you know the secret — Marshall Brodien

When I was at MenuVantage, one of the guys put together a demo in which he used the term bump to sell a raft of products, and then a biweekly payment program to ratchet the term back down.  It was like a magic trick.  Same payment, same term, and presto!  He pulls two thousand dollars’  gross out of his sleeve.  Dealers couldn’t sign up fast enough.

PEN Welcomes Maxim Menu

I am pleased to announce that another leading menu system has joined the Provider Exchange Network. Maxim Menu is a popular menu with a number of good features, including Route One integration.  As Jim says in the press release, our partnership will expand the range of electronic contracting available through Maxim Menu.  For a complete list of partners, please visit the PEN web site.