Tag: Menu Selling

According to the Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey research, car buyers who do more than 50% of their buying steps digitally not only save time at the dealership but are more satisfied with their purchase experience overall. F&I aftermarket sales is an area where streamlining the sales process and making it more customer-friendly can lead to increased profit. The secret? Menu selling.

WardsAuto identified customer self-selling as the future of F&I sales. In their article, Kevin Cook, general manager of Straub Automotive Group, explained how his dealerships use menu selling to introduce customers to aftermarket products in a friendlier and more comfortable way.

Before customers leave the salesperson’s desk, they receive a tablet from the F&I manager to watch a brief video presentation touching on available aftermarket options. The dealership receives data in real-time showing them which product videos the car shopper watched the longest, which helps the F&I manager determine which vehicle protection products most appeal to each customer.

Here are six reasons why this makes the aftermarket sales process more customer-friendly:

1. It keeps customers occupied and engaged when they might otherwise be waiting idly for the F&I manager to finalize the rest of their deal documents.
2. Many customers who started their research online will observe a seamless transition between the dealership website and the in-store introduction to the F&I options.
3. Each product can be showcased with multimedia presentations including video – and the customer can choose to dive deeper to get additional information.
4. The presentations include accurate, up-to-date cost information for each product.
5. Customers get the opportunity to consider their own needs and realize the value of each aftermarket product and how it will protect their vehicle.
6. The F&I manager can take the information gathered and complete the sale of aftermarket products knowing which ones the customer is most interested in purchasing.

Straub Automotive Group has found that menu selling positions their F&I managers as problem-solvers for their customers, which is a far cry from the hard-sell approach. And it’s been effective, with their stores reaching 80% penetration for sales of vehicle service contracts.

In today’s online, self-service world, customers expect new ways to handle their automotive purchases. In this case, digital solutions pave the way for positive interactions with the F&I manager that make finishing the sale faster and more satisfactory for the car buyer.

Dealertrack F&I offers a seamless connection with Darwin Automotive to provide dealerships with an enhanced F&I Menu process that eliminates data re-entry and creates a more efficient contracting workflow. Learn more and request a demo.