Personality or Sales Ability? Which is More Important for F&I Success?

Every F&I Director has the important task of choosing the right F&I manager when screening applicants, whether they are an outside hire or an existing employee. They have to think about the important revenue-generating responsibility this position holds, and the qualities needed to make all that revenue consistently. But above all else, the F&I manager has to have the right combination of personality and sales ability.

But what is more important really? Can you have an F&I manager with a great personality but light on sales skills? Or should sales ability be the first thing you look for regardless of how they present themselves to customers?

Is Personality Really THAT Important?

To get technical about it, personality is often defined as a combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character. It’s just…who they are.

This can be a good thing or a really bad thing when talking about an F&I manager. The ‘bad’ usually comes in the form of the stereotypical sleazy, fast-talking, unethical person just looking to scam the customer any way they can to make a higher back-end on the deal. Dealerships over the decades have seen plenty of these folks. They gave the position a bad name. It is possible, though, to come across an applicant who may have the important qualities necessary to be successful in F&I but perhaps not have all the exact sales skills you need?

The most successful F&I managers throughout the industry have empathy, an innate desire to really help the customer understand the products and how they can help, and an overall likeability that helps them make a true connection with customers. They have the highest PRU and consistently high CSI. Customers simply feel comfortable doing business with them. F&I managers can be trained on the nuts-and-bolts of menu-selling, handling paperwork, and all the required compliance standards. But you either have the right personality to sit in front of a customer and make the connection necessary to gain trust enough to sell or you don’t.

Don’t Totally Discount Sales Skills, Though…

No one should ignore the importance of understanding how to sell and the psychology behind it. Many F&I managers come from industries where selling may not have been their career focus…but knowing how to work with people was. The objective skills and knowledge can be taught to a personality that is open to learning and eager to work the steps accordingly. No F&I manager can be successful without knowing what buttons to push, what questions to ask, or how to properly (and ethically) disclose contract terms and product details. Knowledge is key.

Ideal is a Solid Combination of Both

You could argue that you can’t have an F&I manager that is all sales ability and no personality. It’s not enough for success in a position where decades-old stereotypes are constantly working against them. Customers expect the hard sell and are often closed off right from the second they walk into the office. But…an applicant with a great personality – open, empathetic, inquisitive, trustworthy, and fun to be around – over someone flat who happens to know the latest method in selling a maintenance plan. That doesn’t work. It won’t work with your buyers, either.

Your successful F&I managers need the right combination of both. Personality, though, should be the first focus when hiring. They need to be the right fit, not only for the customer, but also for the team in general. A toxic personality ‘in the box’ will impact the sales floor and your sales managers. The next time you are interviewing someone for F&I, ask yourself if this is the kind of person YOU would want to sit and talk to in the business office.

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December 2, 2021

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