Although May fit the definition of a "watch and see" month, the summer months offer some great opportunities to increase seasonal revenue. With vacations, road trips and the prime months for powersport sales, give your F&I product strategies a summer tune-up.
Roadside Assistance: AAA has more than 50 million members in the United States and Canada. Why? Because roadside assistance makes sense! This summer, with road trips and family vacations on the horizon, be sure that your customers know the importance of roadside assistance and the added benefits over factory plans that roadside assistance offers. Twenty-five percent of all U.S. households have become AAA members from their living rooms ... just think of the results you can get with a captive audience in the dealership.
Service Drive Products: By now, most of us are aware of the many F&I products that can be sold in the service drive (including Vehicle Service Contracts, Tire-Only Protection, Roadside Assistance, Pre-Paid Maintenance, Identity Theft, Key Replacement and Emergency Notification). However, for optimal success and profitability, make sure you have proper training and incentives in place before having service technicians sell these products.
This summer, many customers will already be investing in service or repairs. Be sure to let them know that you have ways for them to save money on these and future services or repairs.
Powersports: Almost anyone who touches powersports F&I is familiar with service contracts and maintenance. However, there are many more opportunities for F&I sales.
Tire & Wheel, Theft and GAP are also strong powerports products. Tire & Wheel Protection is a great F&I product that powersports dealers can add to their offerings because the benefits easily translate into value for the consumer. Most people, whether in the consumer or salesperson/F&I manager position, can relate to the expense of replacing a tire or wheel because of a road hazard. Because the economic downturn may be increasing theft, many consumers choose a parts marking system to thwart theft and aid in recovery in the event a theft did occur.
GAP protection is a classic F&I product that easily translates into powersports sales. Powersport vehicles are a large investment, and much like car and truck owners, powersport vehicle consumers don’t want to deal with the hassles and expenses if their vehicles were to be involved in a total loss situation. In addition, F&I administrators experienced in the powersports market have developed GAP protection programs for both installment and revolving loans.
Even in a turbulent economy, there are always opportunities. Don't let these opportunities slip away from you this summer!
