Articles by Kimberly Long - Assistant Editor

The F&I office has a lot of responsibilities for one department – selling products, ensuring compliance, maintaining good relationships with finance sources and more. Several finance professionals reveal their tried-and-true methods of getting the job done.

Is it best for finance managers to interview customers before they get to the F&I office? Three dealership finance professionals offer their opinions.

In his 30 years on the job, about the only thing Bob Nieves hasn’t done is deliver a baby on a test drive. That’s an exaggeration, of course, but at times it must certainly seem that way.

Achieving the right balance of products to sell in a dealership’s F&I office can take some time and periodic tweaking of the menu. Here’s a look at some of the products dealers can consider including on their F&I menus to allow the most opportunities for profit.

Some things just naturally fit well together: peanut butter and jelly, movies and popcorn, and Sales Professional Rob Pint and the dealership he calls home, Autoline in Atlantic Beach, Fla. He has been with the store for three years and currently averages 17 sales per month.

“Professional” is the word that best describes Ron Ouk, according to Rich Sargent, owner of Rich’s Car Corner, an independent dealership in Shoreline, Wash. “If he’s having a bad day … or he doesn’t feel too well, that doesn’t change how he sells cars. He’s going to give it 100 percent, 100 percent of the time,” said Sargent.

From franchise lots to buy here pay here, it’s safe to say Leonard Brown knows his way around the retail automotive business. If any question exists about that, one need only look at his sales numbers. At InstaCredit Automart in O’Fallon, Mo., he has consistently sold more than 40 cars per month so far this year.

The service department can become a profit machine with the right tools, processes and training. The use of maintenance menus and inspection checklists is a great place to start to focus on effective upselling.

At Jerry Seiner Chevrolet in Salt Lake City, Utah, the parts department has been cultivated to a level of success not seen by many, thanks in no small part to its wholesale operation. The department sells $1.6 to $1.7 million in parts each month.

Five dealers explain how they used Groupon to drive service and fixed operations traffic.