As an F&I manager, you offer products and services that can literally change your customers’ lives. Unfortunately, if your customers don’t like you, your products and services are irrelevant! We all have lived that scenario where a customer didn’t want to do anything but sign and drive away as quickly as possible. Even if they did do some level of business with you, they weren’t actually listening to you, and they certainly were not up for taking your advice. Customers buy the products they want to buy! There is no doubt that when customers like you, they spend less time looking for a reason to resist and more time looking for a reason to say yes!
At times, deals in F&I seem to move at the speed of light and you are on the clock! Getting some customers to like you can seem overwhelming, while with others it can appear to be an impossible task! Top-producing F&I managers know that people like people who are just like them or people who are how they’d like to be! Exceptionally likable F&I managers share many common behaviors that make them so magnetic. Below are six of the best.
1: They Smile
Smiling is more contagious than the flu! It can’t be resisted. Just smile at someone and odds are they’ll smile right back. We have all been told to smile, but most of us totally underestimate the power that smiling can have on ourselves and everyone around us. Consider these top ten undisputed facts about smiling:
- Almost 50% of people notice your smile first.
- Smiling makes you appear more successful.
- Smiling makes you appear more confident.
- Smiling makes you seem more trustworthy.
- Smiling makes you seem more approachable.
- Smiling makes you look younger.
- Smiling makes you more creative.
- Smiling reduces your stress.
- Smiling boost’s your immune system.
- “You’re never fully dressed without a smile.” – Martin Charnin
If you want more customers to like you, make a conscious effort to start every interaction with a smile and then intentionally strive to smile more often. Something as simple as a smile could be the difference in whether your customer is short and abrupt or curious and engaged. Exceptionally likable F&I managers intentionally wear a smile and they give it to their customers too!
2: They Make Mutual Eye Contact
Too much of a good thing is usually a bad thing! This is especially true when it comes to eye contact. For example, if you were to have a conversation with a very timid and shy individual and you boldly stared at their eyes without breaking eye contact, you would make them feel so uncomfortable that they wouldn’t actually hear anything you had to say. On the other hand, if your conversation were with a very direct and aggressive individual who was in a full-on-don’t-blink-first contest, you would naturally gain their respect and admiration. The bottom line is people like people who are just like them. If your customers are giving you a lot of eye contact, go ahead and reciprocate. If they look away, give them a break and look away. Exceptionally likable F&I managers know that eye contact is most effective and enjoyed when it is mutual!
3: They Pay Unique Complements
It should come as no surprise that research has shown that to the human brain a complement is as much a social reward as being given money. Everyone values a genuine complement, and when it’s also a unique complement it is more valuable than gold! Complements naturally put your customers in a good mood, increase your customers’ trust in you, and make your customers more receptive to accepting your ideas and taking your advice. William James said: “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” Exceptionally likable F&I managers make it a point to make their customers feel great! You can always find something to compliment your customers on. If you intentionally look for something to acknowledge, appreciate, and praise you will find it. Just ask yourself: If I were to like one thing about my customer, their family, their work, or what they do for fun, what would it be? – and then share the compliment!
4: They Skip the Small Talk
Many F&I managers default to engaging in small talk as an icebreaker. I encourage you to skip the small talk and go right to the heart of the matter. Top producers don’t waste time discussing the weather, the game, or the traffic because they know it does not help them bring value, add value, or become a person of value. In fact, many customers are often annoyed and even taken back when F&I managers engage in small talk because of its lack of sincerity and authenticity.
Exceptionally likable F&I managers know that customers appreciate when someone takes a genuine interest in them. Your goal should be to make a personal connection. When you get personal, you are able to make it personal and create compelling value that can motivate your customers to take action and make a purchase! We often underestimate our customers’ willingness to answer our questions. If you want more customers to like you then skip the small talk, take a genuine interest, and ask a personal question! Just ask yourself: What could I ask my customer that would allow me to make a personal connection, become their trusted advisor, and better understand how my products could impact his/her life and make a real difference?
5: They Are Present
Every customer wants to feel important, and the more you can make them feel important, the more they will like you and want to interact with you. Every F&I manager has fallen into the trap of just going through the motions. It tends to happen most often during those extremely busy times when you’re just trying to keep your head above water. When you find yourself saying the words but not really living them out, you can be sure it doesn’t go unnoticed. Nothing kills an interaction like a lack of congruency. It’s not enough to say that you care, you have to show that you care, and it starts by giving customers your undivided attention. Exceptionally likable F&I managers let those phone calls go to voicemail. They keep their door closed and limit their distractions in order to make it clear that what’s most important are the customers right in front of them. When you are fully present and you give your full attention to your customers, you are giving yourself a gift! As Spencer Johnson reminds us in his best-selling book, The Present, “You create your own present by what you give your attention to today.” When you sit with a customer just ask yourself: What’s most important right now? – Then be present!
6: They Find the Common Ground
Without common ground, you are the enemy plain and simple! Your customers do not like people who are not like them or people who are not how they’d like to be. Unfortunately, your customers make a decision about you in an instant, and if you don’t find the common ground many customers will just assume there is none. Perception is reality! My advice for you is to not look for some magical “aha” moment out of the gate. Start small and then build from there. While we all come from different walks of life, you can find common ground with anyone. Whether it’s a shared past experience, a shared interest, a shared lesson learned, a shared goal, a shared faith, or a shared dislike; we all have things in common. Exceptionally likable F&I managers know that the quickest way to get their customers to relax, open up, and engage with them is to find common ground! Who do you most enjoy spending time with? People who you have things in common with, of course; and so do your customers!
It’s a fact, you are the number one reason people buy! Unfortunately, it’s also a fact that you are the number one reason why people don’t buy. In the end, it’s you and your efforts that make the difference! Whatever the product is that you may be selling, your customers won’t buy the product unless they want to; and if they don’t want to, you can be certain they’ll find a reason to resist. Be that as it may, if your customers like you, they’ll be more engaged with you. Instead of looking for a reason to resist, your customers will look for a reason to say yes! You too can become an exceptionally likable F&I manager and win over more customers every day by living out these six habits.