If you work at a dealership, an uninsured customer can not only waste your time and cause headaches, but can be the root cause of losing a potential sale. Not only is it inefficient, but it’s also frustrating to spend hours on the sales floor before moving a customer to the finance and insurance (F&I) stage, only to find they aren’t insured or have a lapse in coverage.
For dealerships that are regularly visited by uninsured customers, having a strategy in place for handling these difficult-to-close prospects can result in more sales and less time wasted.
There are several ways to smoothly integrate an insurance shopping experience without interrupting the sales process.
If you know a reliable insurance agent nearby, you may consider sending your uninsured customers his or her way. While it’s not ideal to encourage your customers to leave the lot, helping them find an insurance solution with an agent you trust could potentially preserve the sale.
Providing a kiosk or other device (such as a tablet) where customers can access a comparative insurance quoting platform is another way to help avoid drama during the F&I stage. These kiosks would allow customers to enter their information and compare rates from top-rated insurance companies. There are several national, online insurance agencies that are designed to partner with dealerships and have the ability to pre-populate quoting platforms with information you have already collected about a customer and the vehicle.
The last thing you want is for your customer to leave feeling discouraged and unable to purchase their dream car because they could not find insurance coverage or because they found a policy but hated the price. Through remote agencies, your dealership can overcome the obstacle of uninsured drivers and make the sale.
Partnering with a comparative insurance solution will not only help keep your uninsured customers inside the dealership until a sale is finalized, but can also help boost your bottom line. Some of these agencies offer dealerships a fee or commission each time a policy is sold.
Above everything else, do whatever it takes to maintain a positive customer experience. Uninsured customers are a combination of first-time buyers, people who have gone without a car for a period of time, or those who have less-than-perfect credit records. Whatever the reason, creating a positive experience from sales to F&I will boost your customers’ confidence in your dealership and stay a step ahead of the competition.
About the Author
Tom Capp is a SVP Business Development for Answer Financial, an auto and home insurance comparison platform, agency, and expert at providing complementary property insurance services for auto dealerships. Featured in Auto Remarketing, Auto Finance News, MSN Money, Dealer Marketing and Consumer Reports, Answer is one of the largest auto and home insurance agencies in the U.S. with 20 years of experience helping its strategic partners build revenue-generating programs through a variety of phone, mobile and digital implementations. Answer Financial is part of the Allstate family of companies. https://b2b.answerfinancial.com/