That program prompted her to reflect on her previous job, where she had been one of several finance managers in one store, which created ample opportunities to bounce ideas around.
“It kept jumping off the page at me how much opportunity we had here in finance. All we needed was to get together and talk and work as a team,” she said.
Along with posting each store’s key F&I financial metrics, the meetings include discussions about best practices, obstacles overcome, new compliance issues and sales training. For example, managers recently role-played focusing on presenting product menus to customers, Swope said.
“It’s valuable to watch someone else’s sales approach — see how they overcome price objections, for instance,” she said.
Patrick Jennings, sales and finance manager at Swope Mitsubishi in Radcliff, Ky., said the meetings are extremely beneficial, especially since he’s relatively new to F&I.
“You get that sense of camaraderie, plus you glean best practices and knowledge based on others’ experience,” he said. “That’s immensely helpful.
“As a United States Marine Corps veteran, I strongly believe that competition breeds success.”