F&I supplier working to boost transparency and results
When you’ve been in the F&I space for more than 60 years, you learn a thing or two about adapting to meet the needs of your dealer clients.
From helping dealers keep their business offices profitable through recessions, a financial crisis, a pandemic, inventory shortage and changing consumer demands, the veteran team members at head office and in the field from iA Dealer Services have seen just about anything.
Over the years, the company kept expanding its range of products, which has earned them the top market share in Quebec, number two in the rest of Canada, and the highest penetration of OEM dealerships and OEM integrations, according to Scott Tanner, the company’s Senior Director, National Sales Strategy and Market Intelligence. “We have the biggest field sales team, with people out meeting dealers. So not only do we have the technology and the products — we also have the people.”
Tanner said the company has been able to adapt to the dealer landscape, and the product mix buyers need today. “We are huge into training and helping dealers adapt to the changing landscape, whether that’s regulatory changes or other factors,” he said.
Scott Tanner, Senior Director, National Sales Strategy and Market Intelligence (left) and Sebastien Alajarin, Regional Vice President, Quebec (right)
The dealership world has been subject to increased regulatory scrutiny in recent years, particularly in jurisdictions like Quebec, and Tanner said the company has been providing a broad range of training whether in store, online or through role playing. “We have modules that we offer and a variety of tools at our disposal to help them navigate offering the product,” said Tanner.
“At the end of the day, it’s about protecting the customer. We believe in fair treatment of a customer, and that is our guiding principle through all of it. We can do that in such a way that is easy for the dealers,” he said.
Tanner said the increased transparency the industry provides buyers when it comes to their F&I options is good for the industry, and will lead to more sales. “The feeling in the industry is that customers who feel they’ve had transparent options given to them are more likely to choose and move ahead and purchase,” he said.
Tanner said making life easier for dealers is a key objective for the company. “We want to make sure that we’re easy to do business with for the dealers in terms of their ecosystems,” he said. “That could be in store, online or through a digital marketplace.”
We want to make sure that we’re easy to do business with for the dealers in terms of their ecosystems. That could be in store, online or through a digital marketplace.
Different dealerships and groups, however, have varying degrees of technology and integration between their physical dealerships and online, so the consumer experience is not yet standard, but the company adapts based on the readiness of their customer.
“Some dealers have OEMs who have built online capabilities to package their F&I products, and then it gets transferred to the store. Some dealers have their own online solutions and others have more sophisticated screens and iPads that provide information to the consumer in store — all of which we are partnering with and we have capabilities to support,” he said.
Sebastien Alajarin, is the Regional Vice President, Quebec, iA Dealer Services. He said the increased scrutiny and pressure for change in the F&I offices have created an opportunity for the industry to innovate and evolve. “I think it’s an opportunity to modernize our approach, and the F&I industry has to embrace that change,” said Alajarin.
Alajarin said that when dealers present the products effectively, and consumers feel they can easily access the information and do their own research, this will only lead to more sales. “These protection and insurance products provide tremendous value to consumers,” he said. “Explain it to them properly, and even if you sell them for a slightly lower profit margin, there’s more of a volume play than it is one big home run.”
