iTapMenu Presentation Tips - OCT. 2012
Hi all,
We at iTap hope you had a great September.
iTapMenu now has hundreds of users using our software every day for their F&I presentations. We have received some great feedback from users. So, we decided to share these tips with you. If you have some presentation and work flow tips you would like to share with the iTap user community, please contact Shawn McCool at:smccool@itapmenu.com.
1. When to use iTap
This has been an important question. Although we have several users that have literally replaced their paper or electronic menu with iTapMenu and have had improved results, a high percentage of our users are presenting iTap wherever the customer said "yes" to buying the vehicle. Think about it...they obviously are comfortable there, the salesperson is now their "best friend," buyer's remorse has yet to set in, and they aren't "pre-exposed" to an F&I presentation by bringing them into the F&I office. In other words, the sooner the better and not in your office has had the most impact.
Also, think about the customer's perception of the F&I experience. If you present your menu in your office, you bring them in to present the menu, print your docs, and then sign them. That's a 30-40 minute process, all of which occurs in your office. The customer's F&I "clock" begins when they enter your office. 30-40 minutes is a long time! And, none of it can be shortened substantially. We do NOT want to decrease our selling time, printing the docs takes several minutes, and the customer controls the amount of time it takes to have them signed. So, let's change the customer's PERCEPTION of the F&I process. If you present iTap in the showroom and then come back into your office by yourself and print the docs, and THEN bring the customer in (for the first time) to sign, they are experiencing F&I for only the last portion of the process (signing the docs). Therefore, their perception of the F&I experience is only the 10-15 minutes it takes to sign the docs!
2. Approach
By sitting next to the customer, and sitting the iPad down and NOT picking it up during the entire presentation, you are becoming a consultant to them, not a salesperson. Plus, the transparency of the situation relaxes the customer and they no longer feel they're getting sold something. When this occurs, they will start to buy!
3. iPad presentation
a. Our feedback indicates the two-column menu without the product education module, with the "terms in customer selections" menu display option UNCHECKED has had a tremendous impact on production. Of course, please use iTap how you are most comfortable. However, we have reports of users presenting iTap in multiple ways and determining this to be the most profitable.
b. We suggest putting all of your products in the "recommended" column. However, if you conduct pre-delivery interviews, we suggest customizing the "recommended" column based on data received from the interview.
c. When presenting the products in the "recommended" column (two-column menu structure column name), be "educational" in your approach. For example, "Mr Customer, let me explain why I'm recommending the extended service contract (tap the icon). I am recommending it because the average repair bill in the U.S. is $871 per occurrence and your vehicle has 14,000+ moving parts. If you decide to "self-insure" this product (tap the "info" button), this is a sample of what your replacement costs may be."
d. We recommend you display two, if not three payments on every menu! Why? There are several reasons. As an example, let's say the customer agreed to a 60 month term when they purchased the vehicle. Most menu presentations would display 60, 66, and 72 months. We feel this is incorrect. Why present a term right up-front that is pushing the customer as far away from their trade cycle as possible? Also, why not use this extended term IF there's a payment objection after reviewing the "recommended" column? As you know, you can change the term on the fly right on the iPad using iTap.
We suggest you INVERT the terms. That's right...in this example, we would display 48, 54, and 60 months. Why? For one, why wouldn't we display shorter terms in hopes the customer selects this and SHORTENS their trade cycle? Second, we know we can change the term using iTap, so let's save this term extension if there's a payment objection (we would first recommend increasing the down payment but then using the term extension to overcome the objection). And finally, the 60 month payment in the "recommended" column, by itself, would feel like a high payment. However, if you're presenting it with two more expensive payments, it won't feel as "out of reach!"
e. If the customer won't select a repayment option in the "recommended" column, it's time to either create a column discount (tap and hold the column name) or custom build an option. We think this is important...get the customer involved in this! We don't recommend giving the customer the iPad, but nudging it over and interacting with you and iTap together is a powerful "shift" in the selling situation. Let them make a choice! You'll be surprised at how powerful this is.
f. Consider having a second service contract icon on your menu. This would be used during a used vehicle menu presentation. By having a price contrast service contract available (power train coverage for example), you are creating an opportunity for the customer to say "yes" to something! And, something is better than nothing. Sometimes the price is the factor. By having a second option available, you're creating a good proposition for the customer...they still receive some coverage and at a price they can afford.
g. Product packaging...create a "win-win"
Try this...the next time you build an option with the customer and you need to "sweeten the deal," don't discount a product (an example would be a service contract discount). Think about it...$200 off only changes the payment by $3-4/month. Plus, it's not that compelling. Instead, select a product you have approximately $200 cost in (paint sealant, tire/wheel, dent/ding, etc) and convert the retail price to $0 right in front of them on the iPad! Then, drag it over and watch as their payment stays the same. By doing this, you have a similar investment but the customer's perception of "sweetening the deal" has changed dramatically because they saw the RETAIL price and viewed this as the discount! This is true impact.
4. Product videos
By now, you likely have noticed you can upload custom videos into iTapMenu. To add a video to any product, simply go to "configuration/products" and click a product and copy and paste the URL and select the format. Note: If you select YouTube, make sure the video is a "public" video. Private videos are not able to be used.
If your product provider has a video, that's great, use it. However, we have some iTap dealers that have created a short video of an actual customer testimonial. As an example, if you have a customer that used your service contract in your service department recently, ask him or her to talk about the situation, the amount of the claim, and how easy it was. Then, transfer this video to YouTube and then copy and paste the URL into our interface. A custom customer testimonial has been shown to be very effective to support the presentation of your products. You could create this for all of your F&I products! An iTap exclusive.
That's all for now. Look for another newsletter from iTapMenu soon. We have another set of features on the way and a new optional feature that's going to blow you away...
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Shawn McCool
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