The unmistakable growl of a NASCAR engine during a daring slingshot. A well-executed 6-4-3 double play. A perfect, play-action pass that freezes the defense for the game-winning touchdown. These are recognized representations of “fine-tuned” techniques. In other words, they are all markers of beauty in their respective industries! However, to a car dealer, nothing is as beautiful as well-executed processes in the dealership. Your customers are taken care of, and your employees carry out each step on time and just as prescribed by you and the management team. Running this play correctly and consistently creates great profitability and happy customers who keep coming back!

Although sales have been solid in 2025, the automotive business isn’t easy, and profitability is challenging. Interest rates haven’t receded, while virtually all manufacturers have increased their costs substantially over the last three years. Front-end gross has eroded, yet expenses like floor plan interest, insurance and human capital have gone up.

On a positive note, the current environment means that the F&I department is primed to shine. Contrary to front-end gross, virtually all F&I measurables, industry-wide, are on the upswing! So, the question becomes, are you ready to boost F&I performance and turn your F&I department into a fine-tuned F&I machine?

According to Merriam-Webster, “fine-tune” means to adjust precisely so as to bring to the highest level of performance or effectiveness!  Our dealer partners are averaging over $2,100 per retail unit sold (not including any overrides), up more than $500 in just five years. We are also seeing all-time highs for both VSC penetration, 58%, and products per deal, averaging 2.0 in 2025.

Tips For A Tune-Up!

Performance Standards: Everything starts with a Standard of Performance that your team can buy into. Setting standards in a group meeting with the entire management team is best practice. Performance standards should be written, detailed and signed off on by every manager, the dealer and your LDS representative when completed.

Continuous and Innovative Training: Training is not just an event; it’s key to dealership profitability, and it should be practiced frequently. Critically, training should reflect the central role that F&I plays in today’s market. The LDS Group is proud of recent innovations in our training line-up is specifically geared toward creating a fine-tuned F&I machine. Here are some training opportunities available through The LDS Group:

• Coaching with Cole, our daily virtual coaching platform, gives your management team an opportunity to receive 15 minutes of training daily from any one of our 12 trainers here at The LDS Group on various Sales and F&I topics.
• Elite F&I Training & Pushups are now a regular part of our playbook. Elite training is a one-day, fast-paced event, including six different trainers with six topics on display for 45 minutes each. Pushups features a podcast, conversational style format that is done using Zoom and has proven to be very relatable.
• AI-powered objection training & F&I presentation scoring will soon be offered as an in-store 24/7 training platform. F&I managers will be able to practice overcoming customer objections through interactive role-playing. They will also be scored against The LDS Group’s VIP Presentation, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses during actual customer presentations. This tool will produce data-driven analytics that will help our team target process-training, efficiently and effectively.

Monthly Performance Meetings: In these meetings, we will discuss F&I performance, comparing your employees to standards and averages in the market. With a positive tone, your team will read their numbers in front of their peers and identify areas of improvement to focus on in the coming month! These add a level of accountability and competitiveness necessary for a fine-tuned machine!

Consumers are purchasing more protection products today than ever before in the history of our business. Affordability, cost of repairs, and new technology all play a role in this equation. As we prepare for 2026, developing your fine-tuned F&I Machine is not only essential for profitability, but it will bring important value and protection to customers and drive loyalty! Give us a call at (225) 769-9923, we will be glad to help!