What started as a COVID workaround has become Jesse Hill's secret weapon for higher F&I performance.
Driving the news: Hill runs F&I operations across Safford Brown's 25 stores, using video calls to handle remote appointments when locations need coverage. And those virtual deals generate $300 to $500 more per transaction than traditional face-to-face appointments, he told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D'Arc and Uli de' Martino.
How it works: A document processor at the selling location gets the paperwork ready and brings customers into a room with an iPad.
A finance manager then joins via Zoom to handle the presentation while someone locally deals with the forms and signatures.
And since he can pull from talent across 25 locations, virtual customers essentially get access to the group's best employees no matter which store they originally visited.
"We pick from top performers in the group who are assisting in these virtual settlements. I think that the ease of the transaction, I think it's fun. And I think the customers see it as fun," he explained.
Virtual appointments also change customer mindset. Instead of feeling like the final step after hours at the dealership, they feel like separate, scheduled consultations.
Between the lines: Virtual appointments still make up only 10% of Safford Brown's total transactions. But Hill still uses them for specific situations like coverage needs or scheduling conflicts, rather than trying to replace traditional F&I entirely.
"It's certainly not our main source of doing business. Our main source of doing business is these people coming into the store," Hill noted.
The technology part is pretty straightforward, but what actually determines success is whether general managers train their staff to handle the process properly.
"The biggest piece of it that makes it work, just like anything else, is the buy-in. The buy-in and the support at all levels," Hill said.
Big picture: Hill has spent years thinking about why some F&I managers succeed while others struggle. He's concluded it comes down to whether you're "working with customers" or just "working deals."
And virtual appointments force managers to build that connection immediately. They can't shuffle papers or rely on small talk—they have to actually engage with the person on screen.
"If you don't have that connection with the customer, if you don't have rapport with the customer, you're speaking different languages," he said.
So, he runs monthly training sessions he calls "Finance 101" where underperforming managers sit in circles and talk through what's working and what isn't.
Bottom line: As customer expectations continue rising and direct-sale competitors eliminate friction, dealers are finding new ways to leverage the convenience of remote appointments.
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