An emphasis on quality learning helps Sym-Tech provide CSI and F&I solutions to more dealers
In a competitive marketplace, sometimes dealers struggle when it comes to providing the right F&I solutions and car care products for customers. Since 1971, Sym-Tech has been providing successful solutions in these areas that are designed to both improve dealer profitability and customer satisfaction, two aspects of automotive retailing that are often very difficult to achieve together.
Given the current rapid advance in new product introduction and technologies, dealers; now more than ever need to rely on new and innovative training strategies to stay ahead of the curve.
As a result, Sym-Tech is expanding its portfolio of products and services; which includes a new purpose built Learning Centre in Markham, Ont. Recently Canadian auto dealer talked to Sym-Tech’s General Manager Brad Wells about how the company has become a growing presence in the F&I and car care sectors as well as finding out a few tips on how dealers can apply Sym-Tech’s solutions to help improve both CSI and profitability.
“Sym-Tech, was originally created by a group of car dealers who wanted to provide quality car care products at reasonable prices,” he says, “so initially the company’s core focus was in areas such as rust-proofing and upholstery protection. At the time there were some products on the market, but very few, if any were targeted specifically at dealers.”
Even though four decades have passed since Sym-Tech began offering such products, even today they remain very much a core aspect of company’s operations. “Because of the climate we live in, adequate rust protection and upholstery guards are just as important today as they ever were. Most manufacturers do provide some kind of protection but because they’re building for the entire North American market, rarely are vehicles designed specifically for the Canadian climate. That’s where we come in.”
Products evolve
The company’s products have evolved over the years. “With today’s thinner sheet metal, the rust inhibitors have evolved away from waxy, durable coatings into more fluid materials, designed to creep into spot welds, not just cover the underside of the vehicle. A car is a big investment for most people and because of the salt on winter roads, for many it’s essentially to try and make that vehicle last as long as possible.”
Yet while rust, paint and interior protection products remain a fundamental part of Sym-Tech’s business, the company has made significant inroads when it comes to providing F&I solutions.
“Working with the JM&A group in the U.S., we’ve been able to develop an effective range of solutions for dealers looking to improve F&I, whether it’s the products themselves or training business managers and sales staff to better understand individual customer needs, while at the same time increasing traffic through the business office.”
In fact as Wells mentions, the Sym-Tech partnership with JM&A (a major U.S. distributor catering to 3,000 auto retailers in the South Eastern states); was largely driven by dealers in Canada asking for ways in which they could improve F&I.
“Dealers were saying that they needed to make more money through the business office, but at the same time, were looking for worthwhile solutions to provide retail customers with what they actually needed. We were able to do this by adapting JM&A’s Customer Advantage Plan, which wraps around the core sales process. It works off a menu principle, whereby the business manager presents a range of options to the customer who can then decide which one best suits their needs. It’s a relaxed, non-confrontational approach and it’s proven to foster good relationships between the customer and dealer, meaning that not only is their greater profitability through F&I but the end result is also a happy customer who is more likely to provide repeat business or referrals.”
Training is the key
Yet, as Wells says, you can have the best products and solutions in the world, but they’re no good if staff don’t have the right training to effectively implement them. “I liken the Customer Advantage Pan to a Formula 1 race car. It’s simply incredible, but requires skill and experience to master, that’s why the right training is essential to making it work.”
To that end, Sym-Tech has developed a range of learning programs, where not only are business managers and sales staff sent on training programs which provide simulated ‘real world’ environments, but on their return to the dealership, Sym-Tech follows up with them to see if the training they’ve learned is being effectively implemented.
“For many dealers, training programs need to provide considerable benefits, which is why we believe follow-up is so important. If you don’t or aren’t able to implement what you’ve learned; then all the training has proved to be, is an added cost in time and money, with no return on investment.”
Sym-Tech has begun construction of a dedicated learning centre, in Markham, Ont. with the objective of providing the best tools and facilities available to help dealer staff learn and improve. “It’s a 10,000 square foot building which opens in January. It’s been conceived with input from JM&A and is another step on the road to help us provide the best and most effective solutions for dealers when it comes to F&I,” says Wells.
Even though it hadn’t opened at the time of writing, dealers from across Canada have already flown in to take a look at the facility and sign up their employees for courses. “From our perspective, as a provider, that’s huge. It really shows that based on past experiences, dealers across the nation truly value the products and services we provide.”
