Some dealerships prefer to have the Service Advisor introduce the availability of service contracts and then pursue the sale, often all the way through registration of the contract.

Other dealerships find more success by having the service department introduce the availability of extended service contract protection, and then they refer the lead to the dealership’s F & I Department.

This means the Service team is responsible for the Protect sale, and often administration related to it.

The dealership will need to clearly identify how the Service team will receive compensation from their sales.

Will this be an amount paid per contract sale or based on a percentage of the gross? Will there be a volume bonus?

How will it be paid? A petty cash voucher for the cashier to exchange or will it be rolled into other pay?

Identified Service personnel will need to be knowledgeable about the product, able to answer customer questions, and close the sale.

Usually, the Service Advisor will identify potential Protect customers and then introduce them to Finance department personnel.

In this scenario, the customer initially expresses interest to the Service team.

In turn the Service team will take the customer to the F & I department where the F & I manager will review Protect with the customer.

For this to be successful you will need to develop an attractive compensation plan.

Both the Service team and the F & I department will need to be compensated for the plan. Experience shows that a per contract sale spiff to the Service Advisor usually works well. Be certain it’s enough to stimulate Service Advisor behavior.

Training will be imperative not just on the product, but also on the introduction process.

The F & I Department and Service Team need to understand their responsibilities.

Each team should walk or role play the process to ensure everyone understands their role when handling a service customer’s inquiry into Protect.