I recently attended my niece’s basketball game. She is in middle school. One team clearly had more talent than the other. Unfortunately, my niece was on the team with less talent. 

Its coach was getting frustrated about the way the girls were playing and called a time-out. I was behind the bench and could hear what she told the girls during the time-out. I’m not sure her message was effective, but it was succinct; she said, “Be better!” and sent them back on to the court. They weren’t better. 

So how can you “be better” in F&I? As an F&I coach, I thought I would give you more information than my niece’s basketball coach to be better. Here are eight tips: 

1. Administrative detail: In F&I the details matter. One missed signature or other piece of information can create a funding issue. Focus on the details, and if you are new to F&I, use checklists to limit mistakes. Try to touch a deal once and pride yourself on very low or no contract-in-transit issues.

2. Situational awareness: You can choose to be either a reactive F&I manager or a proactive one. Reactive F&I managers come to work to wait for a deal. Proactive F&I managers have the situational awareness to control the flow of their days and optimize their outcomes. Getting involved early when there is a deal, helping to manage deal flow, participating in scheduling of delivery appointments to enhance the customer experience and optimize the opportunity are just some of the things proactive F&I managers do every day. Compliance requires a level of situational awareness as well. As an F&I manager you are the first line of defense against a compliance violation or issue. Having the situational awareness along with an understanding of the dealership’s compliance responsibilities can keep little issues from becoming big ones.

3. Process discipline: Hopefully your sales and F&I processes are designed to maximize efficiency and minimize the time it takes from hello to goodbye in a deal. Chances are the process was created for a good reason. If you do not follow your process consistently, how can you measure results accurately? When a person in leadership ignores or is inconsistent in process, he or she sends a clear message the team that following the process is optional. Either you have a process, or you don’t. If you don’t like a process or if it may be outdated, change it, don’t ignore it.

4. Professional development: Take the responsibility to be the driver of your own professional development. Determine where you want to go in your organization. If you want to move into another role, seek out a coach or mentor to help you identify the skill or knowledge gaps that may keep you from reaching your goals. Then together with your coach or mentor, create a professional-development plan to fill them.

5. Train your team: You can either complain about the team around you or do something about it. I suggest you teach. The better the team around you performs, the easier your job in F&I gets. Consistently participate in sales and training meetings. Educate the dealership personnel about the products you offer in F&I and how those products create value by solving problems for your customers.

6.  Set goals: Setting goals and developing a plan to achieve them, along with the discipline to stay the course and track your results, is the difference between average and exceptional. That is true in F&I and in life.

7. Time prioritization: We all know how important inventory management is in our industry. In F&I your inventory is your time. What you choose to do with the average 10-hour day can make a big difference in your outcomes. Plan every day, and prioritize activities that help you reach your goals.

8. Mindset and attitude: Mindset is how you see the world; attitude is how you react to it. Examine your mindset as it pertains to your work life – is it generally positive or negative? If you have the mindset to grow and “be better” in F&I by being deliberate in your actions, your attitude will positively reflect your mindset. And who knows, that may motivate those around you to be better.

John Tabar serves as executive director of training for Brown & Brown.