Déjà vu, all over again. At least once a year, good times or bad, the discussion arises concerning what is the ideal inventory for special finance. I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years, and the answer is always the same: “Sell financing, not inventory.”

Here’s some free advice for folks who earn their bread in F&I. Choose your words carefully—very carefully. You may have picked up your sales spiel from the best trainer in the world or the most successful finance guy in your 20 group, but none of that will matter if your customer walks out of the box with a mixed-up idea of what role the dealership plays in the transaction.