The F&I Manager's Voicemail Is Full with Adam Marburger

Paul J Daly: 0:00I love it when we have somebody on the show who also has a book.

‍Unknown: 0:09

This is Auto Collabs. We do that a

Paul J Daly: 0:11

lot. We do and one of the things like, you know, in whenever you have a book without a major publisher, I think, and you know, I have one, I wrote one. And really the reward of having the book is writing the book and getting all your thoughts in a line, because I found that it helps you live out those thoughts and those strategies. Because, you know, the three of us come up with, like, one idea, one new idea every 22 seconds. Well,

Kyle Mountsier: 0:35

what it's? What it does is it is it changes your commitment level to it right? Because now other people have read and thought about the thoughts that you have, right? And so all of a sudden you're like, No, I'm going to actually commit to that way of thinking, that way of life, that way of perceiving the world. And and you see it through and through. We've gotten to know Adam, obviously, through a few different mechanisms and and just from being around the industry, and you can see him living out the thesis that he believes in and what's present in his book. And so I'm excited to have a conversation about it with him, because that's the conversation that he's gonna love. So we hope that you enjoyed this conversation. Hey, Adam,

Paul J Daly: 1:19

it's so good to be with you on this podcast after spending a little time with you back in public policy day, it's the first time we've gotten to reconnect. Good to

Unknown: 1:26

have you here. I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me. You know, like, Oh,

Paul J Daly: 1:30

you're gonna ask some Kyle. You just took an inhale. Not at all. I just took a big breath. Okay, so one of the things that that we love to do on the show is let people get to know the person a little bit because, you know, we'll talk about F and I will talk about that stuff in a minute, but give it. Give us, like, the two minute on like, how you got in the industry and why?

Adam Marburger: 1:47

Yeah, it was on accident. You know, I was working. I joined the club, working at a restaurant. I was in Panama City Beach for a week, just having a blast. I get back from my vacation and the owner of the restaurant says, Hey, good news, bad news. And I'm like, All right, give me, uh, give me the bad he goes, We're closing the restaurant. And I'm like, what's the good news? Loved my job. You're going with me to the Toyota dealership. And I'm like, what? So he took me down there. His name's Gordon Carver, got to know the GM. And, you know, I took a little time to make the deal because I was hesitant of being a car salesman. And as a matter of fact, I requested to be a porter. So I started my first 20 days as a porter, and then sales. Three years later, F and I, and now I just, you know, I help people wait

Kyle Mountsier: 2:33

so your restaurant owner took you to the deal. Why did the restaurant? I want to know that story. He's

Paul J Daly: 2:39

like because I had the newspaper and it says you can make 70,000 your first year. And I'm gonna give you this guy referenced

Adam Marburger: 2:45

savant at selling cars. Gordon was always Gordon was a 30 car guy, like when no one was doing it, and it was all just customers coming, and he built a base, he stepped away to help his wife open up the restaurant. So he just stepped away. It was kind of like, not a permanent thing. I don't believe he was at the restaurant quite a bit. So when that fell through, he's like, we're going right here, and that's what, that's what we did. So

Kyle Mountsier: 3:09

that's so cool. Like someone gave you a shot, like, this is the shot. This is where you go. This is, this is where it happens. I um, you were when you were still at the store. You are 40, under 40, right? Yeah, was that?

Adam Marburger: 3:24

That was, that was at the tail end of my career. That was, you know, that was basically, I was running a big dealer group in St Louis, and got nominated in that. That was a lot of fun, too. That's kind of

Kyle Mountsier: 3:33

where my because, like, okay, look every time you say it, yeah, just so, you know, like, if you calculate how many people get this in the last out of, I don't know, 2 million people in the industry. You know, over the last 20 years, only 800 people. So you're in that list. What do you think? Well, you know, you get nominated. But then you go through all this stuff where, what was the thing that kind of, was the calling card that helped you stand out that said, this is why you know this person is kind of changing the game.

Adam Marburger: 4:06

Yeah, great, great question. I think it was my career. I mean, I delivered over 20,000 very few people have done this, but I delivered over 20,000 retail deals like I delivered, funded, completed, and I built a huge referral base. I was an F and I manager that sold almost 20 cars a month. I had people just coming in to see me that I just built something special. I took my job very serious. I invested in myself. I I'm all things F, and I'm madly in love with that space. So Wow.

Kyle Mountsier: 4:36

Sales people, sales people, find it hard to get people referring back. Like, I remember, you know, it was always like, Okay, call the call, the people get the referral, right? But there's, there's, you can't just make the call. There's something that you do in the mid time. What do you think? You know, can you point to, like, one or two reasons why you had success driving people? People to refer people or to come back to you over time, outside of just like I treated them Well, was there was like a tangible thing or a way that you crafted the entire conversation that led to that volume of repeat and referral business?

Adam Marburger: 5:15

I absolutely love that question, so I will use a reference out of out of a book unreasonable hospitality, right? Let's go, come on now. Well, well, like here. So as an F and I manager, I provide a service, and a service, it's the act of service is a thing that I do, right? But it's how you make people feel in that process, is what really matters and really equates to hospitality. So what I would do is I would genuinely connect, like I would ask real questions and and really listen and just really get to know people. Now there were days where I'm five deep, and I have to do that quicker and get involved early, and that's why getting involved early in the transaction is critical as an F and I professional, but I would connect with people. I'd make them laugh, I'd make them feel special, and I they knew I truly cared. Every one of our clients, our guest, had my cell phone number. I made sure that no matter what you call me, you text me you need something. I don't know if you know this, but if you were to check every F and I managers voicemail in the industry, how many of those mailboxes are

Paul J Daly: 6:16

full, we already know the answer.

Adam Marburger: 6:19

That's a pet peeve of mine, by the way, they should never be full, but direct access to me is that you're that last touch point from a from the transaction standpoint, right? So that's, that's, I think, the magic on it, you know? Yeah,

Kyle Mountsier: 6:33

it's like, simple magic, though, yeah, check your voicemail, call them back, you know? I

Paul J Daly: 6:38

mean, gosh, you kind of feel like, I mean, my voicemail is where communication goes to die, and I'm not an F and i Manager, but you would think that I've had, literally, I just, you know, I bought several vehicles out of state, and I had that experience like, two or three times. Now, granted, I had, I had, like, text messages and, like, we were outside of that, but I can't imagine that that isn't like the one of the simplest things to fix you get. You have a unique perspective, because you serve so many F and I departments and dealer groups on a regular basis. So you kind of get the advantage of this bird's eye view on common issues, common problems, common challenges in this day and age. Can you give us two or three the things that you are seeing a lot of maybe that weren't always issues, but are have been become issues in the last 12 to 24 months.

Adam Marburger: 7:27

Yeah, that's an easy I could give you 100 so let me be just real fair here. And this is broadly speaking, is like Doom scrolling. Okay, so there is a lack of process and accountability. So when you really take over a store, get involved in a store, when they're when the process is dialed in, and there's somebody really monitoring the process, and we're, we're managing with data, and from the GM down, everybody's kind of in Unity. Those stores run at a very, very high level. Those stores produce above industry standard. The stores that lack a process, and especially if there's nobody holding that process accountable, you just run subpar numbers. So that is a problem right there. The second issue that I'm seeing a ton as of recent, there's a there's a lack of development. So, you know, a lot of the industries kind of right now, we should focus on F and I. We should be training more, investing more, going to more F and I schools, dialing in our craft, getting better at our product knowledge. Margin compression is real. We know that, right? So F and I that the spotlight's on us right now. There's a lack of commitment to professional coaching, that's so that's a big one that I was experiencing and seeing, which is good for me and my business like that helped. But that's that's a big issue well,

Kyle Mountsier: 8:49

and I, when I look at, you know, the positions in the dealership, it seems like we have as an industry over, especially over the last three to four years, and now it's getting really highlighted, because people are going, oh, people aren't tripling, tripping and falling into cars anymore. They need, they need a real sales person. So we've really focused on frontline training as an industry, but there's not a ton of focus on managerial training, whether that be F and I or sales or business development training, there's not a focus on what I would call, like continued development of the manager. And so you calling that out saying, like, No, this is people kind of get there. We train them for a few months and then hopefully they always run good numbers. Hopefully they always are compliant. Hopefully you know how to how do you encourage dealers that maybe haven't put a focus on that, continued training of the managerial staff to find those inroads and those avenues to do that. Yeah,

Adam Marburger: 9:50

it before I answer that, let me piggyback on your statement, because what you said was, was profound. I own a company in the dental space, okay, so my clients who are not. Doctors, you got to have so many hours of continuing education, even hydrogen

Paul J Daly: 10:04

mandatory, right? Or you can't practice, can't even practice, right?

Adam Marburger: 10:07

So when you look at it going back to auto, yeah, there's sales training, you know? But you got some F and I training, a little more than I don't see a whole lot. What about sales manager training, you know? What about BDC department? You don't see there are a few companies, don't get me wrong, there's some training out there, but you're right. We don't focus on it. We don't focus on it. And so I think this,

Kyle Mountsier: 10:29

like business opportunity sales manager training,

Adam Marburger: 10:33

there needs to be more of it, because here too, you asked me if you were to ask me, What's the quickest way to increase my F and I production, my profitability. I wouldn't say, hire me. I would say the first thing you would need to do is get the sales manager and the F and i Manager as one, yeah, as one, they're a single unit, one goal, one vision, one mission, same values. You dominate that way, right? And so to answer your question is, how do you, how do you bring this and make this make sense to a dealer? It's really a you got to get in front of them and show them data. You know, if you can just show a dealer real data and store similar in their market, what they they're what it's capable of doing. It. That's the math, doesn't lie. So it's getting in front of the dealer and showing them, showing the math, you know, in finding somebody being willing to change too, right? That's the key. Is getting, getting through to the dealer and the GM and the team, that change is not a bad thing, because we got to change something, otherwise we're going to get continued to get

Paul J Daly: 11:41

what we're getting right now, right? That's right,

Kyle Mountsier: 11:42

yeah, you know, I actually, I wanted to go back to you said, very, very early. You said, Get, get involved early in the deal as an F and i Manager, and I agree with that, so, but I want to go, I want to take a different path of it is, I have heard sales managers and finance managers and dealers have kind of two fields of thought. One being, no, don't get involved too early in the deal, because then you get adopted the deal. You get sideways of the talk tracks like you don't you don't get to remove yourself from kind of like the thesis around the deal. Get your head stuck in what that monthly payment might be. So wait until but then the field of thought that I would agree with you with is, hey, get involved early. So you know the structure of the deal. You know you can, you can find financing options that work. You understand what makes that customer tick. Things like that. I remember, actually, there's like, there's like, four or five things that I'm super, super proud of of my time in retail. And one of those is I took an F and i Director job, and I had never spun paper in my life. I was on the I actually, I started as a, I started as a. I went to the sales manager side first, which is a very rare path, if you know anything about like most people go through, F and I to the desk. And I. So I went to the desk and then to F and I, and so the only thing I knew how to do when I started in F and I was go back and sit on the desk. And maybe I did it on accident, but we saw literally a$400 per copy increase in less than 60 days. And I think it was because I was sitting next to the two sales managers. I was aware of every single deal, and whether it was me speaking the paper or my other F and i Manager, like we knew what was going on, and we could get involved early, and we needed to, we could start sending that to banks if we needed to, and start to structure that deal so that there was success all the way around for the customer and for the dealership. So how do you you know, like, why are there those fields of thoughts when there's so much data around the early intervention still? Yeah, that great

Unknown: 13:44

question. I wish I had the answer to that

Kyle Mountsier: 13:49

out too. Yeah. All I

Adam Marburger: 13:50

do know is what you described having, you know, having the F and I team sitting with the sales desk being willing to, here's the thing, too, our school of thought. I wrote about this in the book. I got a story. You know, I could talk. I can name drop Pete. Pete, my sales manager, was a brilliant desk guy, new lending institutions, equally as well as I did. You mean, in this book, yeah, yeah. He just, thank you. So anyway, he just didn't like people he was he just didn't like people. He didn't want to get out of his desk. He wanted a stick deal. So the deal I made with him was, I'll do every to so me and him had a deal. I mean, we worked together 15 years, dang near it. He knew I was quick out. Boom, boom. I took I took control. He never painted me in a corner. He always we worked deals together, and it was a brilliant relationship. And that's why we ran good numbers. And so that's why the way it should be, you know. You know, today we're here to sell cars. We sell cars and we service cars. I don't care if you're a porter or a dealer principal, we sell and service cars and help people. Like, let's get the ego out of the way, you know. So,

Paul J Daly: 14:53

so tell me about this book, the servant leading F and i Manager. It's not a book about F and I. I but it is tell us, like, give us a little summary. What's in here. You know,

Adam Marburger: 15:05

here's the F and I person. I'll call myself an F and i Manager. The F and I manager that I was in my 20s. Looks nothing like the F and I professional that I was in my 30s. And so I share stories of things, stories of the old way into the right way, and really how to embrace leadership and personal development. So it's all about becoming a better version of you, just not just because you can lift yourself, but you can lift others. So really, that's what this book's about, a serving and how an F and I department can truly serve every single department within the four walls of the four walls of the dealership, and build these relationships. And so it's just pretty I wrote it just because it was like, I felt like, not at the end of my career, but it's, you know, I haven't spun deals live in a store since, I think 2019 was the last time I took a retail transaction. So I wanted to, kind of like, finish my career with a manuscript of, you know, kind of my story,

Paul J Daly: 16:02

I like it, you know, key takeaways from from one of the chapters on leadership redefined. I mean, one of the what chapter is this, chapter 16, learn lead. Key takeaway, servant leadership is about prioritizing the development and well being of others. Leadership is a privilege and should be exercised with humility and integrity and then empowering your team and fostering their growth leads, leads to long term success. It sounds just like good leadership principle and rat in an F and I wrapper, yeah, and I've never, I've actually never heard someone say that if f and I is done right, it serves every single person in the dealership. I don't think people approach it that way. Yeah, you know why? Because you because, okay, I think, I think F and I okay. So just, we're gonna, you're gonna tell us why. We're gonna stereotype go. The stereotype is that f and I is isolated in a hallway where they make a ton of money and they don't want anybody to interfere with that. Yeah, the end, yeah, yeah, you're right. Like, if I'm a porter. What do they do in the F and I office? Yeah, they make a boatload of money. Don't bother them. Get them whatever they ask for. So one

Adam Marburger: 17:07

of the chapters in the book is about prima donnas. So that's, that's a chapter about old school F and I managers. I wrote it. I wrote it for old school F and I managers. But here's the thing here, F and I has the the ability. So here's what F and I really does. If you do your job right, your job is to get the customer happily engaged in service with products and services that wed them happily and then if service does what they do right, they come back to sales. It's a symbiotic relationship. So why would you not focus more on retention? See, I was never trained on retention. I was trained on more service contract, sales, higher PVR, higher PVR. It's about getting the customer happily engaged in service and having a pay plan that where F and I is compensated fairly. It needs to be fair to the dealer, the sales staff, the producer, fair pay plans that are product driven. We don't want weak F and I people do getting all the money in reserve and high gross and service contract. We need multiple products with fair spreads. We can have it all. So anyway, that's my talk on that. Sorry, it's a total

Kyle Mountsier: 18:18

different spin, because it's like, no, no. This is the last, this is the final effort to make sure this person has a great ownership experience, right?

Paul J Daly: 18:26

Because you can certainly ruin a great purchasing experience in the F and I office, yes, for sure. And you have somebody who should leave feeling excited and taken care of, they can leave there feeling like, oh my gosh, did I just make a mistake, especially the next day. Yeah, yeah. Need me no more. Put them in the box. We

Adam Marburger: 18:45

got to be honest, though. Yeah, we're getting that out, and it is an industry. We're just better. Without my retail friends that may see this like you can agree it's getting better. I bought a car a week ago and had the absolute best experience of my life buying a car. I bought a car. I'm gonna shout out Mongan ass, Lexus. Bought a new LS. I mean, the hospitality that. I mean, I was in and out of there. I didn't even, hadn't even driven the car yet. I expected to be there for three hours at least. Just because I was looking at a few, I was going to drive a handful because my eyes set up. I was there for 90 minutes through finance car detailed. I had three managers shake my hand, the F and I person was quick to the point transparent. Here's what it I was just I walked out of there, like, Yeah,

Paul J Daly: 19:36

this is how agree he walked out there. He was like, I'm gonna be out of a job. If everyone keeps doing it this way,

Adam Marburger: 19:42

I message, I messaged the dealer principal. I said, unreal experience. Google reviews are coming. And, yeah,

Kyle Mountsier: 19:49

I think, I think, and this is what we say. We keep saying we're like, I just think it auto is just a story that hasn't told its best side. You. And you that's all over the country, what you just said is not an isolated incident. Are there still bad actors? Absolutely, there's bad dentists, there's bad restaurants, there's bad anything, right? But the the but the prevailing narrative in auto that's actually untold is that dealers are getting way better. They are investing in trading. They are understanding retention. They are excellent at customer experience. They are reading books like unreasonable hospitality and Extreme Ownership and leaders talking

Paul J Daly: 20:33

about it and sharing about trying to outdo one another. Yeah.

Kyle Mountsier: 20:37

I mean, we, I went to dmsc. We are at ASOTU CON. Everybody at both of those was not interested in status quo.

Paul J Daly: 20:46

No,

Kyle Mountsier: 20:48

I'll tell you. I bet, I bet you, between those two events, there's 5000 retail rooftops represented, without a doubt, it's

Paul J Daly: 20:57

a third of the industry right there. You know what's terrifying to me. And you said it, and now I'm just going to think about it. There are bad dentists out there,

Kyle Mountsier: 21:16

and they still, they still get certifications every single year,

Paul J Daly: 21:21

certifications, and they suck, and they're going to take your money, and what are you going to do? Well,

Kyle Mountsier: 21:25

Adam, we see your passion, and I love that you're serving this particular part of the industry, because I think as we talked about the leadership side of our business, the management side of our business has not had continuing education, so I love that you're passionate about it, passionate clearly about F and I and its impact on the entire dealership. Thanks for spending a little bit of time with us. I know we'll talk to you here soon, and thanks for joining us on

Adam Marburger: 21:49

Auto Collabs. You guys rock. I appreciate you at a high level thing.

Kyle Mountsier: 21:57

You all haven't worked in a dealership, but I knew, and still know some F and I, prima donnas, listen, okay, Paul and these,

Paul J Daly: 22:08

I did work in a dealership. Okay, yeah, that's Michael Cirillo. Is the outcast here. And I just remember that the F and i Manager in the dealership I worked with, I could not, for the life of me, figure out why he seemed to have the most money and why everyone seemed to cater to him.

Kyle Mountsier: 22:29

That's a special it's a special talent. So, but I think you know what? What Adam is pointing out is that that way of thinking, so individualistically, is is is removing itself from the dealership ecosystem. We're seeing F and I managers become more leaders across the org, lean into the the rest of the organization's profitability and into the retention and thinking about the deal early and the consumer and and I appreciate what Adams tried to do in in make leaders out of f and I professionals, because I do think that's a place that can, they can see a lot of the store, you know, and think with a different perspective,

Michael Cirillo: 23:11

I'm not contributing anything out of protest. No. But you know what think about this, what you're saying, Kyle, makes all the sense in the world. Why? Because I would venture to say, of all the negative reviews about dealerships that exist in the world, it wasn't the sales process, it wasn't the test drive, it wasn't even getting to circle the number and initial it. It was the breakdown that happens in the handoff from the sales department to the F and I, because you, all of a sudden are invited into a glass cage, if you're lucky, to be in a dealership that has windows, and the F and I manager has their computer backing to you. You don't get to see what they're typing, and they're just doing all these things, and you have no clue, and there's so many questions. And then all of a sudden, because that rapport often is not established, they just, it seems as though they start hitting you, well, you're going to want this, you're going to want that. You're running, and most of the time, people feel bamboozled. It's by the numbers. I didn't get a good deal. Well, who's responsible for presenting all of that? It's the F and i Manager. And so one of the things that I've come to appreciate about Adam is his advocacy for personal leadership and personal accountability, and what that does to impact a customer's experience, how he explains things, why he chooses to explain certain things, because he knows, I think You said it Kyle in a past episode, you know, all of that goes it's a major contributor into retention, which is actually the easier part of exactly doing business. And so I've always appreciated the bat that about Adam. He's, he's a individual of tremendous self accountability, which I admire.

Kyle Mountsier: 24:59

Well, hey. We hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as we did on behalf of Paul J Daly, Michael Cirillo and myself. Kyle Mountsier, thanks for joining us on Auto Collabs.

Unknown: 25:08

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