Wise F&I, which offers a full suite of finance and insurance products, announced on Monday that its products are now available to automotive retailers operating on the Reynolds and Reynolds dealership management system (DMS).

Dealers can leverage Wise F&I offerings through the product rating and booking (PRB) tool within a Reynolds DMS. The company explained this seamless access includes Wise F&I’s full suite of branded protection products, including GAPWise, WiseCARE, TIREWise, WiseTVP, THEFTWise and KEYWise.

With online capabilities such as eRating and eContracting, Wise F&I said this new access will provide accuracy and efficiency for the dealer and additional customer support for the vehicle buyer.

“Throughout 25 years in the automotive industry, Wise F&I has focused on providing the best automotive finance and insurance protection products to our clients and consumers,” said Matt Croak, president of Wise F&I.

“We’re pleased to be working more closely with Reynolds and Reynolds and expect this new enhancement between Wise F&I and the Reynolds Product Rating and Booking tool will enable our mutual dealership clients to more easily, efficiently, and accurately offer our branded protection products to their customers,” Croak continued.

In other company news, Wise F&I recently completed integration with OptionSoft Technologies that can allows dealers to access of Wise F&I products through one of the leading menu providers in the automotive software industry.

Wise F&I now has its full suite of branded products including GAPWise, WiseCARE, TIREWise, WiseTVP, THEFTWise and KEYWise, all available on the OptionSoft menu. The integration cab provides up-to-date pricing, speed and accuracy for the dealership.

Croak highlighted that Wise F&I and OptionSoft integration in turn can deliver a better vehicle buying experience.

“We are always looking at ways to create efficiencies and to better support the car buyer,” Croak said. “OptionSoft supports that through our products direct availability on their menu system.”

RoadVantage expands dealer training

RoadVantage recently launched what the company believes is a cutting-edge dealership training program optimized to help stores sell to today’s Internet-educated shoppers.

“Today’s dealership customers are a new breed of savvy — their shopping habits have evolved radically in the last decade,” said Garret Lacour, founder and chief executive officer of RoadVantage. “Dealership practices must evolve accordingly.”

RoadVantage is offering F&I and sales operations training in partnership with The Academy, an Austin, Texas-based training center that has developed a curriculum specifically designed with today’s Internet-educated consumer in mind.

“The Academy's uniquely developed process recognizes that a shift in mentality and focus is necessary in the face of today's more informed customers,” said Tony Dupaquier, director of The Academy. “Post-training surveys indicate that students who attend The Academy experience higher closing ratios, profit margins and CSI scores.”

The RoadVantage Dealer Training Program includes workshops for personnel at all levels within F&I and sales operations. The comprehensive training covers a wide range of topics and can take place onsite at the dealership, or at The Academy’s state-of-the-art training facility in Austin, Texas.

Self-paced online training modules are also offered.

“Everyone knows consumers are researching and shopping online, so it’s time we equip dealers with the tools they need to effectively reach them,” Lacour said. “This is a big initiative of ours. Last fall we created free online videos, available to all dealers nationwide, to drive consumer awareness of F&I programs before they go into the dealership to purchase their vehicle.

“Alongside our free online dealer videos, our new dealer training program is another example of how we are working to help dealers provide a better customer experience,” Lacour went on to say.

The free dealer videos are available on the RoadVantage YouTube channel.

More information on the RoadVantage Training Program can be found at http://roadvantage.com/training.