ABOUT
CRAIG GRIFFITH
A dealer's perspective. An F&I manager's experience. A trainer's approach.
Craig Griffith's approach to F&I was shaped by years of experience from inside the dealership—not from the outside looking in.
He has lived the pressure of running dealerships, sat in the F&I manager's chair, and spent years coaching the people who do the job every day. That experience gives him a practical understanding of what dealers face, what F&I managers face, and what it takes to improve performance while enhancing the customer experience.
EXPERIENCE THAT COMES FROM ALL SIDES OF THE DESK
18
YEARS AS AN AUTOMOBILE DEALER
17
YEARS AS AN F&I TRAINER
8
YEARS AS AN F&I MANAGER
Craig's experience isn't limited to one seat in the dealership. He has experienced the business from multiple perspectives, giving him a practical understanding of what dealers expect, what F&I managers face, and what it takes to turn training into better performance.
That perspective is at the heart of Performance Finance Group.
Craig Knows the Dealer's Side of the Desk.
Craig has bought, sold, and operated automobile dealerships and served on the board of directors of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association. His own dealerships performed at the top of their 20 Groups for F&I profitability and within their dealer regions.
But perhaps one of the most important lessons Craig learned came from a time when one of his own dealerships was struggling.
During a 20 Group meeting, the numbers made it clear that his fixed operations needed attention. The other dealers around the table recognized the problem and encouraged Craig to take action. They helped him see what needed to change and, more importantly, helped point him toward the right kind of help.
Craig accepted it.
The right help can be much easier to accept—and much more effective—than trying to solve everything yourself.
That experience continues to influence how Craig works with dealers today.
The Person in the Chair Matters.
Most dealers understand that F&I is important. The challenge is maintaining that same level of attention to the person responsible for the department's results.
When a finance manager leaves, the immediate priority is often simply to get someone back in the chair. The staffing problem is solved, the fire is put out, and the dealership moves on to the next challenge.
But training should not move to the back burner just because the position is filled.
A dealership wouldn't hire a highly skilled service technician, put the person to work, and then decide that continuing training was no longer important. The same commitment should be made to the professional responsible for generating profit on every retail transaction.
Filling the chair is only the beginning. Developing the person is where the opportunity begins.
THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE APPROACH
Craig's experience working throughout the United States and Canada with Pat Ryan & Associates helped shape his foundational understanding of dealership F&I and the evolution of the F&I profit center.
But one idea has stayed with him throughout his career.
Craig often speaks to dealer groups about a line he first encountered from Joe Verde's Selling Cars Today:
“Sales are made or lost by a few words, not by a few dollars.”
That idea continues to shape the way Craig approaches F&I training.
The goal isn't to push harder. It isn't to make a presentation more aggressive or make customers feel pressured. In fact, it is quite the contrary. It is to help F&I professionals communicate more effectively, create greater value, and have conversations that customers can understand and trust.
Better conversations lead to better results.
Your Dealership Isn't Cookie-Cutter. Your F&I Training Shouldn't Be Either.
Every dealership has different people, processes, strengths, and opportunities.
Performance Finance Group starts by understanding what is actually happening in your F&I department—not by handing you another generic training program.
From there, a customized coaching plan is built around your specific opportunity, your people, and the results you want to achieve.
Find the Opportunity.
Build the Plan.
Coach the People.
Create Results.
100%
Finance Department Absorption
Some Performance Finance Group clients have achieved 100% Finance Department Absorption—meaning the Finance Department's gross income can cover the dealership's total fixed overhead expenses.
Think about what that means.
The Finance Department isn't simply contributing to the bottom line. It can potentially carry the dealership's fixed operating overhead.
More Than Training.
Craig’s relationships with dealers often last for years.
He still stops to visit dealers he has known for decades—including dealers who have implemented training, dealers who postponed it, and even dealers who have told him they probably should have done something years ago but kept putting it off.
Craig understands why.
Dealerships are busy. There is always another employee to hire, another problem to solve, another fire to put out, and another month-end statement to review.
But F&I doesn’t stop producing—or failing to produce—because the dealership is busy.
Every vehicle creates another opportunity.
Craig’s job is to help dealers recognize that opportunity, understand what may be getting in the way, and determine what to do with it.
The opportunity is deciding what you do with it.
THE GOAL IS SIMPLE.
Performance Finance Group was created to help dealerships strengthen one of their greatest opportunities for improvement—the F&I department.
Our business is F&I training and coaching.
We do not sell F&I products.
We are not a product vendor, and we are not asking you to replace the relationships you already have with the companies you trust.
Many dealerships already have a product partner they are happy with. That is perfectly fine.
Performance Finance Group works alongside those relationships by focusing on the people, the process, and the customer conversation that determine how effectively the F&I department performs.
The goal is straightforward:
Better F&I performance while enhancing the customer experience.
Your Goal Is Your Decision.
Maybe your goal is another $200 per car.
Maybe it’s 2X your current performance.
Maybe it’s 3X.
Maybe your goal is 100% Finance Department Absorption.
Craig doesn’t need to tell you what your goal should be.
You decide what success looks like for your dealership.
His job is to understand where you are today, where you want to go, and determine whether Performance Finance Group can help you get there.
What Dealers Often Say After They Experience the Difference.
“We should have done this long ago.”
“We kept saying we'd do something about it next year.”
“Didn't cost us anything. Made us more.”
“My reluctance was getting in my way.”
“Best move I've made.”
“It was easier than I thought.”
“We thought your company was a products-based company.”
“The approach is easy, conversational, and not confrontational.”
LET'S TALK.
Your dealership is different. Your people are different. Your opportunities are different.
Your F&I training should be, too.