How Dealers Use Virtual F&I to Improve Coverage and Customer Experience

The Challenge

As the dealership continued to grow, leadership reached a point where traditional staffing was no longer flexible enough to support daily operations.

They were balancing several competing demands at once:

• Fluctuating deal volume throughout the week
• Limited F&I coverage during peak times and schedule changes
• Ongoing responsibility to protect compliance and documentation quality
• Team members at different stages of growth, requiring flexibility to both develop future F&I talent and redeploy experienced F&I leaders into other departments without creating coverage gaps

Hiring the right F&I talent at the right time was becoming more difficult, and stretching existing staff created risk across both performance and compliance.

How Virtual F&I Was Implemented

To support its F&I process, Jimmy Smith Auto Group adopted On-Demand Virtual F&I, leveraging JM&A Group associates to assist with F&I delivery when coverage was needed.

Rather than changing how the dealership operated, Virtual F&I was layered into existing workflows. JM&A Group associates followed the dealership's established menus, product offerings, lender requirements, and documentation standards.

This approach allowed the dealership to add support while maintaining control of the customer experience and ownership of the transaction.

The Two Virtual F&I Models

JM&A Group offers two Virtual F&I models, each designed to support coverage in a different way, depending on how a dealership is structured and staffed.

Some dealers use one model exclusively. Others begin with one and evolve over time.

On-Demand Virtual F&I

With On-Demand Virtual F&I, JM&A Group associates are available to step in and deliver the F&I portion of a deal when coverage is needed.

This model is typically used when:

• An in-store F&I manager is unavailable
• Deal volume exceeds in-store capacity
• Coverage is needed during evenings, weekends or time away

JM&A Group associates handle the F&I presentations and disclosures virtually, following the dealership’s menus, product offerings, lender requirements, and documentation standards. The dealership retains control of the transaction and customer relationship while gaining flexible, on-call support.

Centralized Virtual F&I

With Centralized Virtual F&I, the dealership builds its own in-house virtual F&I team, supported and trained by JM&A Group.

This model is often used by:

• Dealer groups with multiple rooftops
• Stores looking to centralize F&I delivery
• Organizations that want one team supporting multiple locations

F&I managers work from a central location and deliver deals virtually to multiple stores as needed, allowing coverage to scale across rooftops while maintaining internal control.

Supporting Coverage During Staffing Changes

One of the most immediate benefits of Virtual F&I was the ability to maintain coverage as staffing needs evolved.

With Virtual F&I in place:

• Experienced F&I managers could step into sales leadership roles when needed
• Product presentations remained consistent during high-volume periods
• Coverage was maintained during peak times while long-term staffing needs continued to be evaluated

This flexibility allowed leadership to allocate talent more effectively without compromising performance.

Using Virtual F&I to Develop Internal Dealership Talent

Virtual F&I also became a useful training tool for the dealership.

Team members were able to:

• Observe live F&I deliveries to understand product presentation
• Learn the full deal flow by participating in real transactions
• Gradually take on greater responsibility as their experience increased

On-Demand Virtual F&I allowed the dealership to support development while protecting deal quality and compliance.

Why Compliance Was a Key Benefit

Compliance stood out as one of the most valuable benefits of Virtual F&I.

With a structured delivery approach in place, required steps were completed the same way each time, and documentation followed dealership standards. This reduced the need for corrections and increased confidence across the transaction process.

How Virtual F&I Was Introduced In-Store

Clear communication with customers helped support adoption.

The sales team focused on explaining the Virtual F&I process early in the deal, before customers reached the finance portion of the transaction. Customers understood where the F&I conversation would take place and what to expect.

This approach helped Virtual F&I integrate smoothly into the buying process and reduced friction during delivery.

Measurable Results From Using Virtual F&I

By adopting On-Demand Virtual F&I, Jimmy Smith Auto Group was able to:

• Maintain F&I coverage during busy periods
• Support internal development without compromising performance
• Strengthen documentation accuracy
• Increase confidence in compliance execution
• Create a smoother, more predictable delivery process

Rather than serving as a temporary solution, Virtual F&I became an integrated part of daily operations.

Takeaways for Other Dealerships

Jimmy Smith Auto Group’s experience shows that Virtual F&I can do more than fill coverage gaps. VFI gave leadership the flexibility to redeploy experienced F&I managers into other roles, maintain a repeatable compliance process, and develop future F&I talent without disrupting daily operations.

For dealerships that need flexibility without sacrificing control or performance, Virtual F&I fits into existing operations rather than forcing a new process.