Jeff Jagoe, SVP, Sales and Marketing

How do you define a "combo product"?

More of a concept than a product, IAS offers dealers the ability to bundle two or more IAS F&I products as a packaged deal on a single form with a single price. This completely customizable program, called Multi-Shield, utilizes a mix and match approach to meet dealership and customer needs and the perfect F&I price point.

What types of products are you including in your combo packages today? Why?

IAS sells programs that include any combination of the most popular F&I products available today including tire and wheel, dent repair, windshield repair and replacement, key replacement, rips tears burns, cosmetic wheel scratch repair and a number of other products that can be packaged to offer maximum protection at the best value.

Multi-Shield has practically limitless combinations because different dealers want the ability to offer a variety of customer benefits depending on the type of car being sold and clientele that is represented. For example, a high-line store with high performance wheels will sell more cosmetic wheel repair than a non high-line dealership with standard class wheels.

What are your top reasons behind offering combo products? What, if any, reasons would you have to not offer them?

Simply stated, Multi-Shield adds value for the consumer, making it not only a popular product, but one that is easy to sell. Just like within a vehicle service contract (VSC) that offers more engine component coverage, Multi-Shield offers more tangible consumer benefits. But unlike a VSC, Multi-Shield doesn’t have to compete with manufacturer’s warranties, making it easier to sell. Plus, the benefits cover every day losses, such as grocery store door dings, lost keys and potholes, making Multi-Shield like a mini service contract, covering everything the manufacturer does not.

Is the sales process for a combo product different than for an individual product? Can you give an example?

One of the most attractive sales benefits of Multi-Shield is that although the consumer is receiving multi benefits, it does not take up multiple boxes on the menu. Since Multi-Shield is one program with multiple benefits, it frees up real estate on the menu, making it appear less cluttered and easier for the consumer to follow.

Do you believe the combo product strategy will evolve in the future? What types of product combos do you anticipate in the next 2-5 years?

Multi-Shield continues to thrive because it provides such a real value that consumers are likely to buy. A service contract can cover how well your car has been built, but Multi-Shield will protect how well your car is treated.

In the future, we foresee TAP, our new Trade Assurance Plus program, which is like GAP for trades, becoming part of a combo package presentation with GAP. It fits into the combo program because they both share loss benefits with different triggers. It happens to be so much like GAP that you can package-sell the program, all the while maintaining separate forms for flexibility.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Overall, combo programs are a great back up plan for F&I managers who aren’t selling VSCs because it offers coverage for all the reasons they didn’t buy a VSC. And for that reason alone, we feel combo programs will continue to grow and thrive in F&I.