TORRANCE — Organizers of F&I and Showroom’s annual conference have added Joe Castle to the 2012 agenda. The CEO of Chicago-based Castle Auto Group will reveal how he established a better connection between his operation and today’s Internet customer without disrupting F&I.

Castle, who appeared on the cover of the magazine’s April 2012 cover, will present “Check the Connection: Linking F&I to Today’s Internet Customer” on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 4:30 p.m. This year’s conference is being held Sept. 10-12 at the Paris Las Vegas.

“Joe really gets it,” said Gregory Arroyo, editor of F&I and Showroom magazine and advisory board chairman for Industry Summit 2012. “People keep talking about how F&I needs to adjust, but Joe has done the opposite and proven that a connection can be made between what today’s customer wants and F&I profitability.”

As detailed in the magazine’s April cover story, Castle implemented his digital and social media strategy six years ago, and turned around his two zero-grossing stores into $5.2 million-a-year operations. More importantly, his Internet sales process hasn’t hampered the profitability of his F&I producers, which average $1,200 per copy and claim acceptance rates of 50 percent for both GAP and service contracts.

“You still need to give F&I the time it needs to build relationships; there shouldn’t be any shortcutting of that process,” he told the magazine. “And customers are so happy with the experience that they want to buy F&I products.”

Castle will cover a host of topics during his hour-long presentation, including new social networking techniques his stores employ to capture a customer’s financing and, ultimately, the deal.

“The Internet customer is a big topic these days, but Joe will show attendees why F&I plays such a key role in a dealership’s online strategy,” Arroyo added. “Joe also is one of several dealers we’ve invited this year to lead the conference’s educational sessions.”