The Coaching Program
The Art of F&I™ Coaching Program
If you've been in F&I long enough, you've noticed something: the harder your managers push, the more customers push back. The Art of F&I™ Coaching Program is built around a different premise — that trust is the only objection-handler that actually works.
Most F&I training programs are structured around the same fundamental assumption: that the primary obstacle to a successful F&I interaction is the objection. Train the manager to handle the objection more skillfully, and the deal closes. But this assumption is wrong — and it's why the same programs have produced the same results for decades.
The real obstacle isn't the objection. It's the state of mind the customer arrives in. When a buyer enters the F&I office, their nervous system has already registered a threat. Traditional training hands your manager a script — and every scripted response that follows confirms every fear the customer brought through the door. The Art of F&I™ Coaching Program addresses the problem at the source.
Who This Is For
This program is designed for active F&I managers who are serious about producing lasting improvement — not a short-term spike. It's also the right fit for General Managers and Dealer Principals who have sent their teams through conventional training programs, watched the numbers improve briefly, and then watched them settle back to where they were.
If you've been in F&I and you've started to feel that the approach you were taught doesn't quite fit today's customer — the customer who arrives already knowing your invoice price, your dealer reserve cap, and your VSC markup — this program was written for you.
What You Get
The program combines foundational study with direct coaching. Participants receive The Art of F&I™ book and work through the 8-module training curriculum built directly from its methodology. That curriculum covers the full range of trust-based F&I: the neuroscience of customer defensiveness, the failure of word-tracks, how to read yellow-light signals before a conversation goes sideways, the difference between talking and being understood, and the science of framing.
Most importantly, the program includes direct, personal coaching sessions with Lloyd Trushel. Not a pre-recorded video series. Not a group seminar with Q&A at the end. One-on-one coaching, customized to your dealership's culture, your managers' specific patterns, and the customers your store actually serves.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from traditional F&I training?
Traditional F&I training is built around word-tracks and objection-handling scripts. The Art of F&I™ Coaching Program rejects that approach entirely. Instead of handing managers a new set of memorized responses, we work to fundamentally change how they think about customer interaction — using the Fight-or-Flight Framework™ to understand why customers are defensive and how to genuinely lower that defensiveness. The result is behavioral change that lasts, not a script that expires the moment a customer goes off-script.
Will this work for a new F&I manager?
Yes — in some ways, new F&I managers benefit even more from this program because they haven't yet built the habits that conventional training instills. That said, the program is designed to be effective for experienced managers as well, particularly those who have noticed that their current approach isn't producing the results it once did. Whether you're brand new to the box or have years of experience, the Fight-or-Flight Framework™ gives you a practical foundation for every customer conversation.
Does F&IQ teach word-tracks?
No. This is the most fundamental difference between F&IQ and every other F&I training program. Word-tracks are scripted responses designed to overcome specific objections. F&IQ's position is that scripted responses are counterproductive — they signal inauthenticity to customers who are already in a heightened state of distrust, and they confirm the exact fears that brought customers into the F&I office defensive in the first place. We teach principles, not scripts.
How long does it take to see results?
Most managers begin to notice shifts in customer interactions within the first few weeks of applying the Fight-or-Flight Framework™. Meaningful, measurable changes in product acceptance and CSI scores typically emerge over the course of one to three months. The program is designed for sustained behavioral change — not a quick spike — so results compound over time rather than fading after a seminar high.
What does the coaching program include?
The program includes The Art of F&I™ book, an 8-module training curriculum built directly from the book's methodology, direct coaching sessions with Lloyd Trushel, and a customized approach tailored to your dealership's culture and customer base. Lloyd is a 30-year F&I veteran, AFIP and ACE certified, and the author of The Art of F&I: Conversations from The Box.
Ready to Change the Conversation?
The Art of F&I™ Coaching Program gives your team a complete system for earning trust, reading customers, and building the kind of F&I experience that creates lifetime buyers.