ALPHERA Launches New Online F&I Excellence Training Programme

• New ‘Funding Essential Skills’ course delivered to delegates via digital pathway
• Enables F&I sales specialists to help customers make informed decisions about car finance
• Programme can serve as a refresher course for furloughed dealer sales staff, before UK showrooms re-open in April

ALPHERA Financial Services has launched a new finance and insurance (F&I) training programme, named ‘Funding Essential Skills’, that will be delivered to motor finance sales specialists online. The new digital course, aimed primarily at Sales Executives, is designed to help ensure all delegates have a solid understanding of finance products and deliver them to customers in a compliant way.

The online programme can also be used as a refresher course for dealer sales staff on furlough until showrooms re-open in April, to ensure they are able to present the features and benefits of each finance product clearly and transparently.

The ‘Funding Essential Skills’ course can be accessed at any time via the new ALPHERA website and covers three main e-learning modules; ‘Knowing the FCA and your responsibilities’, ‘Funding products for your Customers’ and ‘Qualifying and presenting funding’. Once each module has been completed, delegates will be assessed by an online validation. Upon successful completion, delegates receive a Professional Achievement Certificate from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) and Complimentary Affiliate Membership for one year.

Nick Hunt, Head of Partner Training at ALPHERA Financial Services commented: “We’ve all become more comfortable with digital platforms over the last 12 months, and there’s no reason why training platforms can’t also reflect changes in behaviour brought on by the pandemic. By moving our ‘Funding Essential Skills’ programme online, our delegates can complete the e-learning modules at any time of the day, making the training more flexible to fit in with lifestyles and work commitments, and to help dealer staffing levels.”

Kirk Franks, Head of National Sales at ALPHERA added: “This course is a fantastic opportunity to learn the basics of car finance, and also as a great refresher for any F&I specialist on furlough. The FCA won’t accept compromise when it comes to treating customers fairly in line with the new regulations, so it is the individual’s responsibility to make sure they’re back up-to-speed, but at a time that suits them thanks to the online nature of the course. We’ve already seen much interest from our Partners and we look forward to welcoming more delegates to help ensure a universal high level of competency when showrooms re-open.”

Once delegates complete the Funding Essential Skills programme and receive the Professional Achievement Certificate from the IMI, they can progress to the F&I Advisor – Pathway to IMI Accreditation programme. This accreditation scheme enables sales professionals to gain an industry-approved qualification and provides a platform for self-regulation to support compliance with FCA guidelines to further enhance customer confidence and trust.

Those interested in receiving more information about the ‘Funding Essential Skills’ programme should email imitraining@alphera.co.uk.

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About ALPHERA Financial Services

• Part of the BMW Group, the multiple award-winning ALPHERA Financial Services is based in Farnborough, Hampshire, and is celebrating its 15^th anniversary in the UK market in 2021.
• Founded on a customer-centric culture of innovation and a suite of market-leading commercial and consumer finance products, ALPHERA UK has grown consistently year-on-year and now supports over 2,000 broker, franchise and independent Partners for all marques (outside of BMW and MINI).
• Taking a lead in the premium space, ALPHERA is the captive finance provider for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Financial Services and Aston Martin Financial Services
• Worldwide, ALPHERA provides innovative vehicle finance solutions in more than 25 countries, including the USA, South Africa, Australia and Germany.