How Oakes Auto Group Builds F&I Talent From the Inside Out

Most dealership groups looking to grow run into the same wall. It's not a lack of capital — it's a lack of people ready to run stores and step into leadership roles.

That's the challenge Corporate Finance Director Joe St. John set out to solve when he joined Oakes Auto Group. And based on the numbers, his approach is working.

From Digital Retailing to the Showroom

Joe St. John came to Oakes Auto with a background in digital retailing, including an early role as an investor and adopter at Autofi, before returning to the dealership world. Since joining our team, he's brought his F&I expertise to many initiatives, including spearheading the creation of the Oakes Auto Finance Academy.

Building the Talent Pipeline

The shortage of qualified F&I Managers isn't unique to Oakes Auto. It's an industry-wide problem — and our answer is to stop waiting for the right hire to walk in and start developing that person from within.

New hires at Oakes learn a defined process from day one. They sell in a specific way. And if they hit the right benchmarks, they become eligible for our Finance Academy & Management in Training program.

The bar is high by design. Candidates must maintain a 21-car-per-month sales average, complete daily F&I training, attend a week-long bootcamp as part of the Oakes Auto Finance Academy, and participate in weekly sessions every Friday at 7:00 a.m. The last four F&I manager promotions at Oakes came directly from within the program. Daily training is reinforced through RockEd, an AI-powered role-play platform built for automotive retail.

It's a system that filters for commitment — and produces people who already know how Oakes operates before they ever run a deal.

Transparency as the F&I Strategy

St. John's F&I process starts before the customer ever steps into the finance office. Salespeople close on a base payment on the showroom floor, then hand off cleanly to F&I. No inflated numbers, no games.

In the F&I office, the presentation is built around a single-column menu — one package that includes everything, then items are removed based on what fits the customer's needs. It's a structure designed to reduce confusion, build trust, and make it easier for customers to say yes.

Reimagining Remote F&I

Remote F&I is nothing new — but the way most stores execute it leaves opportunities on the table. St. John's fix was straightforward: get the customer on camera.

Instead of handling remote deals by phone, Oakes sends customers a Google Meet link and conducts a full F&I presentation over video. F&I managers present on iPads, handwriting the deal on screen while the customer watches in real time and can ask questions. Documents are signed via a DocuSign link sent directly to the customer's phone.

St. John frames the video component to customers as identity verification and fraud prevention — which it is — and customers respond well to the transparency.

The added benefit: one F&I manager can work deals across multiple Oakes locations, making the remote model a scaling tool as we continue to grow.

The Foundation Behind the Results

Whether the deal is done in person or over video, our philosophy stays the same. When everyone in the building — from the lot porter to the dealer principal — understands their role is to serve the customer, F&I performs at its peak.

It's a straightforward idea. But building the process, the people, and the culture to back it up is what separates the stores that talk about results from the ones posting them.

Joe St. John, Corporate Finance Director at Oakes Auto, joined host Adam Marburger on CBT News' Training Camp podcast to discuss the Oakes Auto talent development model, F&I process, and remote delivery approach in full. Listen to the full episode at cbtnews.com.