Many dealers across the United States will be closing out a great month of sales today and all of you should be congratulated for the efforts put forth.  It’s not over yet.  The great news is that we still have this wonderful Saturday to dig down deep and make it a month we haven’t seen in some time. Again, well done.

Now that we lived that moment for a few seconds, what is your game plan for April? Do you have one? Do you approach the day wondering what will become of it or do you approach the day having a pretty good idea what will become of it? Are you spot on with every customer interaction, product presentations and handling objections the proper way rather than on the defensive?

I have noticed over the years, in all capacities, that customer’s objections haven’t changed much yet dealer personnel still stumble many times when challenged. Especially in one of our biggest profit centers:  The F&I office.

Most of the objections we are confronted with can fall in one of the four categories:

• Affordability
• Product Misconceptions / Lack of Information
• Need Perception
• Fear Of Making Poor Decision

This upcoming week is one of my favorites for sports ending with The Masters golf tournament so naturally I have to throw in a sports analogy.  Imagine you are the basketball coach for one of the Final Four teams playing.  It is your job to prepare and condition your “team” in the fundamentals, develop a winning game plan and execute that plan properly.  A big part of this game plan is to know what your team will be up against.  If your team has been beaten by the same four plays, game after game, you need to start questioning ability.  To all the F&I professionals out there, you have watched the game films, gathered your important information and also had a chance to see the playbook ahead of time.  How do you plan to win?

It is very important to understand how customers like to make a purchase.  Intangible products sold in F&I are made by a transfer of beliefs and enthusiasm mainly, in my opinion.  It involves a super star presentation that is based on solid product knowledge developed with empathy for the customer.  If you approach your presentation in this manner, you will sell the way they want to purchase.  Your customer’s are buying a majority of the time because they want to, not because they need to.  I can think back on many occasions when I have put off making a purchase on something that I needed but didn’t want, compared to how many times I have purchased something I wanted but didn’t need.  Anyone else? I think selling is more motivational rather than persuasive and knowing that will help close more sales.  We have heard over and over that people make a purchase when their perception of value exceeds the “cost.”  Cost can be in terms of money, time or aggravation.  Without a perceived need, all of the features and benefits of any product create no value and without value, no pricing will be cheap enough for the customer in front of you.

You see, each time a purchase is made; an internal conflict takes place with an emotional desire to have the product and the fear of paying too much or being taken advantage of by the seller.  Customers then search for answers to help resolve this conflict by a series of questions listed below but not limited to:

• Do I or can I trust this sales person?
• Reputation of company?
• Will the product serve my needs?
• Does value exceed price?
• Do I want it now?

Looking at these questions, we need to ask ourselves if these are logical or emotional decisions.  Is there any logic in trust?  The customer may have your trust but their spouse may not.  Your dealership’s reputation is subjective too.  This is definitely an emotional thought process and value is the customer’s personal judgment.  Customers are buying emotionally with just enough logic to justify their decision.  Knowing this, is your F&I presentation built solely on facts, features and benefits?  Many times I can remember as an F&I manager thinking if I can explain enough features and benefits, I will close on more products.  Then “menu selling” made its way into our dealerships that taught F&I managers to present 100% of products, 100% of the time to 100% of the customers.  Now please don’t get me wrong, I believe features and benefits along with a proper F&I menu presentation are key but “value” is created only when the product presented fulfills a desire or solves a problem.

With all this in mind, presenting that beautiful, well-prepared F&I menu and overloading your customer with features and benefits will only get you so far.  Sure you are going to sell a few products but you will definitely end up with even more lost opportunities unless you, the F&I manager, take the time to sell yourself and the dealership.  It’s time to truly identify “buying motivations” and demonstrate how the products presented can satisfy your customer’s perceived need.  If you help your customer answer the five questions I mentioned earlier in a positive way, you will increase your chances of closing on more products.  Only then will you no longer be in a win or lose situation with the customer but both of you will have won with you closing on more products and helping the customer by solving a problem.

Close strong and make it a great April 2012.

Many dealers across the United States will be closing out a great month of sales today and all of you should be congratulated for the efforts put forth.  It’s not over yet.  The great news is that we still have this wonderful Saturday to dig down deep and make it a month we haven’t seen in some time. Again, well done.

Now that we lived that moment for a few seconds, what is your game plan for April? Do you have one? Do you approach the day wondering what will become of it or do you approach the day having a pretty good idea what will become of it? Are you spot on with every customer interaction, product presentations and handling objections the proper way rather than on the defensive?

I have noticed over the years, in all capacities, that customer’s objections haven’t changed much yet dealer personnel still stumble many times when challenged. Especially in one of our biggest profit centers:  The F&I office.

Most of the objections we are confronted with can fall in one of the four categories:

• Affordability
• Product Misconceptions / Lack of Information
• Need Perception
• Fear Of Making Poor Decision

This upcoming week is one of my favorites for sports ending with The Masters golf tournament so naturally I have to throw in a sports analogy.  Imagine you are the basketball coach for one of the Final Four teams playing.  It is your job to prepare and condition your “team” in the fundamentals, develop a winning game plan and execute that plan properly.  A big part of this game plan is to know what your team will be up against.  If your team has been beaten by the same four plays, game after game, you need to start questioning ability.  To all the F&I professionals out there, you have watched the game films, gathered your important information and also had a chance to see the playbook ahead of time.  How do you plan to win?

It is very important to understand how customers like to make a purchase.  Intangible products sold in F&I are made by a transfer of beliefs and enthusiasm mainly, in my opinion.  It involves a super star presentation that is based on solid product knowledge developed with empathy for the customer.  If you approach your presentation in this manner, you will sell the way they want to purchase.  Your customer’s are buying a majority of the time because they want to, not because they need to.  I can think back on many occasions when I have put off making a purchase on something that I needed but didn’t want, compared to how many times I have purchased something I wanted but didn’t need.  Anyone else? I think selling is more motivational rather than persuasive and knowing that will help close more sales.  We have heard over and over that people make a purchase when their perception of value exceeds the “cost.”  Cost can be in terms of money, time or aggravation.  Without a perceived need, all of the features and benefits of any product create no value and without value, no pricing will be cheap enough for the customer in front of you.

You see, each time a purchase is made; an internal conflict takes place with an emotional desire to have the product and the fear of paying too much or being taken advantage of by the seller.  Customers then search for answers to help resolve this conflict by a series of questions listed below but not limited to:

• Do I or can I trust this sales person?
• Reputation of company?
• Will the product serve my needs?
• Does value exceed price?
• Do I want it now?

Looking at these questions, we need to ask ourselves if these are logical or emotional decisions.  Is there any logic in trust?  The customer may have your trust but their spouse may not.  Your dealership’s reputation is subjective too.  This is definitely an emotional thought process and value is the customer’s personal judgment.  Customers are buying emotionally with just enough logic to justify their decision.  Knowing this, is your F&I presentation built solely on facts, features and benefits?  Many times I can remember as an F&I manager thinking if I can explain enough features and benefits, I will close on more products.  Then “menu selling” made its way into our dealerships that taught F&I managers to present 100% of products, 100% of the time to 100% of the customers.  Now please don’t get me wrong, I believe features and benefits along with a proper F&I menu presentation are key but “value” is created only when the product presented fulfills a desire or solves a problem.

With all this in mind, presenting that beautiful, well-prepared F&I menu and overloading your customer with features and benefits will only get you so far.  Sure you are going to sell a few products but you will definitely end up with even more lost opportunities unless you, the F&I manager, take the time to sell yourself and the dealership.  It’s time to truly identify “buying motivations” and demonstrate how the products presented can satisfy your customer’s perceived need.  If you help your customer answer the five questions I mentioned earlier in a positive way, you will increase your chances of closing on more products.  Only then will you no longer be in a win or lose situation with the customer but both of you will have won with you closing on more products and helping the customer by solving a problem.

Close strong and make it a great April 2012.

BDC / Internet operations are near and dear to my heart and I wanted to post this article I wrote for the DrivingSales Dealership Innovation Guide 3rd Quarter 2011 [ http://goo.gl/Lxu8t ] for those who may have missed it:

"How many customers do you lock in your showroom at night?"

This is a question that I enjoy asking dealer contacts around the country when I hear there is not a process in place or a process isn’t followed consistently to respond to customers on the other end of the telephone or the internet.  Believe it or not, as many of us are running full speed with our BDC departments and have been for years, there are still dealers around the country that either do not have such a department or have a half-functioning one.  For those dealers that fall into the latter two categories, it is time to step back, take a deep breath, and get a plan together to maximize on the opportunities that are there just as a customer standing in the showroom.  I have a strong passion for BDC department operations as many of you already know and my goal is to get dealers to read, get the ball rolling for their store and achieve immediate results.  To many, this article may seem elementary but every dealer isn’t running at the same pace.  My goal is to get more dealers in the race.  It is incremental business that is being missed.  Complacency has no home in automotive retail and nobody wants to be left behind.  The good news is that it isn’t too late.

I am a firm believer that the customer standing in the showroom and the customer sitting at home on their computer or calling the dealership on their telephone is no different from one another.  Yet I still see or hear about it happening everyday that the customer at home gets pushed to the back burner until actual showroom floor traffic dies down or maybe not even responded to at all.  Why does this happen? Is it lack of phone training or poor follow up skills? Or is it that old school mentality of unless the customer is standing in front of you they aren’t a serious buyer?  It is probably a little bit of all of the above.  The truth is that almost all customers that eventually walk into the showroom have already been on the Internet researching, comparing and gathering all of the necessary information that they require until comfortable enough to call or pay the dealership a visit.  By putting a BDC department in place and managed right, a dealership will significantly increase appointments which will lead to increased showroom traffic.  So why not “up” the customer before they arrive and increase the chances greatly of closing the sale?  The excitement and energy put forth with the customer on the lot should be just the same with the customer online or by telephone.

Now that it has been established that there isn’t any difference between the customer at home and the customer standing in the showroom, it is now time to have the desire to focus more attention on the BDC department in the dealership and commit to it.  Going through the motions and responding to leads only one time with a price quote will not do a bit of good.  If I were in the market for a product and every company I contacted sent me a price quote when I inquired in general, I would keep shopping until I eventually got the lowest price and all others would never hear from me again.  The goal is to sell the appointment and not the vehicle.  It is very hard to build value in something over email. If the customer does not provide a phone number and requests information, a call to action to the telephone should be clear asking the customer to call the dealership so the information requested can be discussed in detail. 

Proper phone training is needed in order to consistently sell the appointment and have the customer actually show up.  Just as there is a process and steps to the sale with the showroom customer, there should be a process and steps to the appointment once the customer is on the phone.  There are many call guides available to help pace the customer and keep control of the phone call also in which selling the value of the dealership can be included.  Please remember they are guides and should be followed but do not remove personality from the equation.  When on the phone, never stop smiling.  Customers can hear that smile over the telephone and it makes for a better phone call experience for both parties hands down.  Phone skills are the most important and dealers should be sure to have the right staff in this position.

I am sure by now dealers reading are pumped up and feel the excitement they will create when going full force with the BDC department.  It is a full time job and should be staffed as such.  It’s time to stay focused, do a virtual walk-thru of your website and make sure all inventory has pictures with the most up to date information.  We are in July and nobody is interested in the sale that went on during the second week of June.  The website should be monitored daily.

Finally, be prompt in getting the information back to the customer and answer their questions.  One thing I dislike is someone ignoring a question I asked in the beginning.  The more times a customer has to ask the same question, the less likely they will ever step foot into the showroom.  One of the biggest complaints from customers is not getting a response at all from the dealership they inquired with.  That is the same thing as going home at night and locking a customer in the showroom.   

What current processes do you have in place that are working well? 

BDC / Internet operations are near and dear to my heart and I wanted to post this article I wrote for the DrivingSales Dealership Innovation Guide 3rd Quarter 2011 [ http://goo.gl/Lxu8t ] for those who may have missed it:

"How many customers do you lock in your showroom at night?"

This is a question that I enjoy asking dealer contacts around the country when I hear there is not a process in place or a process isn’t followed consistently to respond to customers on the other end of the telephone or the internet.  Believe it or not, as many of us are running full speed with our BDC departments and have been for years, there are still dealers around the country that either do not have such a department or have a half-functioning one.  For those dealers that fall into the latter two categories, it is time to step back, take a deep breath, and get a plan together to maximize on the opportunities that are there just as a customer standing in the showroom.  I have a strong passion for BDC department operations as many of you already know and my goal is to get dealers to read, get the ball rolling for their store and achieve immediate results.  To many, this article may seem elementary but every dealer isn’t running at the same pace.  My goal is to get more dealers in the race.  It is incremental business that is being missed.  Complacency has no home in automotive retail and nobody wants to be left behind.  The good news is that it isn’t too late.

I am a firm believer that the customer standing in the showroom and the customer sitting at home on their computer or calling the dealership on their telephone is no different from one another.  Yet I still see or hear about it happening everyday that the customer at home gets pushed to the back burner until actual showroom floor traffic dies down or maybe not even responded to at all.  Why does this happen? Is it lack of phone training or poor follow up skills? Or is it that old school mentality of unless the customer is standing in front of you they aren’t a serious buyer?  It is probably a little bit of all of the above.  The truth is that almost all customers that eventually walk into the showroom have already been on the Internet researching, comparing and gathering all of the necessary information that they require until comfortable enough to call or pay the dealership a visit.  By putting a BDC department in place and managed right, a dealership will significantly increase appointments which will lead to increased showroom traffic.  So why not “up” the customer before they arrive and increase the chances greatly of closing the sale?  The excitement and energy put forth with the customer on the lot should be just the same with the customer online or by telephone.

Now that it has been established that there isn’t any difference between the customer at home and the customer standing in the showroom, it is now time to have the desire to focus more attention on the BDC department in the dealership and commit to it.  Going through the motions and responding to leads only one time with a price quote will not do a bit of good.  If I were in the market for a product and every company I contacted sent me a price quote when I inquired in general, I would keep shopping until I eventually got the lowest price and all others would never hear from me again.  The goal is to sell the appointment and not the vehicle.  It is very hard to build value in something over email. If the customer does not provide a phone number and requests information, a call to action to the telephone should be clear asking the customer to call the dealership so the information requested can be discussed in detail. 

Proper phone training is needed in order to consistently sell the appointment and have the customer actually show up.  Just as there is a process and steps to the sale with the showroom customer, there should be a process and steps to the appointment once the customer is on the phone.  There are many call guides available to help pace the customer and keep control of the phone call also in which selling the value of the dealership can be included.  Please remember they are guides and should be followed but do not remove personality from the equation.  When on the phone, never stop smiling.  Customers can hear that smile over the telephone and it makes for a better phone call experience for both parties hands down.  Phone skills are the most important and dealers should be sure to have the right staff in this position.

I am sure by now dealers reading are pumped up and feel the excitement they will create when going full force with the BDC department.  It is a full time job and should be staffed as such.  It’s time to stay focused, do a virtual walk-thru of your website and make sure all inventory has pictures with the most up to date information.  We are in July and nobody is interested in the sale that went on during the second week of June.  The website should be monitored daily.

Finally, be prompt in getting the information back to the customer and answer their questions.  One thing I dislike is someone ignoring a question I asked in the beginning.  The more times a customer has to ask the same question, the less likely they will ever step foot into the showroom.  One of the biggest complaints from customers is not getting a response at all from the dealership they inquired with.  That is the same thing as going home at night and locking a customer in the showroom.   

What current processes do you have in place that are working well? 

I was first introduced to the “Dealership BDC” module back in 2000 under the watch of a gentleman by the name of Chuck Barker.  As a salesperson, I spent a 90-minute shift in that department each day and couldn’t wait to get back out on the lot and sell a car.  In order to be on the sales floor come Saturday, I also needed an “x” amount of confirmed appointments throughout the week.  I know this will not make sense to any of us now, but I was not a fan in the beginning.  It didn’t take long however with some coaching, call guide practicing, appointments being set and selling those appointments that I was hooked.

The BDC/Internet department has certainly come a long way since then and so much is going on within it.  The one thing that hasn’t changed is that there are still phone calls coming into this dealership.  Although I am involved with much more now than in the year 2000, I am not afraid to get in the mix and take a customer from start to finish in the showroom, jump in the F&I seat, or take that very important phone call and sell an appointment along with the rest of my BDC/Internet staff.  I am a salesperson.  I don’t claim to be the best, but I certainly strive to keep the importance of the call I take at the very top and do what I can to make the appointment happen.  I can become so much better and more consistent.

Consistency is important and without a guide and plan in place, it is hard for the human brain to keep on track by “winging” a phone call.  If your staff is “winging” the dealership’s phone calls, I suggest you stop immediately and get a new process in place.  I consider myself a “student of the process” and always want to be better at what I do so I decided to share a couple of calls with you of mine, which is the significance of this post title.  If you like them, hate them, want to critique them please do so.  We are all here to learn and I certainly encourage all of your comments.  Very brave of me, I know.  Enjoy.

New Car Call

Used Car Call

I was first introduced to the “Dealership BDC” module back in 2000 under the watch of a gentleman by the name of Chuck Barker.  As a salesperson, I spent a 90-minute shift in that department each day and couldn’t wait to get back out on the lot and sell a car.  In order to be on the sales floor come Saturday, I also needed an “x” amount of confirmed appointments throughout the week.  I know this will not make sense to any of us now, but I was not a fan in the beginning.  It didn’t take long however with some coaching, call guide practicing, appointments being set and selling those appointments that I was hooked.

The BDC/Internet department has certainly come a long way since then and so much is going on within it.  The one thing that hasn’t changed is that there are still phone calls coming into this dealership.  Although I am involved with much more now than in the year 2000, I am not afraid to get in the mix and take a customer from start to finish in the showroom, jump in the F&I seat, or take that very important phone call and sell an appointment along with the rest of my BDC/Internet staff.  I am a salesperson.  I don’t claim to be the best, but I certainly strive to keep the importance of the call I take at the very top and do what I can to make the appointment happen.  I can become so much better and more consistent.

Consistency is important and without a guide and plan in place, it is hard for the human brain to keep on track by “winging” a phone call.  If your staff is “winging” the dealership’s phone calls, I suggest you stop immediately and get a new process in place.  I consider myself a “student of the process” and always want to be better at what I do so I decided to share a couple of calls with you of mine, which is the significance of this post title.  If you like them, hate them, want to critique them please do so.  We are all here to learn and I certainly encourage all of your comments.  Very brave of me, I know.  Enjoy.

New Car Call

Used Car Call

I will be the first to admit that I am usually in a hurry and want results immediately.  In our industry we all seem to want immediate results right?  It can be discouraging for many of us with that mindset and it affects more than we know in both our personal and business lives.  I am going to take a moment and write on how over the last 100 days, being in a hurry kept me from having success with a product I am using:  Autotrader’s “Trade-In Marketplace.”

This is not a “pitch” by no means.  All of us here use DrivingSales.com to share best practices to help the entire industry get better at what we do and I wanted to share something working for me.

I want to first share a few points of being in a hurry that have helped me refocus and take a different approach:

• Try to figure out why you are in such a hurry.
• Pinpoint the triggers that often influence you to lose patience.
• Look for patterns.
• What processes do you have in place now?
• Write these down on a scrap piece of paper or whatever to embed in your mind.

After I assessed the above, I then took the next steps:

• Change your attitude, relax and overcome these bouts of impatience.
• Let go of anything you have zero control over.
• Remind yourself that some things take time and keep focus on the BIG PICTURE.

Now in regards to the “Trade-In Marketplace” leads, it definitely was our approach and process in converting these leads into appointments.  This is not to be combined with how we use it in the showroom. Coming from the BDC/Internet world, we have been approaching these leads in the wrong manner.  I am accustomed to receiving a lead, followed up with a personal response via email / video and then an immediate phone call or text unless the client requested email communication only.

With the above approach, I encountered very little contact and think many others witnessed the same.  I became discouraged because I am eager, in a hurry if you will, to make contact and close the appointment.  Now I am not saying that I never made contact with any but the percentage was much lower than the others.  It didn’t make sense.

I then realized, which was tough for me that these leads have to be higher up in the sales funnel. Really?  They are online, took the time to enter their information, and are not ready to buy now? I will say yes.  They aren’t much higher up the funnel but definitely are.  So what did we do to change our results?

• AUTO RESPONDER – we killed it to all incoming “TIM” leads.  I know everyone has their opinions on auto responders; we use them except on this program.

• PERSONAL RESPONSE – not extensive, simple, to the point and lightening fast.  Many I am in contact with haven’t truly selected a vehicle to replace their current vehicle with.  I wanted more responses and achieved them with this:

Hello Chris,

I recently received notice that you are looking to sell your 2007 Infiniti FX35.  Is it still available?

I see you received an electronic quote. I now have the "real time" ability to get you the most for it by allowing millions to see it and bid.  During your visit it will take only minutes and is a guaranteed.  This, without question, will ensure you get the best value.

I will be in the office until 9PM and look forward to your call, text or email.

Regards,

Chris Costner

                757.289.1860 wireless / text

                ccostner@greenbrierlynnahven.com

FAQ's http://goo.gl/jy02u

• TEXT (if applicable) / PHONE CALL (only if landline phone)  –

Hello Chris – this is Chris Costner following up on my recent email on the availability of your 2007 Infiniti FX35 – still available?

These two subtle adjustments in our approach have increased contact dramatically.  Now its time to overcome the normal objections we all hear and close on the appointment.  This was the point with these leads I was looking for and didn’t get to it with normal, “Thank you for choosing…” approach used with other opportunities.  In addition, with my experience, bringing the client further down the sales funnel immediately.

I have had more contact, appointments set, shows and deliveries over the past two weeks than I have had since inception.  Will it work for you? 

Good Selling Everyone.

I will be the first to admit that I am usually in a hurry and want results immediately.  In our industry we all seem to want immediate results right?  It can be discouraging for many of us with that mindset and it affects more than we know in both our personal and business lives.  I am going to take a moment and write on how over the last 100 days, being in a hurry kept me from having success with a product I am using:  Autotrader’s “Trade-In Marketplace.”

This is not a “pitch” by no means.  All of us here use DrivingSales.com to share best practices to help the entire industry get better at what we do and I wanted to share something working for me.

I want to first share a few points of being in a hurry that have helped me refocus and take a different approach:

• Try to figure out why you are in such a hurry.
• Pinpoint the triggers that often influence you to lose patience.
• Look for patterns.
• What processes do you have in place now?
• Write these down on a scrap piece of paper or whatever to embed in your mind.

After I assessed the above, I then took the next steps:

• Change your attitude, relax and overcome these bouts of impatience.
• Let go of anything you have zero control over.
• Remind yourself that some things take time and keep focus on the BIG PICTURE.

Now in regards to the “Trade-In Marketplace” leads, it definitely was our approach and process in converting these leads into appointments.  This is not to be combined with how we use it in the showroom. Coming from the BDC/Internet world, we have been approaching these leads in the wrong manner.  I am accustomed to receiving a lead, followed up with a personal response via email / video and then an immediate phone call or text unless the client requested email communication only.

With the above approach, I encountered very little contact and think many others witnessed the same.  I became discouraged because I am eager, in a hurry if you will, to make contact and close the appointment.  Now I am not saying that I never made contact with any but the percentage was much lower than the others.  It didn’t make sense.

I then realized, which was tough for me that these leads have to be higher up in the sales funnel. Really?  They are online, took the time to enter their information, and are not ready to buy now? I will say yes.  They aren’t much higher up the funnel but definitely are.  So what did we do to change our results?

• AUTO RESPONDER – we killed it to all incoming “TIM” leads.  I know everyone has their opinions on auto responders; we use them except on this program.

• PERSONAL RESPONSE – not extensive, simple, to the point and lightening fast.  Many I am in contact with haven’t truly selected a vehicle to replace their current vehicle with.  I wanted more responses and achieved them with this:

Hello Chris,

I recently received notice that you are looking to sell your 2007 Infiniti FX35.  Is it still available?

I see you received an electronic quote. I now have the "real time" ability to get you the most for it by allowing millions to see it and bid.  During your visit it will take only minutes and is a guaranteed.  This, without question, will ensure you get the best value.

I will be in the office until 9PM and look forward to your call, text or email.

Regards,

Chris Costner

                757.289.1860 wireless / text

                ccostner@greenbrierlynnahven.com

FAQ's http://goo.gl/jy02u

• TEXT (if applicable) / PHONE CALL (only if landline phone)  –

Hello Chris – this is Chris Costner following up on my recent email on the availability of your 2007 Infiniti FX35 – still available?

These two subtle adjustments in our approach have increased contact dramatically.  Now its time to overcome the normal objections we all hear and close on the appointment.  This was the point with these leads I was looking for and didn’t get to it with normal, “Thank you for choosing…” approach used with other opportunities.  In addition, with my experience, bringing the client further down the sales funnel immediately.

I have had more contact, appointments set, shows and deliveries over the past two weeks than I have had since inception.  Will it work for you? 

Good Selling Everyone.

I have been running across articles and video over the past month or so that dealers now are “forced” to look at their service drive for vehicles because of the big shortage of used vehicles unable to be found from trade-ins or auctions.  My initial thought is if a dealer had a process in place for working current service customers, they may not be faced with the inventory problems they talk about.

A big concern of mine is that I have also ran across quotes of dealer personnel explaining once vehicles become easier to obtain, their plan is not to put as much effort into working the service drive.  Are you kidding me? A majority of the customers in the service department have already met you, liked you and purchased from you.  I cannot even try to imagine taking the service drive out of the “bag of opportunities” and sure hope other dealers wouldn’t either.  Also for those attached to the sales department that currently do not have a process in place for working the service department, it is time to get one going. 

A well thought out process for service will give you a better chance to recapture the customer or gain a new one.  Also reducing your selling and marketing expense, increasing your sales volume and increasing your preowned inventory. 

Keep in mind that we never want this approach to be overwhelming to any of our customers in service waiting on their vehicle.  One of the easiest ways to keep the relationship warm with those who have purchased from us already is to meet them in the service department whenever they are in.  Even if they purchased just six months ago, how hard is it to walk back and say hello, ask how things are going and even answer a question or two they might have? This will not only make it easier for you when you are ready to remarket on a future service visit but will also make a positive impact regarding loyalty further down the road.  Each “touch point” or “moment of truth” is key throughout the ownership period.

Many CRM systems will show the service appointments scheduled for the following day and the next few steps will require a little effort the night before but are well worth it:

• Print list of service appointments for the following day and make note of which customers purchased from your dealership and those who haven’t.
• Make note of which of those customer’s that did purchase from you still have their salesperson working for you.
• Purchase details from prior purchase are great to have.  Now if they purchased six months ago, working a new deal may not be the best idea.  Seasoned loans or leases can also show if any “cancelable products” are available to help make deal.  (F&I managers don’t worry, you will get another shot at selling more products.)
• Service appointments without a prior purchase from you should be treated the same as those you plan to present a new or newer vehicle to and work figures.

Now we have all the necessary information for each customer to get the right game plan together.  If the plan is to present a new or newer vehicle to them and work a deal I like to continue with the following the night before:

• EMAIL (if possible): Explain whom you are and that you understand they will be in for service the following day.  It isn’t bad to note that it is hard to find quality preowned vehicles and that theirs could be worth more than they think.  Continue to explain that rather than waiting in the service lounge for their vehicle work to be completed, you would like to show them a new or newer vehicle of their choice and present no-obligation figures to help pass the time.  Who can argue that?
• PHONE CALL:  Follow up after the email with a phone call to help reinforce the content sent and to help set the stage for the following day.

I believe this approach is more effective than doing an appraisal when the vehicle comes in and leaving a “we want to buy your vehicle” voucher on the dash for the customer to see when they are leaving. How many of them are going to cancel their next set of plans to spend even more time at the dealership to find out more information?  I would say not many of them.  Or even better, walking up to the customer sitting in service and hitting them up with what I stated above out of nowhere.  Get ready to hear “NO” more than ever I promise.  The biggest reason is that it is very “pitchy” delivered on the fly and nobody took the time to explain ahead of time catching them off guard.  Immediately putting the customer in a defensive frame of mind.  It is about the process, approach and delivery.

As we all know there will exceptions just as in anything else but having a solid process in place and sticking to it will result in better results.  Of course this isn’t the only way and I am sure many dealers out there have some great processes as well.  My reason for sharing is that I believe this variable should not be absent from our everyday business.

Good selling.

I have been running across articles and video over the past month or so that dealers now are “forced” to look at their service drive for vehicles because of the big shortage of used vehicles unable to be found from trade-ins or auctions.  My initial thought is if a dealer had a process in place for working current service customers, they may not be faced with the inventory problems they talk about.

A big concern of mine is that I have also ran across quotes of dealer personnel explaining once vehicles become easier to obtain, their plan is not to put as much effort into working the service drive.  Are you kidding me? A majority of the customers in the service department have already met you, liked you and purchased from you.  I cannot even try to imagine taking the service drive out of the “bag of opportunities” and sure hope other dealers wouldn’t either.  Also for those attached to the sales department that currently do not have a process in place for working the service department, it is time to get one going. 

A well thought out process for service will give you a better chance to recapture the customer or gain a new one.  Also reducing your selling and marketing expense, increasing your sales volume and increasing your preowned inventory. 

Keep in mind that we never want this approach to be overwhelming to any of our customers in service waiting on their vehicle.  One of the easiest ways to keep the relationship warm with those who have purchased from us already is to meet them in the service department whenever they are in.  Even if they purchased just six months ago, how hard is it to walk back and say hello, ask how things are going and even answer a question or two they might have? This will not only make it easier for you when you are ready to remarket on a future service visit but will also make a positive impact regarding loyalty further down the road.  Each “touch point” or “moment of truth” is key throughout the ownership period.

Many CRM systems will show the service appointments scheduled for the following day and the next few steps will require a little effort the night before but are well worth it:

• Print list of service appointments for the following day and make note of which customers purchased from your dealership and those who haven’t.
• Make note of which of those customer’s that did purchase from you still have their salesperson working for you.
• Purchase details from prior purchase are great to have.  Now if they purchased six months ago, working a new deal may not be the best idea.  Seasoned loans or leases can also show if any “cancelable products” are available to help make deal.  (F&I managers don’t worry, you will get another shot at selling more products.)
• Service appointments without a prior purchase from you should be treated the same as those you plan to present a new or newer vehicle to and work figures.

Now we have all the necessary information for each customer to get the right game plan together.  If the plan is to present a new or newer vehicle to them and work a deal I like to continue with the following the night before:

• EMAIL (if possible): Explain whom you are and that you understand they will be in for service the following day.  It isn’t bad to note that it is hard to find quality preowned vehicles and that theirs could be worth more than they think.  Continue to explain that rather than waiting in the service lounge for their vehicle work to be completed, you would like to show them a new or newer vehicle of their choice and present no-obligation figures to help pass the time.  Who can argue that?
• PHONE CALL:  Follow up after the email with a phone call to help reinforce the content sent and to help set the stage for the following day.

I believe this approach is more effective than doing an appraisal when the vehicle comes in and leaving a “we want to buy your vehicle” voucher on the dash for the customer to see when they are leaving. How many of them are going to cancel their next set of plans to spend even more time at the dealership to find out more information?  I would say not many of them.  Or even better, walking up to the customer sitting in service and hitting them up with what I stated above out of nowhere.  Get ready to hear “NO” more than ever I promise.  The biggest reason is that it is very “pitchy” delivered on the fly and nobody took the time to explain ahead of time catching them off guard.  Immediately putting the customer in a defensive frame of mind.  It is about the process, approach and delivery.

As we all know there will exceptions just as in anything else but having a solid process in place and sticking to it will result in better results.  Of course this isn’t the only way and I am sure many dealers out there have some great processes as well.  My reason for sharing is that I believe this variable should not be absent from our everyday business.

Good selling.