It is not uncommon for most dealers to have strict policies against holding a vehicle for a customer. And for good reasons, every day that vehicle sits on the dealer's lot unsold, it takes up floor-plan money costing the dealer money. However, as dealers shift to more digital retailing measures, it poses a good question. Depending on the circumstances, should your dealer offer to hold the vehicle for the customer? In addition to advertising this policy on your dealer's website to provide customers with peace of mind. 

Here are two things to consider with offering a vehicle hold policy. 

Is the customer local? Having the Customer Drive Two Plus Hours to Find Out the Vehicle Has Been Sold is Not A Best Practice. 

Time is money. Not to mention, imagine if you were the customer - driving a long distance - to look at the vehicle they wanted only to find out it has been sold. To make matters worse, the car having been sold is not communicated with your sales team in some cases. So when the customer does come in to work with the sales consultant, they might tell the customer, "oh, this has was sold yesterday." That is not a good look and certainly does not make a good first impression on the customer. 

And sure, they might wind up purchasing another vehicle. Especially if the vehicle is used where the customer might have wanted this vehicle due to their budget. But imagine if your sales consultant or BDC Agent was proactive, and instead of surprising the customer with the car being sold, they were proactive and offered a solution and not a problem. The customer is more likely to purchase the other option and believe that you and your dealership was going the extra mile for them! 3

What Does the Website Branding Look Like? Is this A Good Value Proposition for the Customer? 

Having a clear, defined vehicle hold policy can lend itself to a positive branding opportunity for the dealership. Especially considering that many dealers are trying to offer some sort of digital retailing options for their customers. Think about it, if the customer is searching for a vehicle, but needs/wants to test drive it before purchasing - you are proactively providing the customer a solution. One that could put your dealership ahead of the competition. That and everyone's schedules are different. Maybe Saturday is the only day the customer has to come into the dealership, and they inquired on the vehicle Monday. 

Now, this is not saying "do not sell the vehicle" with the hopes of selling it to the customer on Saturday, either. If the customer wants to hold the vehicle - paying the deposit of $500 (or whatever deposit your dealer chooses - then it should be strongly encouraged that the customer complete an online credit application. This can and will also save the customer a lot of time before visiting the dealership. As for the website's branding, here is a sample ad/banner you can use on your dealership's homepage! 

Bottom Line: Anything your dealership can do to stand out from your competition will only increase the value of your dealership. In this case, you are providing a proactive solution to the customer! It is important to remember that using this process is not intended to "hope" you sell the vehicle. But instead, encouraging the customer to complete a finance application and complete as many of the sales process steps as possible before they come into the dealership. Remembering that if the customer is willing to make a deposit and or complete a credit application before their arrival, they intend to make a purchase. Now it's our job to make that purchase as easy and stress-free as possible! 

Do you offer a vehicle hold policy? If so, has this helped close more deals? For those who offer a hold policy, what are some of the challenges you face, and how have you overcome them?