It is hard sometimes to imagine what the average customer searches for regarding services when you are on the dealer level every day. But if you take a step back for a moment - looking at it from the customers perspective - they want to know what is included in the service, cost of service, and when they can book the appointment! Sounds relatively simple, no? Yet more often than not many dealers fail to provide information regarding their pricing or repair descriptions. Not to mention scheduling the appointment, itself, can be quite the chore! 

Think about it. Each dealer has its own definition of “service” plans other than of what the OEM offers for service intervals.  For example, when the customer searches “20 thousand mile service” they may or may not get the dealer that they purchased from because the dealer fails to have that information on their site. 

Just this past week I searched “(OEM) 20k mile service (location),” and to my surprise, the dealership did not even show up until the 5th page! Yet service is the money the maker, no? Instead, other dealers that were well over an hour away populated. And as you can imagine, why would I call the dealer 1-2 hours away for service? I wouldn’t. So why would any other customer? Are we forgoing business opportunities for the sake of not providing them with information? 

That said, here are two top tips for ensuring that when a customer is searching for service with your OEM (in your backyard) that your dealer not only shows up BUT offers relevant content with a strong call to action! 

Service Landing Page 

When is the last time you updated your service landing page? What does it even include? For the OEM I used as an example when I searched “OEM service” their dealer did show up. But not when I did “OEM 20k mile service.” However, when I clicked on the “OEM Service” link the landing page was for the 5k, 10k, 20k and 30k mile interval service? That did not make much sense given the search was simple “OEM Service.”  The other alarming issue was the “information” about the service intervals were “images” with “text” vs. actual text. It also failed to offer other services they did. 

One thing you can do to improve this situation would be to offer appointment Scheduling where the customer can “select” vehicle, “estimated mileage,” and “have you serviced with us before?” all of which would guide the customer to completing what we all want:  “the service appointment!” 

But make no mistake, if you ask them questions, but then fail to provide any relevant information they will not the only exit. They will become frustrated. All without having booked their appointment. 

Service Blog 

Having a service blog might seem daunting, but it could be advantageous. Only if it offers relevant content such as services, OEM maintenance schedules, and their importance, what service amenities are included, customer reviews, customer workshops, etc. The goal is to offer relevant content. The other advantage of having a service blog that explains services in a meaningful way is if a customer were to search “xyz” service, and you are the only dealer that offers the cost, what it does, and when the next available appointment is - you might just pick up another customer! Again, people just want some answers. 

Bottom Line: It is always best to search your “dealership service” to see what comes up! Looking at the results from a customers perspective. Making sure that your content is relevant. 
When is the last time you searched your service center? Do you offer the ability to schedule a service appointment on your blog? 
 

Regardless of which industry we are discussing most sales & service jobs (if not all) have a commission based pay plan. The purpose, of course, in having a performance-based pay plan is to ensure that the employee only earns based on what s/he produces. While there is nothing wrong with this concept. There is a problem, however, when the employee does not have the opportunities available at hand to secure the higher level of income proposed within their pay plan.

For example, when hiring an advisor you want to put your best foot forward. However, showing them your best year (which was two or so years ago) only for them to find out there are

Infrastructural problems that have not enabled the advisors to hit or beat that level is not the way to win someone over. This state of mind will undoubtedly cause the turnover!

That is not to say that offering and/or showing an employee the future potential is a bad thing. But setting them up to fail with unrealistic expectations is also ridiculous. Where the objectives are double the amount of volume your current best advisor is doing.

One of the best ways to sell yourself to a potential employee - one whose talent could very well pull your store ahead - is to offer them an opportunity. Showing what is working what is not working. This is not to bash current employees, but rather to offer what the real deal is - giving them an inside view of what will be expected of them should they accept your offer.

That said, here are some of the best ways to explain an offer without scaring away potential employees!

Don’t Hide Your Problems - We All Have Them

The last thing you want to do is lie or mislead a potential hire by not addressing current issues. As the employee will find out when they are hired hearing it from the employee, not the hiring manager. All of which can make the new hire feel that the management is out of touch and that there are far more problems than they realize.

Some of the problems could be good, too! Such as growing pains. Where your service lane is expanding and your needing to add an additional advisor. Explaining to them areas in which you are struggling to upsell. Outlining how that can impact their pay plan.

Offer Reasonable Expectations

Given that many dealers do not offer or provide an onboarding program - which by itself causes for massive turn-over - they do not have realistic expectations for the new hire. Where just because they were an advisor at ABC Motors does not mean they can immediately hit the ground running at ABCD Motors. There will be a learning curve especially if it is an OEM in which they have not yet worked for! One of the best ways to combat this issue is to offer a guarantee for the first month or so, which gives them enough time to learn the OEM. As well as the way you handle things internally.

Offer Training That is Relevant to Their Job 

Believe it or not, more often than not new hires want training. They want to feel valued. Part of feeling valued is to be invested in. Where if you have the ability to send them to training, do it! The better understanding they have of your systems and processes the better off they will be. Not to mention, it would only be beneficial to the company! And as far as their pay plans go - if they are paid commission on upsells the better product knowledge they have the more sales they will get. As they are confident in the product.

Bottom Line:

Be open and honest with the potential new hire. It does not mean that you need to offer up every issue that is happening. What it does, however, suggest is that in order to ensure them a successful start it is beneficial to offer realistic expectations. In turn, it affords the employee a means of starting their new role with a better chance of being successful in upselling!

How do you handle job offers? Do you only show your best years? Do you ever get questions on Turnover?

At first glance sending an automated email seems like the perfect thing to do! Where it becomes turn-key, and you do not have to rely on your sales manager, BDC Agents,  or consultants to do the job! Sounds perfect, right? Well that all might sound well and good but the fact of the matter is that many auto emails fail.

Here are some of the top reasons they fail!

The Customer Opt’s Out Before They Open an Actual Email

Think about this for a moment. You spend all of this money to acquire the customer through AdWords, PPC, Social Media, OEM Marketing, Retargeting, etc. All for the customer to finally convert on your website (VDP) only to then opt out because you sent them multiple auto emails before actually answering their lead!

This happens far more often then you would believe! As a customer, can you imagine that you spent all this time researching? Asking what seems to them as a simple question to only receive an automated email that does not even answer their question? Wouldn’t that frustrate you? Especially if the email is made to look like it came from the sale consultant? And please, no one cares anymore whether or not it was sent from your iPhone or that you want to excuse your spelling errors. Seriously. People do not even think about it. I mean, when is the last time you specifically noticed that an email was sent and/or responded to from an iPhone?

Headers & Footers That are Not Responsive

Branding is very important. We get that, but what is concerning, though, is that when you do take the time to brand the store - make sure that the email is legible on mobile devices. I encountered a situation recently where the dealer had great verbiage but failed to make sure the email was responsive!

The email was not readable on the mobile device, which in turn meant that very few people responded. Where you only saw the image (if it loaded), and they failed to include any alt text. Meaning the customer only saw red x’s. Offering abysmal results. In order to have successful headers & footers (which are not always necessary) the design has to be mobile first! No one is pinching or zooming! You also want to take a moment to make sure that all of the images (as mentioned above) have alt text. So if the photo does not load the customer can at least identify what it is they are supposed to be viewing. Lastly, make sure all of the links are correct! If the customer clicks a broken link they are most likely to exit without converting.

Subject Lines!

Subject lines are an integral part of creating a successful email! Where depending on the client's mail system, the email could be sent to a promotions folder (p.s. Mobile devices like iOS do not auto filter them like the desktop), essentially making it invisible to the customer. The subject line should be short to the point! Namely, it should spell out what it is in the email giving the customer a reason to want to open it! Giving a strong sense of “fear of missing out” - FOMO!

Thank You We’re Closed

Believe it or not, customers are not actually always expecting to be responded to when they inquire. Where many of them - at the time of inquiring - just happen to have a few minutes to spend online. That said, if it is off hours - instead of sending a canned, useless email reminding them of what they already know - consider a custom landing page, which offers that you are currently closed but that you will be in touch the following business day.

This way you save yourself an email. And if you do actually respond to the lead after hours it is a surprise. Where the customer can appreciate your having taken the time to work with them despite the fact that you are closed.

Bottom Line: If you are paying hundreds of dollars to acquire a new customer why risk the unnecessary chance of their opting out before you have even had the chance of speaking with them?! Take a minute to review the autoresponders you currently use. Asking yourself “what - if any - value does this add to the customer's experience?

If it takes a moment to answer that question than perhaps it is time to let it go! Remembering that customers do not often read more than the second email. And if the first two emails are irrelevant or do not answer their questions the chances of them opting out are that much greater!

How do you handle autoresponders? Do you have a successful one that gets great results?

OEMs and Dealers have yet to idealize or define what social media means in regards to the brand identity or reputation management. So it is no surprise given the article in the NY times that Dealers still refuse to understand or embrace social media. Several Dealers have yet to approach social media from an angle that will leverage sales using ads with a tangible ROI, which is more important than the happy customer campaign. Hence, Dealer Rater is still the most trusted source for dealer reviews. Generating leads to the dealer using happy customers.

It is apparent; too, that some dealers believe that it is not their job or purpose to be wasting their staff’s time posting on social media.

Is taking a selfie in front of the store smiling as effective as a direct marketing ad that’s paid? 

No. So yes, while it is advisable that your employees not be posting selfies at the dealer highlighting their wild weekend binges. It is, however, essential that your dealer brands ads that are consistent with the vision of the dealer. Taking the OEM’s current marketing to their advantage. Creating an ad that sells itself through word of mouth and past customer experiences. Especially given that customers in today's market are far less loyal than they used to be. The offerings by the dealer have to be more relevant. Most importantly, relatable – promoting a post about a happy customer does not mean the next customer will say, “Well if she was happy purchasing there I will be happy too” 
Instead, the consumer is thinking “what kind of deal did s/he get” 
Instead, of using faces use a vehicle - one that has a good offer. One that will encourage the consumer who has read the good reviews a reason to inquire more information about the dealer and its current inventory. 

It is evident that the main point of this article was to say many Dealers do not understand how to develop content. Highlighting, that for the most part dealers do not have a dedicated content team. The OEMs have also done a less than satisfactory jobs explaining social media. Much less execute their ideology on a dealer level. There is no doubt that the disconnect caused disinterest, frustration, and complete boycotting in some cases. 

Instead of boycotting social media, or worse – having the OEMS control the social media on a dealer level much like they control the sites. They need to educate the managers on how to develop a marketing strategy. 

Wherein, the OEM has the dealer focus on non-thrust months. Knowing that the dealer should not be spending hundreds of dollars on marketing in a month, the OEM has spent millions. Rather, working toward developing a campaign that centers with their demographic area. In so far as leasing deals, services (weather condition specific), etc. 

One example of how an OEM can assist the dealers is to assist them in both approaching and executing a social media marketing campaign. And no, I am not talking about the happy customer campaign. What I am saying is let’s focus on a customer who is in the market based on Polk data. Letting Facebook do the rest of work. Sending the message to the right audience. 

In order for marketing to be successful in social media, the content has to be relatable to the consumer. It is like sending retirement home information to a 21-year-old. 

Beyond a simple campaign – there has to be a purpose. Inviting the customer back to your dealer website to complete a form will just lead to a massive increase in your bounce rate. In addition to frustrated customers. 

Instead, have a coupon or giveaway where the customer gives you their second most prized position – the cell number. A number that gives you their undivided attention. Knowing that 98% of text messages are read within 2 minutes. 

The coupon could be as simple as $25 for giving their “opinion” on a newly designed model. Understanding, that for this campaign to work there has to be “proof.” In so far as customers post their opinions online. Receiving instant gratification. 

Once people see the ‘transparency,’ and this is not another scratch-off scam where the dealer mails out a letter where everyone wins $3,000 to only then win gold coins. It was tragic. They will be much more likely to respond to the dealer. 

Direct marketing via social media – if done efficiently with a purpose – can be incredibly effective. However, make no mistake – throwing out a loose underdeveloped vision that has not been explained or made known to the staff will in no way help the dealer. It will only lead to mass confusion. More confusing and clustered than your website already is screaming “CONTACT ME I AM DESPERATE.” Asking your customer to chat with a robot. 

I challenge dealers to look at their social media page. Reviewing the last campaign they did. Developing a new campaign centered on a local community event such as a pet adoption day, carnival day – even a safety awareness event before school starts.

Taking small steps, and planning according to your OEM calendar will help make transitioning into social media much less complicated. 

When is the last time you looked through RO’s to see how many services had been declined? Or whether or not the advisor even offered the service vs. simply clicking decline? Chances are - in any service lane - there are untapped opportunities. One them being marketing to the customers with declined services. That is not to say that sending the offer right after s/he leaves makes sense either. As the customer might think “if they can discount now why couldn’t they discount it before?”

Instead, focus on the smaller services where the customer will have to soon perform those services such as tires, brakes, rotors, etc. Sending the campaign in increments (such as a week to 10 days out) as they are most likely going to shop prices at the big box service centers.

Here are some of the best practices when sending the campaign:

Email Marketing

As I have mentioned before, email marketing is not going anywhere and remains relevant when communicating with your client base. What is not relevant or helpful, however, is sending emails that do not offer the customer something of use. Where if you were to send the declined service campaign immediately after their service (as mentioned above) they might not see the value in the discount or offer. Versus, if you send it out 7-10 days after their service it is on their mind. Where they have most likely looked to see what pricing is available in their own backyard.

In order to make it as effortless as possible, you can create 3-4 opcodes for the most commonly declined services: tires, brakes, rotors, etc.

Coupons:  Dropping the Lowest Price Does Not Always Work

Sending the lowest price in town does not always work. Not to mention, it sets the precedent for the customer that their services will be at a discounted price. That said, you can offer price match guarantee. In turn, allowing you to upsell the advantages of their servicing with you. Such as rental cars, & shuttle service. All of which sets you apart from the local competition.

Service BDC or Advisor Calls

If you have the staff, work with them! They could call the customers who have declined the service. Inviting them back into the service lane. As for the BDC rep, you could spiff them on the number of appointments they got through the door. If run efficiently this could increase revenue and appointments!

Service Plans

Offer the customer a plan of action that works with their own financial goals. Spending the time to review which options work best for the time being. Where perhaps each visit they can get one to two services items completed. This also puts the plan of action on their terms, which will make the customer feel as if they are in control of what they are fixing.

Bottom Line:

Just like in sales there are objections. And while there are certain service items that have to be fixed for safety - we have to ask ourselves, what customer does not want the peace of mind knowing that they're the vehicle - mode of transportation - is running at is best? Ensuring that the integrity of their vehicle is not compromised.

How do you handle declined services? Do you have the BDC call the customers? If so, what kind of results do you see?

Not all CRM platforms are created equal. And given the CRM is the foundation for many positions such as BDC, Sales Consultant, Sales Managers, Service, Equity Mining, etc. it is essential that the CRM offers the core competencies, which is what defines what the CRM is and what it can (and does) do for your business.

Sure, it is often easy to blame the manager for now “knowing” the CRM. And while that is the case in some instances. There are truly bad platforms out there.

Here are some of the top reasons your CRM is failing you!  

Interface

The user interface is an integral part of the design. There is nothing worse than a poor interface that was overly “engineered.” And what I mean by that is the average user (rightfully so) does not think like and or use the CRM as an engineer. The “road to the sale” (workflow) should be intuitive and approachable.

Namely, it should not take more than 5-6 steps to add a customer. Where the poor client is taken to more than 3-4 screens to add a customer in what looks like to be an exploded excel sheet. But more importantly, the color scheme and purpose from everything to the color, font, and icons have significant meaning that can - in so many ways - define the CRM’s image.

The icons (the “workflow” items: i.e., phone call, email, text, etc.) should be just that - representing the outcome. An “in-bound” outcome should show as “inbound.” Yet there are CRM platforms out there whose interface does not differentiate a task. Where all things are the same. Making it very confusing for the end user.

Lack of Innovation - Compromising User Experience

Long gone are the days where a CRM platform should have the excuse continuing to “add” to their legacy platform without revamping the integrity of their prehistoric platform. Such as chat programs, appraisal tools, etc. Oddly, too, one would think that vendors would have standards to ensure that their platform is not compromised within the CRM. As a dealer, though - if none of the new vendors for (chat, text, etc.) can work with them it is a tell-tale sign of an entirely outdated CRM.

I am sure many of you have experienced the pleasure of a lagging system when trying to access a third party vendor within the CRM such as chat, texting, inventory, etc. Where it either freezes or shuts down. Or worse, the texting “tool” cannot send images or video in a compressed file.  Imagine if that was resolved and the product offered a mostly seamless end user experience!

Inability to Search Effectively with the CRM

As you might know, all data entered into the CRM is stored in data tables. Hundreds and thousands of them. That said, marketing to unsold customers has become known to be an art form. When is the last time you asked your marketing manager or BDC manager how long it took them to pull a marketing list?

It most likely took quite a bit of time! In today's market, there are several types of lead sources phone-up, campaign, Internet, Equity Mining, etc. All of which - more often than not - require a different message. One size fits all is an outdated approach that will cause for there to be a significant opt-out rate essentially destroying opportunities.

That said, the CRM platform needs to adapt to the ability to pick and choose which sources to highlight being able to pull multiple at a time. Pulling on OEM (especially for those that share a CRM) one at a time takes hours! In what should be a relatively simple task.

Reporting

One thing that is understandable is the subset list  of “reports.” As it would be an enormous cost to the CRM provider to offer each dealership *free* customizable reporting, which can hinder the performance and the integrity of their platform. Makes sense. But what does not make sense, though, is not to offer the ability to quickly do an advanced search that can pull data in an accessible format.

For example, a BDC Manager might want to pull multiple Internet Lead Sources looking for appointments set, show, sold, etc. Looking to see how many times that customer has been touched, if they received a quote, did they open the emails? Yet you have to look at multiple (yes, numerous) reports capturing that data! Exporting all of that data to an excel sheet, which puts your dealership at risk for data theft.

Lastly, as a BDC Manager, a few other things the platform should be offering is “average days to sale” & “Busiest time of the day” where the BDC Manager can see how many days - once the lead hits the CRM - does it take to close the customer? Or what time of day does their traffic hit the CRM? All of which helps ensure they have the right staffing to manage the influx of business. Guessing what times are busiest can destroy potential opportunities.

User Profiles

It is never one size fits all! And having to create multiple profiles to complete a job is not necessary either. More often than not the CRM has multiple preset profiles where you either have it all, or you have limited access. Giving all personnel the access to potentially delete data, change workflows, delete templates, or manipulate reporting is a dangerous slippery slope! Not to mention, if your CRM does not have an audit trail or reporting on user activity - including logins with IP address - then you could be compromising your system. When is the last time you checked your CRM for data exports? Where your sales consultant or BDC Manager could easily export your entire database giving it to vendors in which case they can sell the very data you have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for?

Bottom Line

While in many cases the employee does need additional training. Take a minute to put yourself in their shoes. Looking to see what s/he is struggling with. If it is a CRM issue work with them. Asking yourself, how much business are you willing to leave on a table to use a compromised, unreliable, uninspiring platform?

By the way, if your platform cannot send photos via text than - wow - what else is outdated underneath the hood?

Having an onboarding program for any of the positions within your dealership can not only save hundreds of thousands of dollars. It can also significantly decrease turn-over. Increasing profits as the managers have a clear outline as to what steps are necessary for training the new employee. Setting them up for success at the dealership. Long gone are the days of being able to put the new hire with an employee (to train them) who has not been with the dealership for more than a few months. 

The other thing to consider is - do you really want an employee who does not have the same level of experience training a new hire -  where they can shape (and influence) their perspective on the organization? 

Here are the top reasons to have a well-thought and developed onboarding program: 

Chaos Causes for Concern & Disinterest 

I remember the first day in the auto industry all too well. Where the first day I was shuffled around to 5 or 6 people. All of which were frantic in trying to get me what I needed. The problem, however, was that I was unsure of what I needed! I did not know what logins I needed - what products I needed training on! That said, it took well over 2 weeks to get the logins needed! 

As a new employee, you already feel as if you have taken a huge risk to make a career move. Where in the interview it is made to seem as if everything is well planned out. No problems. Easy as pie. But we all know, that is not how it works! 

Training - What is Expected?

You cannot hold someone accountable if they have not been given the necessary resources to do their job. Where the manager just gets frustrated with the new hires lack of knowledge on a vendor’s product. Yet, even the managers - themselves - do not know how to use the product hence the frustration they exhibit when dealing with a new hire. 

Make no mistake, the new hire can not only sense the frustration, but they will also sense a sign of weakness. Where if you are frantic and chaotic in trying to assist them with the simplest of things - they can (and in many cases will) lose respect for you as a manager. Where they will not want to come to you with questions regarding the selling of a vehicle, etc. 

Go Ask Someone Else

Sure, if you have been a long-time employee, you might feel comfortable and confident to ask someone for assistance in working with a new product. But when you are brand new and do not know anyone and are told to “go ask someone else” to handle something it sets the tone. Not to mention, when you do go and ask the other person, and they say “go see them,” which just so happens to be the person who directed them to you! 

This causes for frustration in the new hire. Where they do not feel supported. And if they do not feel supported within the first week or so they quickly lose interest.

Not Keeping Track of Training 

If you are not keeping track of what items s/he has completed then you are missing out! This allows a new employee to set the standards and expectations regarding the timeline to complete their training. This, of course, is a dangerous approach as it makes it that much harder to set expectations. To avoid this approach, have a training guide that offers what it is expected for the first 2-3 weeks of employment. Where both the manager and new hire sign off on what has and has not been completed. Giving you an actionable plan to follow when managing your new employee. 

Bottom Line: 

Onboarding someone - regardless of the position - is never easy. There are many facets to a job within a company. That being said, it is essential to ensure that the new hire has all of the necessary tools and resources when they first start. Making sure that the management team is involved when it comes time to train the employee in the various roles. Remembering that the more in alignment everyone is at the dealership, the better off the entire department will be! 

How do you handle onboarding? Do you get the employee their logins as the days go on? Are you the type that pushes the employee to someone else? 
 

If you your website has more options than a dinner menu (without sharing actual information) you might have too much going on. Sure, we like options. But not when it comes to the point of being “unable” to make a decision. We call this analysis paralysis. Too many choices also can lead to confusion, and confusion leads to doubt. And doubt leads to disinterest. Especially if you share all of the information regarding what the service entails without disclosing the price - where we are possibly talking our customer out of purchasing the service before they have even booked an appointment! 

Here are some of the top things to consider when managing your fixed-ops website! 

Service Appointments - What’s Going On? 

The highest conversion - typically - is the booking of a service appointment. That said, it is imperative that the route to booking the appointment is effortless. Where if the customer has to click multiple links to get to their final destination they are more than likely going to exit the page without booking! (most vendors can show you how many appointments were started without being finalized). 

The other thing to consider is not requiring the customer to have all of their information when booking the appointment. As they might not have their VIN number on hand or know what it is they are wanting to book. 

Lastly, you should also be able to see what the average dollars per R.O. are for a customer that had a service appointment! It would be interesting to see if those customers spend more or less than a customer who did not have an appointment. One that came in just wanting to use that coupon for a free oil change! 

Options Without Pricing. Would You Blindly Purchase an Item Without Knowing the Price? 

This is topic has two very distinct opinions. That is to offer pricing and the other not to have pricing. Let's step back for a minute though and put on the shoes of a customer. If you already had difficulty trying to complete what should be a simple task - booking the appointment - to then only find out that the pricing is not available wouldn’t you exit? 

A small percentage of the customers will continue with their scheduled appointment not knowing what the costs are going to be;  while others will simply exit without having booked an appointment. Perhaps showing up at an unscheduled time where the availability is not the best causing for a bad survey as the site might say “service time approximately 90 mins,” and it took 3hrs. As we know, the time to complete a service all depends on how many open R.O.’s there are at any given time. And do know, this is not referring to offering pricing to fix a transmission (or other significant repairs), but rather OEM maintenance Intervals, and other minor repairs. 

Less is More. Showing the Right Items! 

We know that we have an affinity for having several options for the customer to click on!  Each one opening Pandora’s box. Leaving the customer confused as to what they have done. Or worse, they have exited the page without converting because they were unsure of what to complete. All while they were just wanting to schedule a service appointment! 

We could also learn something from one of the major powerhouses - Amazon - where when the customer has *selected* a more expensive service (because they can see the pricing) it will show “what other customers have viewed,” which are at a lower price point. Not too low, but lower. For example, if the customer elects a $599 service - you would then show an additional service in the $49-125 range. Where the customer feels that the less expensive item is a value compared to the $599 service. Thinking, well $50-100 is not that much more. And I do need to replace “X, Y & Z.” 

This is not to say that this approach will work all of the time. What it does, however, offer is that it is all about showing the right items. Customers also want to know approximately how much it is that they are going to spend. And while it might much more or less depending on what the actual issue is the customer at least has a general idea regarding pricing. 

Bottom Line: 

It is essential to clear the clutter from your fixed-ops page - keeping only necessary information regarding the booking of an appointment and cost of the services. Allowing the customer to pre-pay (putting deposit essentially down) where they are agreeing to complete “x” service(s). And if it were to cost less more depending on the nature of the service(s), you already have an agreement, where the customer is much more likely to work with you! 

How do you handle the online experience for your service customer? Do you show the pricing online? If so, have you see results from this approach? 
 

Having a 1000k+ reviews is a huge accomplishment! It is something to admire, really. However, what is more important is that you are continuing to collect reviews. Where customers want to see new reviews when making a decision. If the review is 90+ days old it may not carry as much weight as a review that was written a few days ago. That being said, here some ways the advisors can easily ask for a review without being overwhelming or pushy! 

Ask for it! 

That’s right. You heard me. I cannot tell you the number of advisors that simply do not even ask for a review! This is a huge mistake. All of that hard work that made the customers day can benefit more than just that customer! If a potential customer were to see that online - how you made their day it can give them a great feeling. Potentially leading them to book an appointment with you! 

In the thank you email

While I am not a huge fan of sending multiple emails - it is okay to add the review in the main thank you follow-up email. Giving them a direct link to your DealerRater page. And if you are not using DealerRater you are MISSING OUT. It is one of the only platforms that enables you to tag an employee in the review! 

This is invaluable as it allows customers to connect with employees! Giving the Advisor a platform to show off their talent! 

Cashiers Office 

Another way to get a review is to offer a simple reminder by attaching a review card to the service R.O. And while the customer might throw away their service paperwork they will at least see the request for a review! 

Bottom Line: You cannot get reviews without asking for them! Think about it too, have you ever been to a booking site for a hotel or resort? Where the reviews will say “this photo must have been taken when the resort opened." the same thing applies to reviews. Where the customer could say “you can tell this positive review was written a long time ago! Worst service ever” And if you do not have many positive reviews written it can have a damaging effect on business! Versus having a few bad reviews mixed in with SEVERAL good reviews. Where the potential client might view this as a one-off bad experience! 

How do you handle reviews? How many reviews do you average a month? 
 

It is not uncommon for the sales manager to put the pressure on the service manager to get the vehicle through the shop. Knowing that for every additional day the car is in the shop, less money is to be made on the front-end. Whereas, service will still make their money and then some with the internal mark-ups (which are necessary to build the business as a whole), BUT there are ways in which sales are actually holding up the process. 

Here are the top things to consider when managing the turn time for pre-owned inventory 

Post Photo Online 

Instead of waiting until the vehicle is in the middle of its State Inspection - forcing the advisor to halt the process - to get a photo. Have your inventory manager take a picture of the exterior (ensuring it is clean), and post it online. Making sure to have “call for price” as it could increase depending on the total reconditioning costs. This will save a lot of time. As well as cause less dissension in the service lane as they are pressured to hit their own benchmarks when pushing units through. 

Keep Sales Informed

Just like keeping the customer informed of the status of the vehicle. The sales managers want the same thing. Where if they were to know the status of the inspection they would not have the need to call back every couple of hours (or days) to ask the same questions causing there to be a delay in the unit getting processed. A lot of the software available to the service writer allow them to make notes. This will come in handy in situations where parts have to be ordered. 

Have a Standard Procedure on Recon Costs

Sure, service would love to make as much money as possible on the unit. However, as we know - this can affect the front-end gross. Where is not necessary to replace all parts of the unit especially if they are in working order. And or if the unit is within a certain price range where is not common to spend the additional money. That being said, it is best to work with the GM and sales manager to ensure that certain things that need to be fixed do not need “clearance” from the either the GM or Sales manager. All of which will help with removing the chance for delays. 

Know Where the Units Are! 

This sounds rather simple, but we can all recall the time where we had not a clue as to where that trade-in from the weekend was parked. Wasting more than 30 minutes to locate the unit only to find out that it is blocked in by a few other vehicles. All of this wastes time. Where some units only need 30-45 minutes to pass through the state inspection. Meaning, the time spent on finding the unit could have been another vehicle done and ready to go! 

Bottom Line: 

It is essential to have a plan of action when it comes to handling reconditioning. Making sure that both sales & service are on the same page regarding the process. All of which will offer a streamlined process. 

How do you handle reconditioning within your dealership? What is one thing you have implemented that has had great success? What is one thing that you have learned?