Every time you turn on the TV, you see a car commercial with a Rudolph nose on it. Dealers capitalize on the hunt for hot buys on Black Friday, advertising the year’s best deals. Then, once again at New Year’s, the year’s best deals are hung under the mistletoe. And it works for the sales department – why not give it a shot for the service department as well?

It’s quite possible to turn the busiest shopping season of the year into a boon for your fixed operations department. Think of all the opportunity to sell accessories, finally meeting your manufacturer’s annual target. Your parts department can strike gold simply by advertising common car care, winter gear, and typical winter repair components to your current clientele.

The service department is immensely fickler for holiday deals. Certain services are top sellers for the season, although there’s little need to drive sales for them. Winter tires and rims, wheel alignments, and cooling system flushes are hot items for your service advisors and technicians, generating increased revenue. But what if you advertised a special? Would it help?

Now, what about other neglected services or repairs? I’d venture to say that offering holiday specials on non-winter related procedures can cause permanent damage to your customer relationships. Here’s why:

You’ve Built Trust, Now You Throw It Away

 Your loyal customers – the ones who always come back faithfully – rely on your expertise, and your adherence to their actual needs. Everything in the maintenance manual, they’ll do on time and without hesitation. Then you tell them you have a special on a service that doesn’t fit into their maintenance guide, and the red flags go up.

As soon as you stepped out of line with their schedule, you lost their trust. You can’t offer a service special for maintenance or repairs without the glaringly obvious – you’re trying to take more of their money. If you wouldn’t make the recommendation at another time of the year, or if the special wasn’t in place, you WILL damage relationships with your customers.

Value Added – the Winning Holiday Term

If you’re trying to open your customers’ wallets for a final year-end drive, there’s really only one choice – you have to offer added value. If your customer doesn’t see the added benefit, if they don’t buy into your sales pitch, if they don’t trust you, it’s not worth trying.

You know it to be true that money gets tight for many during the holiday season. Very few customers are inclined to spend their funds on car service or repairs over gifts and Christmas decorations, so your work is cut out for you. Here’s what you’ll have to do:

• Make sure your service advisors can clearly explain the added benefit. They should rehearse a consistent pitch for the best success. If they can’t convey the added value, don’t unleash them on your customers. You’ll damage your customer relationships and your advisors’ confidence.
• Make sure there IS added benefit. If the upsell is a service, the result must be noticeable to your customer or you’ll lose their trust.
• Don’t give away the farm. Offer only marginal discounts if you must discount at all. The perception is this: if you can offer a service at a slashed rate during the holidays, that’s all it’s worth any other time of the year. If at all possible, provide EXTRAS to services to create your specials.

What Works for Holiday Specials?

Some items are actually great offerings during the holidays. Here are a few examples for you.

• Wheel alignments. Everyone hits potholes, ruts, and rubs the occasional curb. A wheel alignment makes for safer driving, and is arguably the best service to upsell from. Your front end technicians will love the holidays if you apply this one right.
• Wheel and tire packages. If you’re in one of the many areas that get dumped on by the fluffy white stuff, offer winter tire packages. Show good, better, and best packages, then offer upsells like wheel alignments for those who buy into it.
• Detailing packages. Play on the need for acceptance and approval from family and friends. Who doesn’t want to show up to holiday functions with a spotless car, inside and out?

At its root, specials in the service department, whether during the holidays or otherwise, should always match up with your customers’ needs. If you wouldn’t sell it without the special, don’t try it at all. Stick with value-added services.