In our industry, every department is involved in sales. And although it’s called the ‘Service’ department, you and I both know there’s emphasis placed on making just a little bit more from every customer. Increased sales are often generated by recommending value-added services and maintenance. And inevitably, you’re going to be told “no” more times than you care for.

How do you deal with rejections, ruefully known as “declined services”? Do your advisors simply go onto the next customer and try again? Do you track declined services and follow up later that visit? At a later date? On the next visit?

Maybe it’s best to start by understanding WHY you’ve been told no from your customer.

Reasons for Declined Services

Seldom are services declined because the customer doesn’t believe their vehicle requires it. More often than not, it’s our failure as service staff to go through the sales process thoroughly. These are some common objections to recommended services:

“I can’t afford it right now”

It’s a legitimate concern for many customers. Let’s face it: the services at our dealerships aren’t exactly cheap. But is it an excuse to avoid the service or truly about the money?

If this complaint comes up, a great tactic is to gently review the costly repairs that can result if the service isn’t performed. You’ll find some customers will change their mind and get the work done. Some, but not all.

“Not this time”

It’s a passive answer that doesn’t tell you much about their objection. It’s a tell-tale sign that the benefits of the service weren’t properly explained, though. What it tells you beneath the surface is that the customer has no objection to the service but no emphasis was placed on its urgency.

It’s tough to come back from this one without looking like a bully. What’s more, there’s less chance of the customer getting it done in the future because of a lackadaisical approach.

“Just the oil change please”

This is when you know a customer has been shell-shocked in the past by an aggressive advisor (hopefully it’s not you). They’ve been taken to the cleaners by someone who swung for the fences, and now they regret it.

Handle this customer with care. Some handholding and a personal touch, along with gentle, fact-based selling techniques can bring them back into the fold over time.

“…” – no objection, your advisor never tried!

If your work orders are riddled with long lists of declined services, you may have an advisor who isn’t sold out. Maybe they don’t see the benefit of the services they are selling, or maybe they don’t see the benefit in their wallet and don’t feel like trying. This hurts the most, because it’s money lost that you’ve never asked for.

Dealing with Declined Services

You have an arsenal of tools at your disposal – use them! With a little effort, you can shorten the list of declined services after the initial contact.

Ask a second time.

You might be surprised how effective it is to just reiterate the importance of the declined service. Explain the benefits again briefly, then ask the customer if they’re sure they want to wait. They might just go for it.

Recommend again when the car is in the shop.

When the technician is working on the car in the shop, it’s a great time to ask for the sale again. Whether the tech recommends the service in their inspection or not, you can try the upsell once again at this point.

Schedule it for the next visit.

You have a few options here. At writeup at the service desk, you can schedule the service with your customer immediately. You can ‘soft-sell’ the service simply by assuming they want to book it for their next visit.

If that’s not successful, cash-out is another great time to schedule it. Whether it’s you or a cashier, you should always book the customer’s next visit anyway. Why not tack the declined service onto the list, then go over what they should expect to have completed the next time they visit.

Follow up with your BDC.

Your last line of defense to capture lost sales is your BDC. Their role is to follow up with your clientele, and they’ve got a few tricks of their own to get it booked for the next visit. You’ll need to make sure there’s a way for the BDC to know the declined services you want them to sell. Hash this out intentionally.

Look for trends in declined services among your staff. You might find there’s an advisor who needs encouragement or training to improve their sales.