Two Phoenix dealerships are coming off their biggest sales weeks ever. And all it took was a little head-to-head competition in the form of a Car Wars Grudge Match.

On average, Larry H. Miller’s Toyota Peoria and the Van Tuyl Group’s Midway Nissan request around 80 - 100 customer appointments during a normal week, securing about a quarter of those.

But during last week’s inaugural Car Wars Grudge Match, the two dealerships not only saw a spike in requested appointments, but also enjoyed a stark jump in secured appointments. With no new training or an increase in ad spending, they requested an average of 600 appointments each, securing an close to 400 appointments. That’s over 25x their typical number of booked appointments and a success rate of 67 percent!

Car Wars is a competitive scoreboard call-tracking platform that puts dealers in head-to-head battles to be better on the phone and drive more sales. During the weeklong Grudge Match, Car Wars pitted these two rival teams against each other to put their phone skills on the line. Weeks leading up to the match were full of high-stake bets and preparation for each team. Teams and individual sales people earned points by doing great things on the phone, from requesting the appointment to calling back missed opportunities.

With new General Motors recalls rolling in every month since February, ensuring the safety of your customer’s future or current vehicle is top priority.

Recalled parts include faulty ignition switches, air bags and front seat belt cables. But just because GM is taking a hit, doesn’t mean your GM dealership will.

Driving sales during this time is crucial for your dealership’s success, and the key to success is keeping your customers informed on what’s happening.

Alleviate the pain

The typical recall time to make fixes and get new parts in can be anywhere from two to three months—yikes. Obviously, you don’t want to keep your customer from buying a car or using their current car during that time.

GM dealers have stepped up to alleviate the worries of car buyers and users by proving loner vehicles, offering employee pricing and overall using this mishap as a way to improve customer service at their dealerships.

Accommodate your current and prospective customers as much as possible. By going the extra mile during this uncomfortable time, you’ll likely build the kind of goodwill that keeps a customer with your brand.

Stay informed and be prepared

Don’t just rely on second hand information from your managers or your daily staff meeting to keep yourself up to date on the recalls. Start your day reading the latest in automotive news and social media feeds so you can be the first to keep your customers in the loop.

Make sure to follow the proper protocol your dealership will receive from GM—they’ll provide you with the most accurate guidelines.

Check out this great timeline on CNN.com that keeps track of the latest recall news.

GM has also made it easy for current owners to enter their VIN online, in order to see if their vehicle is being recalled. Think about putting this link prominently on your website: GM Warranty and Recalls Portal 

Answer the phone!

Your customers will have a thousand recall questions and you can’t expect them to have done their research. You need to be their trusted source, so make sure you’re available.

The best way to get connected with the customer is to make sure they are avoiding lengthy holds on the phone. Start by using a bridge instead of being directly connected by a receptionist, and forward calls to your cell phone after-hours to avoid messages getting lost in voicemail.

Your ability to connect with your customers and give them timely information could mean the difference between a repeat customer and someone that abandons GM and your dealership all together.

Don’t give up

Despite the recent hardships, GM has been smart about keeping consumers engaged. Impressive upgrades to longtime best sellers, including the Chevy Impala, drive old and new customers to their cars.

Embrace all that GM is doing to support its dealers. With their increased marketing spend to keep attracting new customers, this is not the time to scale back on your dealership’s marketing and advertising. Many committed consumers will still be attracted to the cars they offer.

GM fixing such a large quantity of their cars shows their commitment to safety, and will provide consumers with a more satisfying product in the long run. It’s all about the steps you take now that could make or break your dealership.

The goal was simple:  Get the consumer into the brand family, and keep them there for life with ever-changing and ever-improving cars.  GM was a master at this (until they abandoned it and things got squirrely).  Get them in with a Chevy, upgrade with a Pontiac, upgrade with a Buick and close with a Cadillac.

In the past, this was okay, because the differences in vehicle trims were maybe only $20K apart.  For many in the luxury space, this is an affordable “stretch.” The difference between the entry-level trim and the top of the line now might be well over $50K.

I’ve seen a shift in luxury car advertising recently, in pushing the top of the line, but not tempering their campaigns by also showing the entry level.  Basically, a “best or nothing” mentality (to steal from Benz).

I’ll pick on Jaguar for this example as they have been doing this consistently for the past year or so.

Full disclosure, I think the new line of Jags look and sound amazing.  The R line across the board is something very intriguing to me and the XF R was in my consideration set when I made a new car purchase (I drive a CTS-V).     

Every Jag campaign pushes the biggest and the best R line, which in most cases (like the XF), is over $50K from entry-level trim to the big dog.  That’s something most consumers can’t “stretch.” Sure, it’s a Jag, so they’re intentional about those they advertise to, but there’s a fairly large gap between the guy that can afford a $47K car and the guy that can drop $100K.

Jag also doesn’t temper their ad campaigns by showcasing the fact that you can get into their brand for as little as $50K.  That’s enticing, right?  Most other luxury OEMs do.   

Does pushing only the top of the line hurt the chances of getting those that can only afford entry level into the family?  Or does the OEM miss out on any and all consideration from the customer because, well, they just don’t think they can afford it?

Amazon and Nissan successfully sell a Versa online and deliver it in a giant Amazon box.  This headline is amazing and really could be a glimpse of what’s to come for the auto industry.  Even though Nissan’s Erich Marx said in response to this becoming standard practice, “No, I think this a really fun one-time execution. We have a great dealer network, and we want our dealers to be involved in the marketing and delivery of our cars. We certainly don't want to step on their toes." Do you think it could be possible?  Is this a sign of the future or just a great social media stunt?

Now matter how you look at it, it makes you take a hard look at the possibilities.    

Read more about it here:  http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/nissan-delivers-versa-note-one-lucky-buyer-enormous-amazon-box-154756

Excuse me if this story has already been covered to death on the site.