Have you been having a hard time trying to create revenue with a limited client base and find your service department has slowed along with wholesaling more vehicle then you would like? As most organizations know that their fixed operations are what keeps the lights on and is their dependable source of income. What do you do when that slows? and sales have fallen horribly?
The answer is simple! OPTIONS!!! Give the customers You have more options. I am going to give you the outline automotive dealers should be following, SALES and SERVICE working together.
All vehicles traded in need to have the following: 1. A Budget Check(aka Safety Check) pays the tech 1.0hr incl. Oil Change $99.95 2. If the vehicle needs under $400.00 in additional repairs to be frontline/sale ready, GET IT DONE! 3. For the vehicles that need a list of items (oil leaks, axle boots torn,4 tires etc..) yet the body is clean, create a list of those items/create a estimate. DO NOT CONDEM THE VEHICLE TO WHOLESALE! 4. Sales now will create 2 window stickers, One for the price of the vehicle and options, Second one with a itemized check list of what the vehicle needs mechanically, with SPECIAL pricing aka (Club Pricing Discounted with the purchase of the vehicle) Example front pads and rotors $328.95 Club pricing with the purchase of the car/truck $259.95, which can be financed with the price of the vehicle.
The customer now has the choice to get done what they want and at a discounted rate, creating a sold unit for sales and additional work for service along with locking in a customer with the special CLUB pricing they will now recieve for all their automotive needs. This eliminates alot of up front monies that dealerships can not afford to risk in a vehicle they think might sell at this time. Why wholesale a clean vehicle that we will lose money on only for someone else to reap the benefits at the sale, instead lets offer the public exactly what no one else is currently offering OPTIONS!
I convinced a Large Audi dealership to use this program, the results where extra ordinary! The vehicle that could not be certified due to paint work or high mileage yet very clean vehicles now were being sold! Service was making money, techs where happy, sales moved a unit they thought was definetely gonna be 500-1000 loser at the auction, a customer was happy...did I mention that we averaged over 3k per unit between sales and service as well. Talk about a WIN/WIN situation. Time for all the conventional automotive dealerships to dust off their thinking caps and realize that as long as a customer has OPTIONS they will always feel comfortable and buy. No matter what OPTIONS they chose WE WIN!!!!!
Richard A. Browne
Region President of TTwR
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