Ability without Opportunity is of Little Value
“Ability without Opportunity is of Little Value”
Success in the sales business office depends on two key factors: ability and opportunity. Ability is achieved by training and sometimes pure determination. The willingness to give the second effort. The discipline to follow the need satisfaction techniques with every customer.
Opportunity is accomplished by seeing every customer at the point of commitment on the unit. Some dealerships will have two or three opportunities and not make the most of them.
The first opportunity presents itself at the point of commitment to purchase the unit. The sales business manager should be the one to complete the purchase order, collect the initial investment, and review all options the customer has to protect the purchase they just made.
The second opportunity occurs when the customer returns to the dealership to complete loan documentation. Many metro area dealerships do not have this second opportunity since they spot-deliver units.
The third opportunity is the service department. When each customer brings a unit in for service, the advisor should get into the habit of asking for the customer’s vehicle service agreement. Some of you may refer to this as a parts and labor agreement. The service advisor should validate the policy in the appropriate area for each visit. If the customer does not have a policy and the unit is still within the factory warranty period, it is a great time to present the protection package again.
How do you discover if you do indeed have these opportunities? The answer is simple. Just track your daily activities. What is the outcome of every encounter with a customer? Many vendors can provide tracking logs for the sales business office. You may need to create a tracking log for service advisors. To promote growth, you must know what has transpired. You can then set realistic SMART goals, track daily activities, and evaluate daily progress. Armed with this information, you will know what changes need to occur to make the most of each opportunity.
In an era of computerization, many of you will say, ” Jan, my system tracks the sales of each department.” My response to you is: “Does your system track lost revenue opportunities?” Lost revenue occurs every time a current or past customer is not given the opportunity to enroll in all of the protection plans your dealership has to offer.
The tracking report should produce a one- page activity summary. If the report is more than one page, it is too long. In this day of data overload, managers need brief, concise reports. The detail can remain on the logs.
The sales business manager should also track customer objections that are difficult to handle. We refer to these as “Why the Customer Sold YOU” cards. The cards can be used during role playing sessions at sales business office departmental meetings and when vendors visit the dealership. These post-play notes can be instrumental in raising the level of performance.
Post-play reports are written on 4 x 6 cards. One side states the customer objection; the reverse side notes an appropriate response. With this information, the sales business manager will be better prepared to meet the challenge of objections.
Finally, evaluate your current customer flow. Does the sales business department have every opportunity it needs? Do sales business managers see every customer at the point of commitment, or do they just prepare receipts for checks from other lenders at the point of delivery?