DesRosiers - CUVR 2017 - Canadian Used Vehicle Report - 17

THE DETAILS
National Training Director, iA-SAL

As 2017 comes to an end, and the retail sales numbers start rolling in for Canada,
it appears our industry will surpass more than 2 million new vehicle sales for
the calendar year for the ﬁrst time ever. Some OEM's experienced an increase in
their unit sales, through their dealer networks over 2016, while some regressed
marginally. For those of us that have been around our great industry for 20, 30
or even more years, we all know that sales are cyclical, and if your brand wasn't
one of the OEM's that increased in national sales, your time will come. That being
said, the one thing all dealerships had in common in 2017, is that with more retail
sales, comes more used vehicle sales opportunities.

Dan Ellsworth
dan.ellsworth@ia.ca

Does your dealership have bright, informative and current point of sale material
identifying some of the key beneﬁts of dealership arranged ﬁnancing?
Are the sales people educated on those beneﬁts of dealership ﬁnancing and are
they acutely aware of the how this positively impacts not only themselves as
professional sales people, but the customer as well?
Are the customer worksheets presented with payment options 100% of the time?
The customer makes most buying decisions based on how affordable the monthly
payment is, not the selling price. If we focus on payment, we know that we can
adjust this with different terms, interest rates or additional cash down ﬁnding a
payment that is more palatable for the customer. The only way to negotiate selling
price is by discount. If we focus the conversation around payment rather than
selling price, we can protect the gross in the deal as well as have a conversation
around the way the customer is truly thinking: PAYMENT. When our customers
see, early on in the process, that the used car they are considering is affordable,
they may make a buying decision on your car, and not continue the search on
other websites or lots.
Paying attention to the details will not only help your dealership sell more used
cars, but also retain more gross in those sales. So, if you answered "NO" to any
of the questions above, it might be a great time to do a deep dive review of your
dealership's current processes, from start to ﬁnish, when it relates to your used
car sales and ensure the details are part of the plan.

With an increase in new sales comes more trades. Managing your used vehicle
inventory is just as important as how you manage your new inventory, and some
dealers may argue, even more important! Some experts will suggest turning your
used inventory 3,5,6 or even more times per year. We all know that the OEM
spends millions of dollars to drive customers to your showrooms. This isn't free,
as the marketing costs trickles down to the retailer, but the customer acquisition
cost at the dealer level is something most dealers are acutely aware of. So, my
question is, what are you doing on your used car lot or website, to drive sales,
like the OEM does and to maximize the return on your marketing costs?
I am sure that we are all struggling with "search engine optimization", "pay
per click", "social media" and "e-commerce". Some dealerships even have full
time online specialists that work behind the scenes, to drive customers that
are searching for a used car online, to their dealerships website and inventory.
Thousands of your dealership dollars are being allotted to customer acquisition
costs, and those dollars/expenses are hitting the bottom line, every month on
the dealerships ﬁnancial statements. I agree with this dealer focus, but as with
most business initiatives, the success rate is pressured down if the details are
not considered.
Does your dealership have an active process to ensure that all the cars on the
lot have BOTH price and payment options displayed?
Does your dealership's website clearly display payment options on the car being
considered by the customer?

1-855-SAL-MKTG
1-855-725-6584
www.iasal.ca

iA-SAL is the nation's oldest and largest supplier of aftermarket programs to
new and used automotive, RV, RPG and Marine dealerships across Canada.
Our nationwide team of professionals, dedicated to your success, is highly
capable when it comes to analyzing problems and providing customized
solutions unique to your dealership. No matter where you are in our vast
country, from coast to coast, our team is ready to serve.
Our dealer partners know that with iA-SAL, they are dealing with a
company that is heads above the competition, not only when it comes
to superior products and services, but also in the community spirit that
we all share.

iA-SAL is proud to be the exclusive
sponsor of the prestigious CADA
dealer recognition program since 2005.
http://iasal.ca/ http://www.iasal.ca
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