Digital Dealer - March 2019 - 48

S A L E S & VA RIA BL E OPS: F ixe d Op e r a tio ns Continued from pg. 47

...A COMPLETE MULTI-POINT INSPECTION
PERFORMED BY A COMPETENT TECHNICIAN CAN
ALLEVIATE A PLETHORA OF CONCERNS BY ALLOWING
THE ADVISOR TO CREATE AN ACTION PLAN OF
MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR."
breaking. Hopefully none
of your precious customers
feel this way. I'm thinking of
single moms, children away
at college, young families,
senior adults on a fixed
income-and everyone else
that depends on their car for
survival.
A thorough and complete multi-point inspection
performed by a competent
technician can alleviate a
plethora of concerns by allowing the advisor to create
an action plan of maintenance and repair.
This scheduled action
plan can be sensitive to
the customers financial
situation because usually "it
doesn't all have to be done

today."
Of course, some things
do need to be done today,
which relates to the next
statistic...

40% OF RESPONDENTS
UNDER AGE 35 SAID
THEIR VEHICLE NEEDS
NEW TIRES.

The number one reason
consumers defect to the aftermarket is tires. Whoever
asks for the tire sale usually
will get all the maintenance
business going forward.
Your dealership doesn't sell
tires to make money, but
rather to keep customers
loyal. Are your advisors doing a walk-around with the
customer every time? Do
they have a tire tread-depth

A DV E R T IS E R S IN D E X
ADVERTISER

PAGE

Advanta Star..................................................... 7
CONSTRUCTION SUPERCONFERENCE..... 1
IRCE................................................................ 27
Kerrigan Advisors............................................. 33
Manheim/Inventory Solutions.......................... Inside Front
cover, 41
National Pavement Expo................................. 5
RFID ................................................................ 3
vAuto................................................................ Back Cover
The index to advertiser page numbers is published for reader convenience. Every
effort is made to list page numbers correctly. The listing is not part of the advertising
contract and the publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.

48

MARCH 2019

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

gauge in their hand? Are
the customers seeing them
inspect the tires every time
they come in for service?
Danielle Wallace is one
of the sharpest industry experts I know when it comes
to the topic of marketing to
women. Wallace says that
safety is the foremost issue
in a woman's mind related
to her automobile.
You sell tires to make
customers, you do tire rotations to keep customers, so
you can sell maintenance
services to make money.
TWO-THIRDS OF
THOSE SURVEYED SAY
AT LEAST ONE THING
IS WRONG WITH THEIR
VEHICLE RIGHT NOW.

Wow. That's about 1,300
out of the 2,000 respondents. If that one thing is
brakes-and they ignore
it-then they'll need rotors
before long. If that one thing
is weak, acidic antifreeze-
and they ignore it-then
they are going to need a
head gasket in the near
future. If that one thing is a
stretched timing chain...you
get the idea.
Fact: When maintenance
and repair are needed, yet
ignored, things won't get
better over time and they
won't cost less over time.
Educate your customers,
ask for the sale, and build
their trust.
MOST PEOPLE FEEL

INTIMIDATED WHEN
THEY DEAL WITH A
MECHANIC.

If "intimidated" means
"I respect his knowledge,"
then it's one thing... but if it
means "he uses terminology I don't understand, and
he makes me feel stupid,"
then that's another thing.
When an advisor or
technician uses industry
jargon in an attempt to
impress-or, heaven forbid,
intimidate-someone, it
usually backfires and results
in a lost sale. Speak their
language; use terminology
they understand. Listen, be
empathetic, genuinely care.
If you connect with them,
they'll buy from you. If you
act superior to them, they'll
run from you.
All five of these statistics
scream "opportunity!" Now
that you know how customers feel about their vehicles
and their service providers,
it gives you a better idea
of how to proactively turn
those concerns into service
revenue.
CHARLIE POLSTON is an
Automotive Customer Retention and Profitability Consultant
with BG Products, Inc. Charlie
has been with BG's Fixed
Operations Division for over
36 years. He has trained over
7,500 dealers, managers, and
technicians - and has been a
frequent workshop leader at
NADA's annual convention.
EMAIL: cpolston@bglsi.com
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Digital Dealer - March 2019

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