Doing it right this selling season
As we enter the selling season, commit to your sales team! Lead well, and do it right.
What sets you apart from your competition? Do you know, and does your team? What are the compelling reasons to buy from you and not the guy (or gal) down the street? People want to do business with the best, but you have to tell them why you all are the best.
Keep your team focused on getting contact information. Asking for a business card when giving one out is a professional way of getting contact information. How about taking a picture of your client on their dream motorcycle? Ask them for an email address or a phone number to send it — they’ll want the picture. You now have contact information, and they have a new screensaver that reinforces your dealership as THE place to be a part of and to purchase from.
If you want to take that idea one step farther, put it on your Facebook page. Tell them that it’s there and to go have a look! A comment or two about appreciating them coming in — yes, make them feel important! — will reinforce what sets you apart from the competition and will reinforce that you care to earn their business.
Enforce a consistent sales process in your dealership. If you see the same issues coming up over and over — not asking for the sale, the availability of financing options, asking for contact information — deal with it promptly. Be consistent.
Keep your sales teams focused on asking for the sale 100 percent of the time, not 24 percent of the time.
In a nutshell, here’s what I see not being done on a consistent basis in many dealerships.
- Asking for the sale
- Offering compelling reasons to buy from the dealership
- Stating reasons to buy now
- Going through the numbers and writing up a deal
- Offering different financing options
- Getting contact information and following up
“We used to do that,” or “We should be doing that,” or whatever the excuse of the month is will not increase your bottom line. It will not increase the value of your business or help you sleep peacefully at night. As dealer principals we like to believe that the above is always being done without fail, but it’s not. Let’s do it right this selling season.
The responsibility starts at the top. Reinforce a consistent sales process with your team, and have a selling season that rocks!
“What one does is what counts.Not what one had the intention of doing” ~ Pablo Picasso
Mark Mooney is director, retail performance for Pied Piper Management Company LLC, a Monterey, Calif., company that works with motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers to maximize performance of dealerships. One of Pied Piper’s most popular services for the powersports industry is Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) sales mystery shopping to help turn more motorcycle shoppers into motorcycle buyers.
Contact: mmooney@piedpipermc.com
Website: www.piedpiperpsi.com
