Dealers Need to Get Back to Basics
Written by Ted Craig
Thursday, 13 January 2011 02:57 PM
Rod Heasley still has the dealership training manual from when he started in the business in the 1970s.
The advice it offers remain as relevant today as it did then.
Heasley, the national sales director for AutoSave, recently presented a Back to Basics seminar for members of the Michigan Independent Automobile Dealers Association s metro chapter.
The key message was dealers need to stop thinking like people who sell cars and start thinking like people who buy cars.
That requires looking at every aspect of a business, including how the business looks.
dealers to walk across the street and study their stores appearance. He said they need to make sure the cars are all lined up, that the window stickers are all in the same place, that old advertising banners don t clutter the lot.
Heasley said he's visited dealerships before where cars on the frontline had flat tires.
The most basic details matter, such as providing clearly marked customer parking.
Dealers need to write ad copy in a way any consumer can understand. Heasley said to avoid the alphabet soup of most cars ads and spell out features such as air conditioning and power windows.
Having salespeople who can bond with shoppers remains crucial.
Heasley said how much a customer likes a salesperson drives a majority of auto sales.
Heasley said how much a customer likes a salesperson drives a majority of auto sales.
All salespeople should always have a consumer take a vehicle for a test drive.
When they do that the salesperson should move into the backseat and stop talking about halfway through.
This allows the customer to take mental ownership of the vehicle, Heasley said.
Most dealers know the basic steps to success, but they forget them in the daily rush of work and fall into ruts.
Heasley suggests taking simple steps to get out of ruts, such as taking a different way to work.
He said dealers need to remember why they work - to provide for their families.
A good home life is essential for a good work life.
If you don t have that support, it s not as easy job, Heasley said.
Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas Ieracitano
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