As promised, here is the next installment of our blog posts on handling incoming sales calls. In my last post, we looked at how poorly the average dealership handled these calls and how much money was being lost by not taking advantage of these opportunities. In this installment, we will talk about what should be your goal for every call and techniques for reaching those goals. Your first goal with
Good Morning, ABC Motors. How can I help you? I saw an ’02 Malibu on your lot yesterday. How much is it? I’m sorry, we already sold that car. Uh, OK. Thanks. Goodbye. How many sales calls at your dealership sound like this one? More than you think according to numerous studies. A J. D. Powers study of inbound sales calls to auto dealerships found that: Only 11%
Improvement is a universal theme. We all want to be better… to do better. We want our business to improve and we want our personal lives to improve. The question becomes, “How do I make that happen?” 1. Plan The first step along the path to improvement is to plan. Decide where you or your business needs to improve. Set goals you want to reach to indicate you have achieved
I have just returned from the 1st Annual Mid-Atlantic Independent Auto Dealers Association Conference in Atlantic City. It was an excellent conference with 25 educational sessions to assist independent auto dealers. The conference was very well run and, based on everything I heard from dealers in attendance, will continue to grow every year. If you weren’t there, I’d put this one on your calendar as a must attend for next year.
The Buy Here Pay Here market continues to grow. According to studies done by Experian, 9.18% of all vehicles financing in 2010 and 14.38% of used vehicle financing were done by BHPH dealers. Last year those numbers grew to 9.8% of all vehicles and 16.62% of used vehicles financed. As the economy continues to struggle, it appears this growth trend will continue for 2012 and beyond. Growth in this market
You have to dig for diamonds; they don’t float to the top. It takes a little work to find the right people to staff your BHPH dealership. One of the keys to success at a DCF dealership rests on the ability of the dealership’s personnel to establish a friendly relationship with the customers. Much of that will depend on the attitude they have towards the customers. If you and your
Making the decision to be in the Buy Here – Pay Here business can be a difficult one. The BHPH business is unfamiliar territory, even for someone with years of automotive experience. The Buy Here – Pay Here business is not the car business. In the BHPH business, the dealer takes on collection responsibilities normally assumed by the outside lender and that unfamiliar activity is the critical piece to being
This is part three of an article on what needs to be in your compliance binder. If you have not read parts one and two, I strongly suggest you do so. Several federal laws and regulations enacted over the last 10 years have required all car dealerships to have written plans outlining your efforts to comply. Failure to do so can lead to some severe penalties. Let’s take a look
This is part two of an article on what needs to be in your compliance binder. If you have not read part one, I strongly suggest you do so. Several federal laws and regulations enacted over the last 10 years have required all car dealerships to have written plans outlining your efforts to comply. Failure to do so can lead to some severe penalties. Let’s take a look at several
If your first though when you read this title was, “What’s a compliance binder?”, you must read this article. If you have a compliance binder, this article will be a good review to make sure that binder contains everything it should. Several federal laws and regulations enacted over the last 10 years have required all car dealerships to have written plans outlining your efforts to comply. Failure to do so can lead
