Ebooks

3 SmallBizTrends.com INCENTIVES & PAY PLANS Pay plans for these dedicated positions vary by dealer. Regardless of which direction you take, discuss pay plans with your portfolio manager and service advisors. Service advisors are key to the service drive sales process – and they need to understand their critical role. Based on 100 RO's a day and selling 5 vehicles a day, here are some examples: • Portfolio Manager Salaried & Dedicated: Dependent on market, typically $40k-$80k, plus $100 for each sale, along with additional commission for the original sales consultant as an option. • Service Advisors: They're key in this customer journey and can drive a lot of sales. Consider a $100 bonus for anyone they convert, and still pay the RO. Considered a tiered system: If they refer up to 5, they get $100 per sale, more than 5 they are paid $200 per sale and over 10 they get $300 per sale. The Service advisor with the most referrals also gets a bonus. BASIC STRATEGY: Review all service appointments for the next three days and identify the best prospects who are: • Out of warranty • Over lease mileage • Experiencing a new product design • Experiencing a decrease in payment • Driving an in-demand used vehicle • Make outreach to them, first with a phone call and next with an email follow-up that includes their offer. • Attempt to get in front of all target customers that have appointments for the current day with an offer. If you miss them, leave a worksheet with a hand-written note in the vehicle or with their service advisor. • Sales opportunities are the priority, but each customer should be greeted in the service drive for service interaction consistency. ADAPTING TO THE NEW "CONSUMER FIRST" ERA Personalization takes direct mail even further. Nearly 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a company that offers personalized experiences ANA/DMA Response Rate Report, 2018 The customer buying experience is everchanging. Unless your dealership is keeping pace, you'll be left behind. Consumers have more options than ever when it comes to where and how to purchase a vehicle, and their expectations are changing. Today's buyers want: • Transparency • Personalization • Convenience THE GAME PLAN Understand: What's worked in the past won't necessarily work now. Dealers need to identify their best prospects. Don't just look at every upcoming service appointment in your dealership management software as a pending sales opportunity. Not every customer is a candidate – and this sort of approach can seriously affect your CSI. Your DMS only gives you a small piece of the story – and may leave other opportunities on the table. You need to leverage your CRM, maturity manager and, ideally, a data mining solution to identify your best service-to-sales process.

• Cover