Why aftersales is key to maximising car dealership profitability

The areas of the business outside of the sales department (aftersales teams) are not usually seen as sales opportunities.  The individuals we attract to these departments tend towards the technical rather than the commercial.  The prevalent considerations tend towards logistics, time management and technical capability.

Clearly these considerations are crucial to ensure the smooth running of the department but like any other area of the business, it is important to ensure that its assets are achieving optimum efficiency and productivity in order to maximise profitability.

Are your Aftersales teams ‘sales’ people?

Every workshop has a number of hours per day available to sell.  Our front of house teams are partially responsible for selling those hours as well as managing our customers’ expectations.  What consideration do you give to their training and development in respect of their customer interaction and management?  Are they ‘sales’ people?

Every contact with a customer is an opportunity to sell. 

Routine service bookings are essentially a distress purchase on the part of the customer.  They cannot avoid the necessity of servicing their car, but they can decide where to take it for the work to be carried out.  Your service teams should be targeted with making a booking with every enquiry made and maximising the sales opportunities presented to them when the customer is in the business. They are well placed to achieve this insofar as they have more regular contact with the customer and, if they do their job well, are often trusted.

– Is there a process for handling incoming calls that your team adhere to?
– Do they have the authority to offer a discount to secure a booking?
– Do your service teams upsell add on work including tyres, paint protection, smart repairs and tyre and alloy wheel insurance?
– Can they discuss service care plans with confidence?
– How well do your teams sell this work?

How can you maximise this for your dealership?

Given that your labour generates a net profit in the order of 30%, it is an area of the business that needs focus, to ensure growth and prevent lost sales.

– Do you provide a comprehensive job description for your teams detailing their responsibilities?
– Do you identify red work and amber work following a health check?
– Are they targeted and rewarded for sales achievement in these additional products?
– Do you train them in the process of selling these products and services?

If your teams are sufficiently well trained, they will see these additional products as adding value to the customer experience.  If they have confidence in the quality of these products they should have total confidence in selling the value.  If your customer perceives added value, they are more likely to recommend you on a net promoter score and more likely to buy from you again when change time comes.  They are less likely to drift towards the independent network after the warranty expires.

So, how can you get the most from your aftersales department? Talk to us about our aftersales training programs.