Blog

Meet the CCE team

Posted by Whitney Williams on Jun 5, 2018 11:30:00 AM

Over the years, you may have talked to someone in Insignia’s customer care department 100 times, know their birthday, and even have an inside joke. You probably have an idea of who you think the voice on the other end of the phone is, or what they look like. Now you’ll know!  Let us introduce you to our Customer Care Experts (CCE) team dedicated to maintaining our level of ridiculous customer service.

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Topics: Questions, Customer Success, staff, sales team, Educate, customers

The "Experts" of Vehicle Personalization (Update)

Posted by Whitney Williams on May 15, 2018 3:30:00 PM

We posted the original version of this blog over a year ago. Since last year, hundreds of dealerships have joined Insignia to increase their accessory sales and with this welcomed growth there are some growing pains. The main pain being, we needed more VPEs. Like a superhero movie, Insignia assembled the industry’s very best to take on nationwide consulting coverage. Now, a year later, we welcome several new members to our team. Get to know the VPE behind your dealership's success.

Just a few short years ago, Insignia Group was a team of fewer than twenty, with a field sales staff of four. Though our customer base was peppered across the nation, the pairing of our in-house customer service team and outside field team serviced our dealerships from coast to coast.

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Topics: Accessory News, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, staff, accessory program, accessories installations, Educate

The social media beast is hungry

Posted by Whitney Williams on May 10, 2018 11:00:00 AM

Just a few years ago, you could resist the social media temptress. No, it wasn’t popular, but you could pull it off. Swim upstream a bit. Dabble, but resist diving right in. No more. The social media beast is hungry and it eats a full time salaried position at your dealership for breakfast.

Society as a whole has embraced  the culture of social media and the ease of access to search, shop, and even sell from an online platform. Your grandmother has been on Facebook for two years and is ready to move on to Instagram. Your customer is no exception--and you’ll lose business if you don’t believe it.

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Topics: Sales Best Practices, Marketing, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, Showroom, sales team, Millenials, Educate, customers, eCommerce, Best Practice

#DiplomatChallenge - LLumar

Posted by David Stringer on May 4, 2018 11:00:00 AM

The team at Insignia lives for selling accessories - it's in our veins. From our VPEs sharing their years of experience, to our best practices giving dealers the latest industry tips, to our blog showcasing successful dealerships, we are the leaders in Vehicle Personalization. 

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Topics: Accessory News, Marketing, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, Volkswagen, LLumar, Educate, #DiplomatChallenge

Best Practice: 3 ways to educate, not sell

Posted by Whitney Williams on Mar 28, 2018 11:30:00 AM

Your customer relies on you for many things: your expertise, flexibility, free coffee, and detective skills.

It’s not up to the person walking in the dealership to know all the personalization options available that make their car driving experience safer, more fun, more fancy, more attractive, or more social media post-worthy. As a sales person, changing your mindset from pitching another product to educating the customer on their options will make a world of difference.

Truly, you’ll do your customer a disservice by not presenting them with useful and exciting accessories for the second largest purchase OF THEIR LIFE. No pressure--but how might one know what to suggest?

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Topics: Accessories System, Sales Best Practices, Presentation Tools, Increase Profits, Process Training, Questions, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, Showroom, staff, sales team, sales, Best Practice

3 Rules to Jump Start Your Accessory Sales

Posted by Trey Bodwin on Mar 16, 2018 2:00:00 PM

Getting started with accessory sales can be overwhelming. You want to capitalize on the profits Vehicle Personalization offers, but you don’t know where to start.  We’ve got good news--there’s one simple technique that will tackle your major focuses and gain big results from all departments: the rule of three. Stocking accessories in threes reaps three major benefits. 

As a general manager or dealer principle, you’re all about increasing gross profit for your dealership while keeping laser focus on great CSI. Today’s customers are happy when they get what they want, and quickly. With Vehicle Personalization, your dealership can deliver on both demands with the rule of three.

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Topics: Sales Best Practices, Increase Profits, Marketing, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, Showroom, staff, sales team, sales, accessories installations, customers

Insignia Group Announces Million Dollar Challenge Coin Dealerships

Posted by Insignia Group on Feb 8, 2018 10:30:00 AM

February 8th, 2018 ROCK HILL, SC -- Insignia Group LC, the industry leader for accessory sales process consulting and configurator software, announced the winners of its annual Million Dollar Challenge Coin. Each year Insignia honors dealerships selling more than one million dollars in Vehicle Personalization (accessory sales) in their dealerships over the previous year (2017).

To qualify for Insignia Group’s distinction, the dealership must sell more than one million dollars in accessory parts through the dealership's showroom sales process. These sales exclude e-commerce sales made through the dealership's online efforts.

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Topics: Toyota of Braintree, Challenge Coin, Jeff Belzer, Mountain State, Sonic Dealership, Mark Miller Toyota, Educate, Rudy Luther, Luther Brookdale, Ken Garff, Larry Miller Toyota, Smart Motors, Beaverton Toyota, Michaels Toyota Bellevue

Improve F&I Sales with Accessories

Posted by Trey Bodwin on Jan 25, 2018 12:00:00 PM

*updated 3/15/2022

The Vehicle Personalization beast is growing—and it needs more room. Your showroom isn’t big enough to contain the accessory sales mammoth anymore. Vehicle customization is stretching its limbs into F&I sales, and your finance manager ought to receive Godzilla with open arms. While it’s a widely known fact that accessorizing vehicles at the point of sale benefits your bottom line and your customer, the benefit to all departments is less commonly agreed upon; especially when it comes to F&I benefits.

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Topics: Sales Best Practices, Increase Profits, Customer Success, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, sales team, accessories installations, F&I

Your dealerships success depends on this 2018 new hire

Posted by Whitney Williams on Jan 4, 2018 2:31:04 PM

Vehicle personalization enthusiasts from every corner of the world went to bed on December 31st dreaming about accessorizing their flying car. As we ring in a new year, we can’t help but wonder when George and Jane Jetson’s idealistic utopian future might come to fruition for the automotive world. Though it may be 2062 before your accessory catalog features space rails, there is productive and innovative focus for 2018 to take your dealership to the next level. We believe what’s going to be the most cutting edge in the personalization game this year isn’t a product, but a person--your accessory manager.

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Topics: Customer Retention, Increase Profits, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, Showroom, staff

Why your showroom needs Rudolph's nose

Posted by Whitney Williams on Dec 7, 2017 1:00:00 PM

It’s that time of the year--all the dealerships are doing all the Christmas things. Commercials for huge winter savings bombard the senses as the shiny 2018 model twinkles behind a fresh coat of wax. Perfectly placed trees and lights line your showroom entrance. General managers dream of sugar plums and end of year profit margins. What does the Christmas spirit mean for your vehicle personalization center? This is a season of going all out- from inflatable Santas on the roof to credit card debt (you can do better, America). It’s time to get a little crazy.

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Topics: Increase Profits, Marketing, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, sales, seasonal, holiday