The Perks of Low Vehicle Inventory

Is anyone else sick of being cynical? The doom and gloom surrounding the automotive culture are getting too heavy to lug around. As we creep into November, it’s clear that low inventory will continue into 2022, so we’ve got to find a way to make lemonade. While OEM’s and the media are projecting a pessimistic outlook as the world tries to rebound, low inventory can bring opportunities you may not have considered. As we wait for something to change that’s out of our control, let’s make the most of this time. 

Low Vehicle Inventory Is an Opportunity

Dealerships can use this time to get stronger. Remember the days when you didn’t slow down long enough to eat a protein bar? Now time is on your side. Use these days to strengthen your foundation, unify your team, and prepare to come back stronger than ever. 

Hone in on Processes

The process is critical to your store. When it’s going well, you barely notice it. When it’s off, everybody feels it. Re-evaluate your dealership processes and scrutinize for potholes. Is the sales process easily moving customers through from the showroom to the service lane, or are you attacking customers like a stray dog? Are fixed and variable ops communicating well? Are you presenting accessories at the point of sale every time? Is your service lane keeping customers in-house? Wherever you are lacking, pour into it. While your foot traffic is down, try a new approach.

Revamp Training

What are the things you expect your service, parts, sales, and administrators to know? Where are places the ball may have dropped in your department, or the dealership as a whole? Hold a management meeting and nail that down. Have managers start asking questions and use the time to retrain in areas that are lacking. Group training. Individual training. Cross-departmental training. Be the store with a staff full of experts. Surpass the used car guy stereotype with your professionalism. After you’ve analyzed your training, update your onboarding process to fix the holes. 

Evaluate Resources

Do your vendors and softwares spark joy? Now is the ideal time to see what services your departments are paying for and what type of return on investment you’re receiving. Are your vendors providing healthy relationships and excellent service? Do all your programs and services maximize efficiency? Think of customer management and accessory selling systems. If you’re paying for software that doesn’t pay for itself in time or revenue every month, then retrain or get rid of it. 

Make Creative Profit

Use this downtime to get creative with making up for the revenue missing from sales volume. Accessories are an easy sell for every vehicle and are more critical than ever. When you can’t source the vehicle your customer is after, accessorize what you have to make it a great alternative. Customers are adding accessories within 90 days of purchase, so why not keep that profit for yourself? Amazon didn’t take a hit, so don’t keep feeding them. Finance accessories at the point of sale and allow your customer to get exactly what they want on the budget that they need.  

Don’t Let This Time Go To Waste

Opportunity for growth is as much of a reality as low inventory. Insignia Group is the ideal platform to boost your front-end gross with accessory sales. Seamlessly communicate between departments, track progress and incentives, analyze parts data, and keep your customer’s in the loop from one operating system. Let us help you implement a strategy that will increase revenue today.

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