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Many dealerships recognize the opportunity that accessories can bring to their bottom line—and yet still struggle to build a successful accessory sales program.

Employee turnover has been cited as the #1 challenge for dealerships.

Recruiting, hiring, and retaining top talent has a price tag, and the revolving door of employee turnoverimpacts profitability. According to the 2022 NADA Dealership Workforce Study, "...employee turnover rate within the industry is currently at an average of 67 percent."

That’s a staggering number, considering that just one year before, Auto News reported turnover was the lowest it had been in a decade at only 34%. 

Dealers put money into hiring a new employee, only to lose them before their 90-day assessment. 

Employees that stick around longer end up irritated by the structured payment plans. And let’s face it, we’ve all experienced the pain of reduced margins which impact how sales consultants are compensated. 

So, what can dealers do about this age-old problem?

In a fictional study never performed, 100% of dealers admitted their preloading program was one of their biggest factors hindering them from selling accessories in the showroom.

Jokes aside, this really is a common theme that dealers are often getting snagged on.  We all know that vehicle personalization is a multi-billion dollar industry, but with popular vehicles preloaded on the lot and showroom floor, dealers shy away from bringing up additional add-ons to their customer. The result? The customer just buys what they need somewhere else.

In recent years, the demand for certified technicians has ballooned as the number of quality workers in this field declines.  Experienced technicians are almost certainly guaranteed to find work. The technician knows it, and the dealership knows it. This creates an environment where the expert is looking for steady work to earn a good living, and the dealership is looking to provide steady work to talented people.

It would seem the flood of recall work for most brands over the last several years would fill this need. Yet recall work is redundant and, at times, not particularly challenging. Warranty work, which keeps many service bays busy, often falls in the same category. Couple these dynamics with the shortage of a talented workforce, and you’d have to ask yourself, why would anyone want to be a service manager these days?

Gym memberships. On-site cafés. Sleeping pods, even. Workplace incentives are nothing new. FCA US, maker of Chrysler vehicles, includes free college degrees among its employee perks. The Degrees@Work incentive links employees with Strayer University for the on-campus or online pursuit of a degree. Eligible employees could earn their associate's, bachelor’s, or master’s degrees.

*updated 12/20/2021

Everyone remembers the famous line from the movie Boiler Room, "Always be closing." Sounds good in theory—is it practical? You have to be creative as a dealership and use practical knowledge to improve your sales closing ratio. Here are five car sales tips to help with closing a deal. The following clever ideas are simple and easy to apply to increase vehicle sales and improve your car sales technique!

What causes high turnover in a dealership, and what can management do about it? 

First, take a look at the breakdown. 

At a high level, the 2013 Dealership Workforce Industry Report released by the NADA stated that:

• Nearly 40% of the people who are hired into sales consultant positions leave the dealership within 90 days
• The 90-day revolving door is due to two factors: poor “fit” hiring decisions and commission-based pay plans
• About 62% of sales consultants quit or are terminated over the course of a year
• The change rate for female sales consultants is 76%

Recently I was talking with the owner of a dealer group about personalizaation. We talked about his team's desire to sell vehicle personalization across his 17 dealerships.  I talk with so many dealership owners that simply have a tough time motivating their team to sell BEYOND the vehicle. Many--maybe too many--accept this as “the way it is.”

This particular dealer principal's comment was simple: “We all like cars, and we all like the toys and accessories that go on cars. That’s why it’s such a fun business. If you can’t close your people on that, maybe you’re in the wrong business.”

Courtesy of Insignia’s guest blogger: Kurtis Smith of the K-method Group

It is no secret that we are all experiencing some difficult times in our respective economies and that these times are causing many in the automobile industry to question their career paths. However, even in these challenging times, there are those that continue to flourish because they seem to know something that many of their counterparts do not.

These individuals continue to give themselves pay raises every month and every year.  They figured out some time ago that they have to make up in volume what they lack in skill or make up in skill what they lack in volume.

For decades we have known that the majority of those selling on the frontlines of automobile dealerships lacked the necessary skills that they need to be effective, but due to the abundance of prospects that used to walk through the doors, this issue was continually ignored.  Today it is commonplace to see these salespeople jumping from dealership to dealership chasing the hot product or compensation plan to compensate for the roller coaster effect in their income. This unfortunate reality is one of the symptoms of an individual that lacks the knowledge of how to effectively build a book of business or create a customer following.  The irony is that many of these salespeople will boast about having a significant amount of years in the business simply because they lacked the formal education and skills.  It seems that it’s Reckoning time! 

The key to not just surviving in these challenging times, but flourishing is to become a tactical seller, to go on the offense by being proactive instead of standing around waiting for prospects, which is being reactive.  These individuals who have gone on the offense have learned not only to sell professionally but to sell differently and become proficient in packaging their offerings in different combinations so as to appeal to each buyer uniquely. They have modified their selling style and their processes because they have accepted the fact that consumers have access to more information than ever before including invoices, incentives, and so on.  They have come to terms with the fact that their customers prefer to negotiate from the bottom up, not the other way around, so they have redefined their strategy to increase their gross margins and therefore increase their personal income.  In addition, as tactical sellers, these professionals realize that it’s futile not to give the client exactly what they want, so consequently, they spend a good amount of time building value and cultivating relationships in order to position themselves as expert when making buying recommendations.   

It is important to note that the fundamental value of selling accessories is that they have no published invoice price, and like art or fine jewelry, the perceived value to the consumer rests in the seller’s ability to articulate and transfer the benefits of ownership through a proper presentation. The tactical seller knows this and through a proper needs analysis, they are able to identify potential opportunities before they begin to make a presentation. These add-ons are introduced by the tactical seller earlier in the selling process and they are able to demonstrate and present the accessories as a must-have instead of a should-have. The difference here is that most salespeople discuss accessories as an afterthought whereas their “oh by the way” approach diminishes the value and importance causing it to be perceived as unnecessary.

With that being said, here are a few things that you can do as a salesperson to up your game so that you can join these selling professionals who are currently flourishing in these difficult times.

#1 Upgrade Your Skills – You have to make up in skill what you lack in volume. If your dealership client count is low, then you have to increase your business development activities. Engaging in Business Development activities is your responsibility and as such, it should be a part of your daily work plan. The benefit of this process is that you will have clients walking through the door asking for you by name.

 #2 Keep More Clients Than You Lose – When you are building a book of business, your objective is to find and keep customers. This means that you have to become good at CRM as a process by becoming knowledgeable about CRM software. Customer Relationship Management is the key to growing a large and profitable book of business. This tool and process in the hands of a capable selling professional is the key to experiencing compounding sales and income.

#3 Commit to Selling Accessories – If you cannot beat them, join them. The best part about selling accessories is that your cost is not a published item, so it leaves you room to actually create a profitable deal even though the vehicle selling price may be low. The key to selling anything starts with knowing your product and accessory product knowledge is critical to know what item in your tool bag works best with what vehicle.  Knowing the benefits and drawbacks of these items when making recommendations to your clients will be perceived by them as counseling instead of selling which makes you look like the expert.

This is tactical selling at its best, and is a strategy that anyone can use to give themselves a pay raise today!

 Connect with Kurtis:

www.kmethod.com 

http://kmethod.com/blog/

DealerElite.net: http://www.dealerelite.net/profile/KurtisSmith

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtismith