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Back in the summer of '69, man, we were killin' time. We were young and restless. We needed to unwind. I guess nothing can last forever because here we are….celebrating summer by wearing masks on a test drive. 

Selling cars is a highly stressful job. 

Buying used versus new shouldn’t matter when it comes to accessorizing. Options to personalize used cars abound. In fact, accessories may be all the more enticing to a used car buyer who is likely settling for what works for them now rather than purchasing their dream car.

What can one of the most popular burger joints teach your dealership about Vehicle Personalization?

Simple: everybody wants it their way. Personalization is king, and customizing is always a good idea. Right now, dealerships everywhere need all the good ideas to adapt to the times—such as building packages that allow you to display your brand’s personality—while enticing customers. Custom packages can be fluid, seasonal, brand loyal, fun, quirky, and a host of other things. 

We could all use a boost to our bottom line right now. 

We could probably use a week off social media, a tropical vacation, and some yoga too, but I digress. With summer ablaze, car dealers have more than a day at the beach on their minds. In the midst of a global pandemic inciting mayhem in our industry, we must soak up every cent of seasonal summer accessories. Say that five times fast.

As dealers across the nation adjust to selling vehicles online, it’s imperative that we don’t skip vehicle personalization. The easiest way to ensure customers and salespeople have a fair shot at a perfectly adorned vehicle is to make your accessory link easy to find. Trip and fall over it easy. “There it is again” easy. “I didn’t find the link, the link found me” kind of easy. When you strategically place your personalization link, you make your salesperson’s life easier, and your customer more likely to buy. 

Margin compression matters now more than ever. As dealers adapt to selling cars digitally, or with skeleton crews, monthly sales volumes are on a slippery slope. Though our present industry reality is less than ideal, we aren’t without hope. We have the tools to make every car sale count, to the extent of tipping this month’s scale back into balance, precarious as it may be.

The magic of Christmas is in the air, glimmering off your perfectly waxed showroom vehicles. Everyone knows that the holiday season is a beautiful time to be in the car business. The potential to boost your bottom line this month is something even Walter Hobbs can smile about, and smiling is our favorite. Tell your sales staff to buckle up and make work their favorite, because Santa’s got a brand new bag this December (and it’s full of extra commission). 

[Updated 11/12/2020]

The stampede is coming, and they’re ready to break the internet. The Black Friday crowd has gone virtual. If 2020 has already set records in e-commerce, imagine the impact of the biggest shopping day of the year. With all the online activity, the day after Thanksgiving is basically just the warm up for Cyber Monday.

Yes, the opportunists are charging their laptops on Black Friday eve, ready to kick this thing off with new car smells. Make this car-shopping season spark joy with mega-profit potential, stellar CSI scores, and repeat business. I hope you upgraded your internet package.

In all the activity, don’t let Vehicle Personalization get lost. You cut your legs out from under yourself when you bypass accessories. This high volume day is the ideal environment for accessory sales, and can even be used to temper the flow online and in store.

Here’s three things Vehicle Personalization can do in the hustle and bustle.

The task of selecting an accessory champion for your dealership can be harrowing. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach and without a compass, dealers may find their accessory program suffering. To begin, management should examine both process and store volume to determine who to lean on as the personalization expert.