As we think about setting our goals over the next 90 days, let’s focus our attention next on whole goods, or the sales department.  During season, if we miss the mark on this department, it is painfully obvious! We like to view the whole goods in a dealership as an apple tree. We plant the tree, through the sale of a piece of equipment.  Then, we reap the benefits year after year in terms of [...]

Calculate closing ratio It all starts off with some basic calculations, the first being your closing ratio. Let’s say that you kept track for a two-week period of time and found that 70 people had come into your dealership to look at equipment. Out of that group of 70, 20 ended up buying from you.  Keep in mind that the type or size of the equipment doesn’t matter, the important part is knowing the numbers [...]

Compensation, regardless of the position in a dealership, is always a hot topic.  How much can I afford to pay? What level of performance do I have the right to expect as an owner from my people? How do I know whether I am paying too much, or just as bad, not enough, and then risk losing my good people to a competitor?  While I could do a day-long program on compensation programs for dealerships, [...]

Who is your typical customer? Do you know? Grab a piece of paper and write down the answers to the following questions about your “typical” customer. What is their gender? What is their average age? What is their favorite radio station? Got it? Now, next to that I want you to write your gender, your age and your favorite radio station. Do the two look anything alike? If you are like most owners or managers, [...]

Regardless of whether it’s service, parts, sales, or rental, each department has various roles that need to be filled to successfully take care of customers and to make sure the dealership is growing as projected. In the past, I have discussed both the service and parts roles; this week I want to focus specifically on sales. Depending upon the size of your dealership, one person may take on several of these roles or you may [...]

When you think about sales people, what comes to mind? For most people, it’s words like slick, slimy, greasy, or con artist. Now tell me, who wouldn’t want to be a sales person when those words come to mind? As you are looking for salespeople, I think most dealers we work with would agree that the words above aren’t words that they would want to be said of their own sales people. So, how do [...]

Today’s largest customer segments, Baby Boomers and Millennials, are influenced by attractive, interactive showrooms. Their purchasing decisions are influenced by your brand as well as the layout and overall appearance of your showroom and outside displays. Branding is one of the most important elements of any dealership. In the past, dealers tended to let their manufacturer’s brand be their brand. Today, things are different. Your customers have instant access online to your competitors, so you [...]

Successful sales professionals take care to develop long-term relationships with their customers. They understand that the only way to consistently generate orders and increase business is through customer loyalty. This loyalty is built by continuing to monitor and cultivate the customer’s satisfaction. Document the Selling Process.  In order to structure a long-term relationship, you need to document the selling process and ensure your company is providing good customer service. You will also want to understand [...]

Great sales people aren’t great because they know everything possible about the products they sell. They are great because they have the ability to transfer the excitement for the product to the customers interested in the equipment they are selling. While it’s important to know as much as you can about the equipment you sell, that alone won’t help you increase your sales. Your goal is to present your products in a way that creates [...]