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Upselling in the service lane

JohnScott

Boss
Aug 23, 2009
161
0
First Name
ME inc
Looking for some tips on upselling in the service lane. Im currently SA for the Lube Tech line so I get a lot of "coupon customers" and people who want to be in and out real fast. I always review their history before they get there so I can be prepared when the walk in to make recommendations.

When trying to explain flushes one method I use to explain say an "engine flush" is that its much like the human body, after many years "plaque" builds up and needs to be removed by flushing. The longer they wait to do it the more buildup there is and more restricted the flow of oil becomes. Many seem to respond well to this.

I do find that most of my customers are already shaking their heads "no" before I even get the pitch out. Much of this may have to do with it being the fact that they are in for an "express" lube and want to get out of there, my being a new face(trust), or just the current economic situation.

Any tips would be much appreciated.
 
I just digested what you had to say and I am thinking to myself. I've got plaque build up in my car like my body? I seem to be okay, so I guess my car probably is as well.

How about this one instead:

John, you know how every so often you'll see a car on the side of the road with the hood up and there's steam coming from the engine? Well I don't want that to happen to you. I am going to strongly recommend you....

Help the customer visualize the ramifications of what might happen if they don't act.

I just had my car in for service recently and the SA told me that I had some thing-a-ma-jiggy in my steering that was starting to wear. He did not make it sound like it was all that big of a deal, so I did not act. Plus it's a lease and I will be turning it in soon. Now had he told me that this steering issue could cause me to lose control of my car, I could crash into a tree and die, I probably would have acted.

I am not saying to make things up, but paint a nice mental picture of the ramifications that might happen by not reacting.

Now I am no service adviser expert, but what I wrote seems to make sense to me. Selling is selling!

I'd be curious to hear another take on the matter.
 
Upselling in the express lane is never an easy task. As you said..most people have it in their head they're to be in and out of there quickly (hence the "express").

Sounds like you are referring to small upsales and not major services?

Your customers are there for convenience so you need to play off of that and target your message around the time factor when going after the additional sale. Have some actual times associated to different services.

If a engines flush only takes 10 minutes, let the customer know this up front.

I bet you have a few services that can be performed in less than that while the car is up in the air.

I would be looking into other forms of media to help you with the upsell. What's in the waiting room that would help explain this and get the customer to ask questions or educate the customer on the service and time taken before you even ask.

Just some thoughts..
 
Help the customer visualize the ramifications of what might happen if they don't act.

Tell a story. Problem is you don;t have a lot of time to tell the story.

Something else..I bet you spend a lot of money with your vendors (solutions providers, after market parts etc.) ? Leverage these relationships and see what material they have that would help with the point of sale.

Another..your dealers service page on their website is often a popular page. What can you do on this page to help with the upsell before the customer even shows up?

Some persuasive explanations and video would be a good place for this..
 
While you're explaining whatever you need to do, do a complete walkaround on the vehicle and visually check a bunch of stuff (depending on time). Slow down the pace in the lane and you'll get their attention easier.
 
Hey John,

Congrats, you are already miles ahead if you are planning a strategy and a process to engage your customers in the drive. I recently moved from cars.com dealing with variable ops advertising solutions to MOC1 selling a tablet PC based point of sale solution in the drive. Every dealership I dealt with on the variable ops side had a "Roadmap to the sale" that was clearly defined. I have been really surprised at how many dealerships don't have any sales process on the drive. I agree with Jerry, selling is selling. Process is Process. A consistent practiced approach is always going to net better results than the lackluster "sometimes we check tread depth" that seems to be the norm out there.

I've been on DR a long time and read some really hokie vendor product pushes, that is not my goal, but I do want to help if I can. I would investigate your current vendors for pos collateral like Kershner suggested. If you are using one of the big 3 for chemicals there are some canned 30 second videos that would be ideal for the web. PM me if you want to see some sample videos. I love the idea of preselling via the service page, but I've yet to find a dealership that does it. Maybe I'm wrong, but fixed ops seems to be lightyears behind variable ops on web based marketing and arguably has much more to gain from its effective use.

Ryan

[email protected]
 
Walk-Arounds! Cause you have to have something to sell. And are your Tech's shaking down the vehicles for upsell's? We have a bonus program for each hour upsold by the tech they get a Raffle ticket that is good for $1, $5, $20 depending on the ticket.

In addition you need to get back to your customer with the upsell no later than 15minutes after they arrive. If you try to sell something after a customer is ready to go, or nearing the original promise time your closing ratio will not be a successful.
 
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You could also hand out brochures. Have these brochures explain what other great things they can get done in a timely manner not costing them more time. Hand these out and be prepared for questions they might ask. Q&A on the brochures might hit most of the questions. You could also create a checklist... Like your are about to go into a car wash... Deluxe, Express, Standard. Have them fill this out when they come in. Just bouncing some ideas...
 
Thanks for all the tips.

I adapt my sales pitch depending on the customer and vehicle they have. You certainly have to approach a customer with a car still under warranty differently than you would a person with a vehicle that is out of warranty. I try to explain to them that it will add value to their car at resale or trade in time if they have a solid maintenance history to show the buyer.

One of the issues at my store is that the product is the entry level luxury market, Ive found that a lot of the owners really cant afford the cars they bought. A person who owns a 40,000 dollar car IMHO shouldnt be saying I dont have the money for a 29.95 air filter when you show it to them and it has leaves in it.:egads:
 
One of the issues at my store is that the product is the entry level luxury market, Ive found that a lot of the owners really cant afford the cars they bought. A person who owns a 40,000 dollar car IMHO shouldnt be saying I dont have the money for a 29.95 air filter when you show it to them and it has leaves in it.:egads:

Ahh, yes. The typical Mercedes C-Class owner. Especially when Mercedes has a solid lease. We would get a flood of Honda Accord buyers leasing C-Class Sports and then become irate when they needed to replace the sport tires at 30K miles or pay $120.00 for an oil change (even though it was ever 10-15K miles).

Pay to play!!