Secrets of Success

Do you really want to know the secret of the successful dealerships that are out there right now racking up CSI and raking in the profits? Would you like to know how they have grown from mediocre dealerships into the multi-million dollar per year players?

The secret my friends, is the relationship building that takes place between the employees of the business and the customers. That’s the secret, that’s it, it seems simple right? It can be if you pay attention to the training aspect of your employees as well as the compensation arrangement for your employees.

Successful dealerships listen to both sides of the coin, the customers and the employees. Successful dealerships and service facilities LISTEN to what their customers are saying and pay attention to what the customer’s needs and wants are and then they give it to them. Dealerships that are highly successful also listen their employee’s needs and wants and strive to give it to them. I will expand on this principle a little further into this article.

Let’s examine the customer’s needs and wants in a little more detail. First and foremost it is a great marketing tool to advertise your facilities amenities. Most company’s flyers, print advertising, pamphlets, commercials, blogs or website advertising fail because the theme is usually only about how GOOD they are.

Successful dealerships succeed because they have listened and observed the customers and then focus only on the customer. Successful dealerships show understanding, compassion and empathy for the issues their customers are having and they go out of their way to provide REAL SOLUTIONS to remedy the issues. Remember always fix the customer first - once that is accomplished you can fix the vehicle.

Instead of focusing on the words such as “Me, We, I, My” within the context of your marketing you should focus on words like, “You, Your, Our”. The more you can emphasize that your dealership is always there for the customer’s needs and wants, the better your marketing will be and the better your customer service will be. (Example - You are our number one priority, our mission is to have 100% satistisfaction for you, our most valuable asset.)

Some may ask, how do we really create an exceptional relationship with our customers? It’s very simple, “Start taking an interest in your customers and listen to what they are telling you”! I remember twenty years ago working for a dealership that sent out birthday cards, wedding anniversary cards, vehicle purchase anniversary cards, thanksgiving cards and Christmas cards to their customers. This little step goes a long way keeping a customer and it keeps your name in front of your customers in a positive light throughout the year. Really, what does it cost?

You could also give out incentives or small bonuses for being a great customer such as the first anniversary of their vehicle purchase, the customer receives a complimentary express detail of the vehicle. Again, what does it really cost? Looking after your customers is a priority. If you ignore them they will eventually ignore you.

Let’s now look at the employee in this scenario. When drafting your employee’s compensation plan, base a large portion of the plan on CSI and reward your employees according to the CSI score as individuals on a sliding scale. The higher the CSI score, the bigger the compensation reward.

Remember to incorporate a team CSI compensation package as well. The reason I say this is to promote everyone to work as a team, giving every customer that WOW experience. Let’s suppose Bill is away on vacation and Larry is looking after Bills customer for the redelivery of the vehicle, I would want Larry to give that customer the same attention and treatment as Bill would have, had he been present.

I know this works because it worked for me at a facility where the CSI was at the bottom of the region, we focused our attention on each CSI question and paid according to the CSI score attained, individually and team. Within three months we were number in the region and held that spot. Our factory rep was thrilled that I was posting our scores in the service drive with a caption that read, "Working to Serve You is Job One - Succeeding Keeps Us Number One".

When spending some of the DAP or CSI money that dealerships receive from manufacturers on employees to boost CSI, this should not be seen as just boosting CSI, this is building a business that will be viable into the future. The amount of money spent from the CSI bonus may be deemed as part of the business revenue stream, however if you spend this on your employees to promote and create exceptional CSI, you will build a customer base that will easily bring back a higher ROI then you will spend on CSI employee bonuses. Profits should not be looked at in the short term, always look to the future with the mindset of growth and expansion and you will win the day, month and year.

It takes money to make money!

David