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Don’t you just love questions like “What would you do if you had an extra $20k to spend?” It’s exciting to think of having that kind of money to do with what you want.

Now imagine you are a car dealer and you have an extra $20k EVERY month to spend. Pure, easy profit. Sounds good, right?

There are plenty of ways to make this extra money that involve relying on factors that are often beyond your control. How good the salespeople are at holding on price...how good the service advisors are at upselling a more expensive add-on service... how good your F&I managers are at not only holding rate but selling the crap out of VSC’s and GAP. All a roll of the dice every month. It may work, it may not.

What if there was a way to add those extra dollars every month without all the hassle and the uncertainty? An easy way to bake in an extra $200 per unit without having to rely on anyone else to deliver it?

Preloaded appearance bundles. Boom.

What? No One Will Pay for That….Will They?

Preloads are easier to sell than you may think. Actually, you’re not really selling anything. It looks like this…

Your store adds an addendum under the Monroney that fully discloses all the protections that are included for both the interior and exterior. The warranties terms can be customized but usually come in at 12/12k and it’s in force whether you do a ‘wet’ application (use actual chemicals) or a ‘dry’ application (no chemical...just the awesome peace of mind that customers want without the labor cost to apply).

Your stores brand it as an ‘exclusive protection package’ to help push the ‘Why Buy Here?’ factor and it’s priced as a Line 1 add at a reasonable $395 per car. Your store moves 100 cars a month and after the $195 cost, you just added $20k to the bottom line. Sweet.

Because it’s preloaded, F&I doesn’t have to sell it and they can focus on selling higher margin products. Customers are less likely to reject it if it’s already ‘included’ and it’s a warranty that is non-cancelable.

So Where Could That $20K Help Your Store?

Everywhere. At a time when dealerships are paddling upstream against the lingering effects of COVID-19 on the industry, having that extra profit can be critical in boosting other department objectives or helping the dealership better transition to digital retailing.

Here’s a few ways your store can leverage that extra cash:

  • Marketing - This can be the quickest and highest ROI channel to pour that money into. Build or revamp your local brand by reaching out more aggressively on social media or consider an ad buy with Facebook (if you are not already doing this). Try an email campaign reassuring local shoppers that your store is complying with all health and safety recommendations during this health crisis.

Direct mail is not dead by the way...hire a local company to send out a postcard campaign highlighting your new protection package or encouraging local folks who may be putting off maintenance on their cars due to COVID-19 to come in for a new 120 point inspection ‘on the house’. The possibilities are endless and the ROI insanely high.

  • Hiring - Ok, this one may seem counterintuitive in the middle of a health emergency but keep an open mind here. Many dealerships are now hiring social media managers for example. It’s not a big spend in compensation but having someone savvy enough to build your brand through the channels that many buyers use would be money well spent.

Take it one step further by hiring someone who strictly works through digital communications to entice people to come into the store. This person could handle the live chat feature if you have it, send text alerts to those who opted in, and immediately reply to email inquiries. Maybe they are not necessarily a ‘salesperson’...maybe they are an online sales coordinator or something along those lines. The more people they get in the door or engaging with sales to make a purchase, they get a spiff. Win-win.

  • Service Upgrades - $20k every month would help your techs with some sweet new equipment that every shop needs to stay competitive with national chains. New lifts, rotor lathes, tire balancing machines, etc.  Anything that makes a tech’s job easier and more efficient helps make the store more money right away.

Even spending a little of that money each month to cater lunch for them each week would be a simple but powerful gesture to keep them happy and loyal to your store.

  • Training - One of the biggest investments any dealership can make is on the knowledge base of their employees. Training both for the floor and the shop can be invaluable to building important skills to help drive efficiency and sales. F&I, sales, service and even parts personnel can all benefit from regular training. Your extra $20k can pay for VERY good training, by the way.

Offering regular training also has another little-known positive affect...it actually lowers turnover. When employees feel like their companies make the investment in their skills and education, they tend to stick around longer than when they don’t receive any additional training. You invest in them, they are more likely to give you their best.

See how simply adding a preloaded interior/exterior appearance bundle to every unit can have a positive and profitable ripple effect in other areas of the dealership? That’s $20k or more that can be used in many different departments to help achieve the ultimate goal of every car dealer...sell more cars.

For more information about how you can easily start offering this preloaded appearance package now, reach out to us at ExoGloss and ask about our ExoBundle protection package. We would love to help you...

Originally posted on Agent Entrepreneur