Sell Extended Service Plans in Service Department, Too, Urges Dealer CPA
When vehicle sales go down, as they have this year compared to 2001’s near-record pace, dealers should stimulate selling of extended service plans (ESPs) – in not one, but two, departments. So says Joseph P. Monahan, CPA with the firm of Weisberg, Mole, Krantz & Goldfarb, Hicksville, N.Y.
The obvious locale for pursuing increased ESP or VSC penetration is the F&I department, says Monahan. But an additional venue is the service department itself, which finds out first whether an ESP is in force on vehicles being repaired or maintained.
For either F&I or a service department writer, a bonus plan is advisable for sale of ESPs, writes Monahan. Compensation should be tied to CSI, he says. “Satisfied customers…are most likely to come back for service and buy another vehicle,” declares Monahan. “They also are the dealers’ best advertisement.
“Remember, it is not what you have to learn, but what you have forgotten about selling that will work against you during a slowing economy.”
Monohan, 61, has been a CPA for 40 years. Weisberg, Mole, Krantz & Goldfarb has 75 dealership clients and is a member of the advisory board of the AutoCPA Group. Monahan can be reached at (533) 933-3800.
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