Service Lane Selling
By Gene White
Your service advisor is the critical link between a new vehicle purchase and repeat new vehicle purchases. On average, the service advisor will see more customers in a year than your entire sales force. Depending on how the service advisor handles those customers, the service advisor will either endear customers to your dealership or systematically run customers off. The average time between new vehicle purchases is currently six years, and your service advisors are the ones who handle those customers for the majority of that time.
I recommend a seven-step selling technique on the service lane. The seven steps are listed below:
- 1. Promptly acknowledge the customer.
- 2. Establish rapport.
- 3. Determine the vehicle's real problem.
- 4. Restate the problem.
- 5. Document the main problem.
- 6. Sell additional work.
- 7. Quote the R.O., ask customer to approve R.O.
Steps 1-4-CSI
Steps 1-4 deal with customer satisfaction. If your service advisors do not do a good job of handling these steps, your CSI will reflect this with a low rating. With most customers these first four steps progress rapidly; in some cases, they drag out. Remember that they cannot be rushed. Your service advisors must listen intently during these steps to gain an understanding of just what the customer came in for. Listening means eye contact, undivided attention and empathy with that customer.
Step 5-Comebacks
"Restate the problem," is the step needed to stop comebacks. Fifty percent of all service comebacks are because a service advisor did not take the time to listen to what the customer said, then document those facts. By restating the customer's concerns and listening for customer feedback in the form of agreement or disagreement, the service advisor can reduce comebacks significantly.
Step 6-Doubling Flat Rate Hours Per Repair Order
"Sell maintenance work," is the only step that will increase flat rate hours per R.O. The customer will tell you what is broken and needs repair. It is up to your service advisory staff to ask for additional business. This step normally takes an additional three minutes and can double the flat rate hours per repair order. In most dealerships, as much work drives out of the dealership as the work we do, because we do not systematically ask for it. You do not need to find any additional customers to get this work, just ask for it!
Ninety-five percent of all service advisors I have interviewed do not know what their respective manufacturer recommends for maintenance or the service intervals. This recommended maintenance is spelled out in detail in the maintenance section of the shop manual. Do not allow them to simply use the short form version in the owner's guide. How can service advisors sell if they do not have product knowledge?
Selling also brings in C- and D-skill level work, which gives us a source of work for apprentices to make a living. This gives us a source of future A- and B-level technicians without buying them from our competition.
Selling in step 6 increases the "gravy" work, which increases technician productivity. It also increases parts turn rates. There are considerably fewer part numbers and parts dollar investment needed in maintenance work than repair work.
Step 7-Signatures
Asking the customer to approve the repair order is a legal requirement and usually a "franchise agreement" requirement. You need the customer's permission to work on the vehicle, which is acknowledged by their signature. This also acknowledges the disclaimer statement found on source documents and validates your garage owner's insurance.
Role-playing
Once you have analyzed the seven steps, role-play different situations and customer types with your service advisors until they are comfortable with the technique. Using a video camera in the role-playing situations will allow the service advisors to see and hear themselves as the customer views them.
Management Checklist
Management should review the actual performance of service advisors against the seven steps. Listed below are several techniques to accomplish this.
- 1. Use the seven-step selling outline and rate your service advisors on a scale of 1 to 5 for each step. Stand in the service lane and listen to how they are handling your customers. Are they presenting maintenance, etc.?
- 2. Review customer pay repair orders for 30 days, highlighting what the advisors did right and what they did wrong. Review these comments and repair orders daily with each service advisor privately.
- 3. Develop a contest for lowest number of one-item repair orders, completeness of repair orders, lowest percentage of comebacks, highest number of complete maintenance menus sold for the respective mileage increment, highest CSI scores, etc. DO NOT PAY NOR PUT A CONTEST ON FOR FLAT RATE HOURS PER REPAIR ORDERS! This causes them to choose large jobs and ignore the smaller maintenance jobs.
Your service advisors are the critical link to dealership repeat business. Help them understand their critical role and devote attention to this area. The rewards are profit, customer satisfaction and repeat new vehicle sales.
Gene White is president of Gene White Management Inc. He is a recognized expert and has conducted in-dealership evaluations and training (automotive, heavy-duty trucks, recreational vehicles and marine) for the past 22 years. He has published many "expert" level articles and has conducted workshops for NADA, ATD, FADA, NACE, WD&S, accounting CPAs, and multiple State Associations and 20 Groups. He is a member of SAE, IIE, and is a Charter Member of the National Bureau of Management Consultants. gwhite@dealeronline.com
