As our industry continues to evolve, there are a number of changes you need to consider. Cars are being built better, so they are lasting longer. With service intervals constantly being extended, you will see your customers less often. Additionally, as the competition continues to heat up, your advisers will need to be razor sharp from that first call through car delivery.

Here are some tips that can help you be more successful this year when it comes to driving up your sales and customer satisfaction.

1. With first-time callers just a mouse click away from ­contacting another shop, you need to ensure that your advisers are at the top of their game when it comes to selling themselves, and your company, to the caller. Remember, ­customers need to feel comfortable with your adviser before they will be open to recommendations.

You should sit down with your entire crew and create a list of the top five reasons people should choose your shop. Rather than listing the same features your competitors would list (equipment, warranties, etc.), your list should include items such as your culture of never putting money ahead of people, the fact that you’re AAA ­approved, that you’ve been serving the community for more than XX years, have 5-star ratings on review sites, etc.

2. With vehicles lasting longer, your advisers need to be really good at selling maintenance. Most advisers make the fatal mistake of focusing on the parts and labor, rather than the benefits and value of the service. ­Instead of trying to sell the spark plugs and filters that your customers don’t want to buy, your advisers should be telling your customers how the maintenance will help squeeze every mile out of every gallon of gasoline, protect their vehicle manufacturer’s warranty, maximize the resale value of their ­vehicle, and the like.

At Elite, every student who goes through our sales training meets with their coworkers to create a “benefit list” for their more popular services, and then reviews that list prior to presenting the sale. The results have been outstanding, so I would strongly ­encourage you to do the same.

3. When customers need a major repair, like a replacement engine or transmission, make sure your advisers don’t jump to the ­conclusion that the vehicle is not worth fixing. For example, if a customer needs $5,000 worth of work to put his/her vehicle back into top-running condition, in many cases, it may very well be a great ­investment for the customer.

As we all know, when someone buys a used vehicle they are buying two things: a lot of unknowns, and someone else’s problems. On the other hand, if they invest in their own vehicle, they’ll know exactly what they have, those repairs will be warrantied, and they won’t have to go through the exercise of selling their vehicle and buying a ­replacement.

You should have an in-depth ­conversation with your entire staff about major repairs, and how, in many cases, they are the perfect ­solution for your customers. You should then discuss how you can help your customers cost-justify the investment.

For example, if a customer in need of a major $3,000 repair were to keep his/her vehicle for just three years, the investment would be less than $100 a month. There is no way they would be able to purchase a ­replacement ­vehicle for anywhere near that low of an amount. Your advisers need to help your customers through the math because, not only is it their job, but they have an ethical responsibility to help your customers make the right decisions.

4. Never stop the self-­improvement process. You should have your advisers record their sales presentations in a way that meets with all applicable laws, then once a week you should ­review some of those recordings. This will give you the ­opportunity to congratulate them on most of their sales and have a conversation on what could have been done differently on those that were lost.

If you follow these tips, and if you never put money ahead of people, your sales and your customer satisfaction this year, will go straight up.

Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite Worldwide Inc., www.EliteWorldwideStore.com, an ethics-based company that helps both struggling and successful shop owners take their businesses to new levels through one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top experts. The company also offers shop owner sales, marketing, and management seminars, along with service advisor training. You can ­contact Bob at [email protected], or at 800-204-3548.