Making Sure Your Dealership Isn’t Setup to Fail

In 2021, the average powersports dealership visit close rate was 40%. What happened to the rest? Well, 77% of those who didn’t close with you ended up buying somewhere else. And that’s usually related to communication and experience. Not only that, but when we got managers off the desk and out on the floor, dealerships saw a significant increase in their deals to the tune of about 37 extra deals each month.

Engagement at the management level matters before the deal is done. Sales managers have a multi-faceted job that starts with coaching salespeople on how to take care of customers and interact with customers to help them buy a vehicle or powersports unit, not to sell them anything. It’s also the job of management to engage with customers and make them feel comfortable about coming into their store.

And in the powersports industry, people are here for fun. Don’t take that away with overly formal practices or interactions. Engage with people, show them a good time, and help them find the unit(s) they want.

The Pandemic Effect

We’ve discussed before how the pandemic has changed the way that people act in the dealership, including sales managers. In these times in our industry are the exception, not the rule. When you have almost everything pushing leverage in your favor, sales come easily. That has caused a lot of dealers and salespeople to become a bit lazy, almost expectant that the deals will come. But if you’ve trained yourself to think that this position dictates how you act within the store, you’re wrong. Dealers are still leaving tons of money on the table. Most are okay with it because they are making more than ever before, but are they really?

Many sales managers will rest on their habits and laurels, enjoying the easy business and looking around, claiming that this is all about them and the work they’ve done. But this is not the culmination of years of work, it’s not those things finally just all came together—it’s not even close.

 

If It Ain’t Broke…

We’ve all heard the phrase, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” While that’s a noble mantra, there’s one that’s even better: if it’s not broken, break it and find a new way to build it. This is the key to growth and success. You must build it better.

Customer expectations and the advancements in technology have put powersports dealers in a position where they need to know what’s next and what they can do when things aren’t going their way. Find out what’s going to be what breaks you, and then break it yourself.

To put it another way, if you don’t start building a better mousetrap today, something is going to sneak up and catch you off guard (another pandemic, supply chain shortages, etc.)

We’re lucky this pandemic “broke it” in a good way; the next time it could be broken badly. In the fast-paced world with technology and increasing competition, good enough is not, in fact, good enough.

Make sure that you’re engaging with consumers—deliver that expectation level that they appreciate and don’t just sit there waiting to be “needed” or what have you.

Even the best dealerships and managers can be better