Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement - S34

34 ❙ OCTOBER 21, 2013
FITZGERALD AUTO MALLS

Goal for Fitzgerald's 'champions':
Sell accessories all day, every day
Printed in Automotive News June 10, 2013
Arlena Sawyers
asawyers@crain.com

he folks at Fitzgerald Auto Malls
don't leave the sale of vehicle accessories to chance.
They leave it to the accessory champions: employees whose jobs it is to show
every customer the factory and aftermarket
accessories that are available to trick out,
personalize and enhance the comfort and
security of a new car or truck.
About half of Fitzgerald's 18 stores - those
that sell at least 200 new vehicles a month -
have accessory "champions" who sell accessories all day, all the time. Sales managers
double as accessory champions at lower-volume stores.
In both cases, the champions' goal, with
assistance from other salespeople, is to sell
accessories to every new-vehicle customer,
says Larry Branche, aftermarket sales manager at Fitzgerald Auto Malls. He says the
company sells at least one accessory to 40 to
50 percent of its customers. Those accessories include sunroofs, satellite radios, window tinting and body-side molding.
Nationwide, accessory sales is a $30 billion
industry that can help dealers bolster dwindling margins, says Jack Fitzgerald, the
group's owner.
"Manufacturers have taken what was a 25
percent discount and made it into as little as
1 percent," says Fitzgerald, who owns stores
in Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania. "The
average is 4 percent. It shrinks a little bit
every year. I don't know what they're going
to do when it gets down to zero."
Branche says the group's sales in the last
two years "have grown exponentially. In the
first three months of this year, we're tracking
about 15 to 20 percent more than in the previous year" in terms of profits.
Fitzgerald Auto Malls is No. 44 on the Automotive News list of the top 125 dealership
groups in the United States, with new-vehicle retail sales of 15,163 units in 2012. The
group also retailed 9,212 used units.
Branche says accessories sales can enhance customer satisfaction because buyers
can get exactly what they want without
spending money for other equipment in vehicle packages they may not want or need.

Aftermarket sales boss Larry Branche: Nearly half of the company's customers buy accessories.
"A lot of times people will buy a vehicle and
they want a certain option, but to get that
option they have to go up a couple of vehicle
model trim levels," Branche says. "If all they
want is a sunroof, we have the opportunity to
give them that without spending the $2,000
or $3,000 more for the package."
The accessory champion steps in near the
end of the sales process, just before the customer sits down to discuss financing and insurance. The salesperson will have alerted
the champion about which accessories are
of interest to the customer.
The champion shows customers how accessories can enhance and add a personal
touch to their vehicles.
The dealership group has always been involved in the sale of accessories, Branche
says, but the process wasn't seamless. In the
middle of the sales presentation, salespeople
would have to call the parts department and
the service department to price an accessory
and its installation labor charge.
It was cumbersome, and some salespeople
just didn't bother.
But that changed in 2007, when the dealer-

ship group enlisted the help of Insignia
Group, a company that helps dealerships set
up accessory sales systems and provides
training for salespersons, managers and
champions.
Salespeople are taught how to help customers find accessories to fit their needs and
their budgets.
Accessories' popularity varies, for example, by region and customer gender, says
Scott Ascher, the group's director of vehicle
operations. For example, remote starters are
popular in the Northeast, while window tint
and exterior sealants get the nod in Florida.
Dealerships that sell a lot of trucks sell a lot
of running boards or side steps, bed liners
and trailer hitches.
"Women are more interested in things that
are more soft, safety and comfort-related,"
says Ascher, such as "hands-free Bluetooth,
seat warmers, navigation and backup cameras."
On the other hand, he says, "navigation
isn't as popular as it once was. Now everyone has a cell phone they can use for navigation." c

Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement

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