Digital Dealer - July 2019 - 13

er making an uninformed
choice.
Look at it this way:
Would you want your
medical doctor to ask you
if you want to take a blood
pressure pill? "I have good,
better, or best - which one
would you like?" What!
Most would prefer to be
told what to do, and which
pill to take. That's what
they're paying for.
Non-trusting owners will
eventually find someone
knowledgeable who will
counsel them on what to
do or not, and how much
to spend. Owners do that
about 75% of the time
eventually - much worse
for some franchises - oh,
and take the warranty out
of the 25% to calculate a
real number - scary. Of
course making the vehicles
so complex that even welltrained dealer techs can't
fix them helps retention,
and with ever-extending
warranties (limitless sometimes) and plenty of recalls
(OE parts are always perfect, yea, right) that keeps
'em coming back.
THE DOCTOR IS IN

I had the fortunate
situation of first getting my
master tech status before
I wrote service, and then
later I opened my own
shop. Thankfully from
the beginning, my knowledgeable and successful
mentors demonstrated to
me that we must be the
experts (car doctors), and
that owners rely on us for
specific guidance so that
their vehicle is safe and
dependable, and also
that their large investment

is properly protected. Wonder why most Aftermarket
shops (which outnumber
franchised dealers 9.4 to
1 according to aamcofranchises.com) don't blow
big money on advertising? Look no further than
their loyalty and referral
numbers - off the charts.
They just tell it like it is, and
they look for ways to save
money for their consumer
using their experience
and knowledge. There is
seldom a take or leave it
statement made, and few
decisions are left to the
unwashed. Quick lubes, of
course, are another story -
but you know that.
While conducting service
reception training for a
dealer group over multiple visits, I had a female
customer service manager ask me to develop a
technical workshop where
she could "get her hands
dirty." She explained, "I
want to know exactly what
I'm talking about. I need to
own this information. When
I look my client in the
eyes, I want to be 100%
confident when I tell them
what decision to make." I
loved it, what smart service
manager wouldn't?
STOP IT NOW

One last tidbit is this:
Stop talking about the owner's needs and talk about
the vehicle's needs. "You
need" just sets off unnecessary defensive feelings,
and besides the reality is
that your patron doesn't
need a "lube job," but his/
her vehicle might need
one. (That's funny, I don't
care who ya-r) Rather, em-

phasize about what their
"vehicle and/or manufacturer requires" related to
the big three we reviewedsafety, dependability, and
investment protection.
Know this as an expected knowledgeable
professional: Taking
appropriate and precise
care of the vehicle and
consumer is your responsibility, just as well as the
technician performing
the maintenance and
repair procedures. (Note:
A certified tech in New
England was charged with
manslaughter for improper
brake inspection procedures resulting in a death)
If you think or have been
taught that you are just a
documentation clerk, you
are performing a shameful
disservice to yourself and
the unfortunate consumer
relying on your expertise.
Make it a point to become
the true professional you
are capable of being -
and consistent income
and less stress will come
with it.
The bottom line for
increasing service
purchasing doctor (not
sales - remember this
is a "need"), combined
with wonderful steadfast loyalty, is to make a
competent and thorough
presentation ending with
that professional assumptive close. Cover these
important fundamentals
in this order: WHAT the
required need is, WHY
it is needed, WHAT the
options are, the BENEFITS of the purchase, and
the CONSEQUENCES of
D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

not making the purchase,
in that order. Make sure
you as the expert also
recommend the "best
option" based on the facts
surrounding the purchase
- release that pressure off
your uninformed benefactor. Do these things and
trust will abound between
you and your new friend.
I have never met
anyone who regretted
learning more about their
profession; but I have met
many who wish that they
had - please don't wait on
your exhausted manager
to lead the way. He or she
has their own constantly
changing learning hill to
climb, act like a pro and
take the lead yourself.
For samples of well-defined maintenance sales
presentations that you can
build with your dealership
information, email Ed@
NetProfitGroup.com with
the subject line, "Purchase
Facts for the Pro."
ED KOVALCHICK has
traveled the world training and
consulting in fixed operations
for manufacturers and dealers.
His extensive background
includes master technician
status, independent shop
owner, dealer with all Chrysler
& Nissan franchises, and
founder of Net Profit Inc.,
fixed operations consulting
and training. He is a graduate
of the University of Louisiana
and has served as state
president of the Automotive
Service Councils, and the
advisory boards of Wyo Tech
and Virginia College. He has
been a regular columnist and
conference presenter with
Dealer Magazine and Digital
Dealer since 1995. EMAIL:
Ed@NetProfitGroup.com.

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Digital Dealer - July 2019

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