Digital Dealer - August 2019 - 15

Road Trip to DD27 | AUG 19-21, 2019 | Las Vegas

similar numbers when our
dealerships are using the
collaborative process. A
buying center offers a great
path to ramping up your
inbound trades and helps
to bump up your used-tonew-car ratio, while bringing
profit along for the ride.
BUY CENTER
MUST-HAVES

Effectively running a
customer buying center
will require some nontraditional thinking. Dealers
may find themselves in the
uncomfortable position of
having to make offers on
vehicles they may not be
prepared to manage. Here
are several ways to ensure
a successful customer buy
center:
 A common goal: Dealers must ensure their hiring
and training are aligned
with the goal of making positive customer interactions
first and foremost, not just
selling vehicles. It is a longterm relationship play.
 Commitment to
process: Create a documented process that makes
it quick and easy to give a
cash offer to every customer on the spot. Not every offer will be equally attractive,
but having a transparent,
fair process makes every
offer valuable in building the
relationship.
 Staff up: Ensure you
have dedicated, trained employees who can effectively
manage the buying center.
Be open to skills transfer
from service-oriented roles;
people who are successful
here may come from areas
beyond sales in your organization.

 Focus training on new
skills: Get office staff comfortable with the check-printing and signing process.
This is a make or break
for a successful program.
Time your process and role
play so that the full team
understands the value of executing with 100% accuracy
while moving quickly.
 Make it collaborative:
Walk around the car with
the customer and agree on
its condition together. When
customers are included
in the appraisal, they see
the logic in how the car is
priced, making it a smoother
process for everyone.
 Integrate technology:

With a defined and collaborative processes, customers
should be able to get in and
out of the buy center in under an hour. Not there yet?
See training notes above,
get out your stopwatch and
make adjustments to each
segment of the process to
reduce waiting. Remember,
the more positive the interaction, the more likely they
will come back and recommend to a friend.
 Marketing: To drive
traffic, get the word out to
consumers about your buy
center. Explain your process
and let customers know
what to expect, e.g. 'Experience a new way to sell

DEALERS CAN FIND
CUSTOMERS FACING
LARGE REPAIR BILLS
ON VEHICLES WITH LOW
MILES IN THE SERVICE
LANE."
Technology is invaluable
in the appraisal process
for guiding a consistent
high-quality process.
Technology can eliminate paperwork and give
dealers instant access to
information. Using a mobile
phone or tablet to enable
customers to hold the
power and rate their own
vehicle components as an
input to the trade, promotes
buy-in on the value. When
you can provide facts and
context to customers, such
as third-party values and
market comparisons, it
prevents questioning and
makes customers feel more
confident.
 Make it quick and easy:

your car in under an hour.' or
'We'll buy your car, whether
you buy a car from us or
not.' Get known for the cars
you sell best. You can even
use social media to target
the vehicles that are most
valuable to you.
 Send to auction: If the
sourced vehicles aren't a
good fit or sit on your lot for
25 days, then send them to
auction. Bottom line, there's
always a place for every car
that comes through your
dealership.
NOT READY FOR
A BUYING CENTER
APPROACH? TAP INTO
THE SERVICE LANE

For dealers who may
not be ready to commit to
D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

a customer buying center,
consider sourcing cars from
the service lane. Dealers
can find customers facing
large repair bills on vehicles
with low miles in the service
lane. Target vehicle inventory
that's in high demand and
low supply, and customers
who need an upgrade. Sales
consultants can approach
these customers about upgrading their vehicle with the
same payment or attractive
upgrade options that aren't
much more.
The consumer-sourced
trade is the most profitable
source of inventory for your
dealership. Savvy used car
departments will optimize
every opportunity to source
this inventory, especially
those right at their doorstep.
The trade-in process, while
executed and managed by
the pre-owned team, is an
essential part of the new car
transaction, as well. Dealers
who focus on a buying approach that is collaborative,
transparent and customer-friendly can see increased
traffic to the store, more retail
sales, and increased profits
across their dealership.
Learn more about boosting trade-ins by joining
Mike Cavanaugh and Tim
Scoutelas of MAX Digital
for their session, "The Last
Frontier for Gross: The
Trade-In," at Digital Dealer
27, (Aug. 19-21, 2019, Las
Vegas, NV)
TIM SCOUTELAS is Director of
Strategic Accounts at MAX Digital.
Tim has 24 years of experience
in the auto industry, including his
role as a Car Purchasing Manager
at CarMax where he appraised
16,000+ cars.

AUGUST 2019

15
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Digital Dealer - August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - August 2019
