Press - Fran O'Hagan

Compared to last year, the motorcycle sales department staff is more likely to introduce themselves to clients and ask follow-up questions, not to mention encourage consumers to sit on a bike.

However, they are less likely to inform the consumer about financing options, discuss the bike's unique features and how those compare to the competition, and less likely to provide visual aids, like brochures.

Those are some of the key findings from a national study that examines the effectiveness of the motorcycle industry's retail sales force. The study, called the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI), not only examines dozens of retail sales practices, but also identifies how specific brands are performing compared to their competitors.

Ducati dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2009 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study, which measures how consumers are treated when shopping for a new motorcycle.

Motorcycle salespeople on average asked prospective customers for their contact information only 45 percent of the time during a recent nine-month period, according to the 2009 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index study. Sounds bad, right? But it's actually an improvement over the previous year's study in which salespeople asked only 38 percent of time. Dealership staff members seem to be improving in other areas as well, the study reported.

Ducati dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2009 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index(R) (PSI) U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study, one of a series of annual benchmarking studies which measure how consumers are treated when shopping for a new car, motorcycle, RV or boat. The independent study sent 2,100 hired anonymous “mystery shoppers” into motorcycle dealerships nationwide, then used the patent-pending PSI process to compile the results into accurate measurement of how each brand's dealerships treat motorcycle shoppers.

Many shoppers today walk through the door of a dealership armed with enough product information from the internet to give a product "walk-around" themselves. The question is, "What can today's shoppers learn from your salespeople?" We know that the most successful salespeople are seen by the shoppers as helpful, rather than simply trying to sell a motorcycle without regard for the shopper's interests or needs. But if all a salesperson knows about a particular motorcycle are the specs printed in a brochure or the stats listed on a web site, then many of the most serious shoppers will find little value in talking with that salesperson.

Remember when you were a kid and built model cars or airplanes? You spent hours carefully assembling your models, but then placed them on a shelf and didn't pay much attention to them afterward. Building the models was the part that was fun.

Now consider an important ingredient to Harley-Davidson's survival thirty years ago: If you wanted to ride a Harley back then, you also had to regularly repair it, or even better, replace parts prone to failure with better aftermarket parts. The point is that owning a Harley involved a "relationship" with the motorcycle, rather than just a vehicle parked in the garage.

“There is now irrevocable evidence that there is a link between scoring high on PSIs and developing your business,” said Ducati North America (DNA) CEO Michael Lock. “You don't develop the business because you score high on PSI, you develop the business because you're running the business properly” on which the PSI is one measuring tool.

DNA dealers who consistently fared well in a retail sales practice survey called the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) turn out to be the brand's highest-volume dealers, officials say.

Plus, DNA dealers who retailed 10 or more additional new units in 2008 over the previous year saw their PSI scores increase by an average of 2 points. On the other hand, DNA dealers who retailed at least 10 fewer units in 2008 compared to the previous year saw their PSI scores diminish by an average of 3 points.

According to a 2008 survey, motorcycle dealers respond to a consumer's e-mail inquiry within 24 hours only 30 percent of the time, according to a national benchmarking study that examines the effectiveness of the motorcycle industry's sales force. The survey of more than 800 dealerships, called the Prospect Satisfaction Index by Pied Piper Management Co., shows the motorcycle industry well behind the auto industry in this effort. The auto industry was twice as likely in 2008 to return a customer e-mail inquiry within 24 hours in comparison to motorcycle dealers.

Those brands that have been able to grow sales also have dealers who are more likely to satisfy shoppers. Dealers who improved their average Pied Piper PSI scores by 10 points or more from 2007 to 2008 saw retail sales increase 9% during the same time period. On the other hand, dealers for whom PSI dropped by 10 points or more saw their retail sales drop 6%. According to Fran O'Hagan, President of Pied Piper Management Co., LLC, "Today's shoppers arrive at a dealership already armed with the facts and figures, but in the end the dealership and salesperson still play a critical role in helping shoppers turn that raw information into the best match for the shopper's needs and desires."

As the old saying goes, “You don't know what you don't know,” and along those same lines you can't see what you can't see. An external, fresh prospective of the actual experience you're providing to your prospects gives you the ability to uncover what you're unaware of that could be costing you sales.

This is where Pied Piper's Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) Evaluations come in. I've used the data from these evaluations as the basis for many of my articles over the last year.

As I've studied PSI evaluations, I've identified a type of salesperson I like to call Mr. Customer Service. “Look out on the sales floor! He's able to answer any and all questions about the unit an go out of his way to make sure each and every customer is completely satisfied and taken care of.

The problem with Mr. Customer Service is he doesn't ask for the sale, attempt to set a future appointment or get follow-up information.