 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
Should You Question Your Best Salesperson's Priorities?
March 2010
Every dealership has a top-performing salesperson, selling more motorcycles than anyone else; maybe selling more than two or three other salespeople combined.
We know that between seven and nine out of ten new motorcycle shoppers walk back out the door without buying, and ironically your best salesperson may drive more of these potential customers away from your dealership than anyone else.
» View PDF of Article (310.2 KB) 
|
|
 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
Holding a High-Tech Piston in Your Hand
March 2010
Imagine you're shopping for a motorcycle and visit two dealerships. At the first dealership, the salesperson tells you all about the impressive engineering that went into the motorcycle he's trying to sell you.
When you visit the second dealership, the salesperson reaches over to his desk and places an aluminum work of art into your hand. He points out how short the piston's skirt is-kind of like a pancake fastened to a connecting rod-and how the closest copy in the auto industry would be on a Formula One car; yet here it is in your hand, and it's part of the motorcycle that you've just decided to buy.
» View PDF of Article (337 KB)
|
|
 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
Do Customers Always Know Best
February 2010
Henry Ford once said, "If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse."
What about your customers? Do you call your customers to ask them about their sales experience in your dealership? If so, good for you, since the very act of following-up with customers will sell incremental motorcycles.
However, don't make the mistake of taking customer feedback for gospel when it comes to measuring how your salespeople are selling, and then deciding how to improve the sales process used by your dealership.
» View PDF of Article (217.8 KB)
|
|
 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
Where to Find the Easiest Customers
January 2010
At your dealership the workday begins with thousands of customers who already know your dealership, already know your products, and are without question the most likely source for new sales at your dealership. Yet, these customers will tell you that it's very unusual for them to ever hear from one of your salespeople.
» View PDF of Article (193.9 KB)
|
|
 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
How Do You Sell 29 Percent More Motorcycles?
November 2009
A courteous, knowledgeable salesperson isn't enough. The most successful salesperson is an enabler, a cheerleader, an ally in supporting and justifying the purchase of a motorcycle.
Customers who work with an excellent salesperson will nearly always describe that salesperson as helpful. "Helpful," that's the key word, whether the salesperson is helping the prospect choose between two different models or picking up the phone to call a prospect to share some news and invite them back into the dealership.
» View PDF of Article (324.1 KB)
|
|
 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
Give Customers Another Reason to Buy
October 2009
Most dealership owners have figured out that they need to sell their dealership to customers and not just sell the products carried by their dealership. On the other hand, the facts say that most salespeople are focused solely on selling a product and not the dealership. In fact, when we recently measured nationwide how often a motorcycle salesperson gave compelling reasons to buy from their dealership, we found that it happened only 34% of the time. Two times out of three there was no mention of why buying from this dealership was a better idea than buying somewhere else. The focus was solely on product.
» View PDF of Article (372.8 KB)
|
|
 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
Do You Prohibit or Require Your Salespeople to Mention F & I?
August 2009
Visit the most successful motorcycle dealerships and in nearly every one you will find an F & I manager. For good reason too given the incremental profitability an F & I manager generates. Some dealerships with F & I managers take it a step further and forbid their salespeople from making any mention of financing. After all, the possibility of mistakes and litigation today makes it dangerous for anyone other than the experts to talk about financing.
Really? Is that the best approach?
» View PDF of Article (215.8 KB)
|
|
 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
You Really Don't Want to Buy that Brand
July 2009
A motorcycle buyer arrives at a dealership interested in buying a certain motorcycle, but when he speaks with a salesperson, the salesperson mentions advantages of another brand instead, in the end convincing the shopper to buy a different motorcycle. How often does this scenario happen? How often does a shopper asking about a Honda CBR ride off the lot on a GSXR, or vice versa?
The facts say that industry-wide, salespeople try to push 13 motorcycle shoppers out of every 100 to a brand different from the one they requested. For some brands it happens as much as 45% of the time (Aprilia), while for others it happens less than 5% of the time (Ducati, Harley-Davidson).
» View PDF of Article (241.2 KB)
|
|
 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
Offering Test Rides - Is it Worth the Effort?
June 2009
Fact one: Today when a motorcycle shopper walks through the door of a dealership, 77% of the time there will be no mention at all of the possibility of a test ride.
Fact two: Motorcycle dealerships which offer test rides to prospects at least three-quarters of the time retail on average 43% more motorcycles than those who do not.
Few dispute the fact that test rides sell motorcycles, so why do so few dealerships figure out how to offer test rides? Offering test rides is not a simple process, and developing a well thought-out dealership test ride process is not straight-forward and easy. Give any of us fifteen minutes and we could come up with a dozen strong reasons why offering motorcycle test rides is complicated, maybe dangerous and clearly difficult.
» View PDF of Article (378.1 KB)
|
|
 |
|
Powersports Business Blog
What Can Today's Shoppers Learn from Your Salespeople?
May 2009
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.
» View PDF of Article (335.1 KB)
|
|
RSS Feed
