Press

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA – July 7, 2014 – Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2014 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study, which measured treatment of car-shoppers who visited 5,671 dealerships throughout the country. Study rankings by brand were determined by the patent-pending Pied Piper PSI process, which ties “mystery shopping” measurement and scoring to industry sales success. For the second consecutive year, Infiniti and Lexus dealerships, the luxury brands from Nissan and Toyota respectively, were ranked second and third.

Twenty-two of the thirty-four different auto brands led the industry in at least one PSI sales process category, while fifteen brands finished last in at least one category. Tesla dealerships, included in the study for the first time this year, led the industry in seven PSI sales process categories, such as involving the prospect with visual aids, and following-up after the visit. However, the Tesla dealerships also finished last in thirty-two categories, such as asking the prospect's name, offering a test ride, or mentioning the availability of financing options.

Brands showing the most improvement year-to-year were Scion, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Lincoln, Cadillac, Chrysler and Nissan. Brands with the greatest declines year-to-year were GMC, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Chevrolet, Infiniti and Ram. Three brands have been consistently ranked within the top 10 brands over the past five years: Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Jaguar.

Performance varied substantially by brand within some categories. For example, salespeople are often taught to try to build rapport and ask open-ended questions instead of just saying, “Can I help you?” Lincoln, Chrysler, Honda, Volvo and Fiat salespeople were least likely to start a shopper's visit by saying, “Can I help you?” In contrast, the salespeople most likely to ask, “Can I help you?” worked for Ford, Mazda, Ram, Scion and Chevrolet dealerships. Another example is whether or not the salesperson suggested sitting down at a desk; a step often used to transition from talking about the product to talking about buying the product. Salespeople from, Nissan, Hyundai, Ford and Kia dealerships were most likely to suggest sitting down at a desk, while Tesla, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Land Rover and Audi salespeople were least likely to make the suggestion.

Industry average dealership performance was mixed when comparing 2014 with the previous year.

Salesperson behaviors more likely in 2014 than 2013 include the following:

• Gave compelling reason to buy from this dealership (now 50% of the time)
• Discussed features unique from the competition (now 59% of the time)
• Mentioned maintenance program and associated costs (now 58% of the time)

Salesperson behaviors less likely in 2014 than 2013 include the following:

• Offered a brochure (now 50% of the time)
• Asked why prospect considered brand (now 60% of the time)
• Involved prospect with visual aids (now 36% of the time)

“Great products are the key to strong sales,” said Fran O'Hagan, President and CEO of Pied Piper Management Company LLC. “But the only way to make the most of a product's sales potential is a capable sales team, following a consistent sales process.” Pied Piper has found that on average, when auto dealerships are ranked by their PSI score, dealerships in the top quarter sell 16% more vehicles than the dealerships in the bottom quarter.