Regardless of the types of cars you service, your customer volume or where your auto repair business is located, if you want to build customer relationships and improve your sales you should be following these 5 best practices!
1 – Role Play with Advisors
Role Play is an important coaching tool that helps your service team meet your expectations, and prepares them for difficult situations.
While this training technique is often met with some hesitance from staff, once it becomes a part of your regular staff training efforts your team will see the value and become more comfortable with the practice!
Learn more about how to implement role play with your service advisors.
2 – Prepare For Your Customer’s Appointment
This basic step is overlooked by many service departments. Preparing for your appointments is more than knowing your schedule for the day, it requires you to take the time to look at each customer’s service history to ensure you don’t miss recommendations for vehicle maintenance.
It’s worth taking time to prepare so you don’t miss out on sales and relationship-building opportunities!
Learn more about how to prepare for your customer’s appointment here.
3 – Use a Multi-Point Inspection
If you only implement one tip on the list, you should begin using a multi-point inspection CONSISTENTLY. The multi-point is one of the most underused tools in the service departments I visit.
When you use your multi-point inspection regularly with every customer at every visit you add value to your customer’s visit and build that relationship, and you can identify sales opportunities you might have missed.
Learn more about how to make the most of a multi-point inspection here.
4 – Personalize Service Recommendations
Personalizing recommendations for your clients is key in building trust. Using the multi-point inspection and the customer’s history and driving habits will help you add value to the recommendations you make!
Learn more about personalizing recommendations here.
5 – Schedule Your Customer’s Next Visit
If you want repeat business from your customers, you need to show them! You can’t leave a barbershop or dentist without being asked to schedule your next visit, why should car maintenance by any different?
Offer their next maintenance appointment before they leave your shop, give them a reminder card and then follow up before the appointment to confirm.
Learn more about how to schedule your customer’s next visit here.
To learn more about improving your fixed operations performance, contact me!
President, John Dillon Consulting