The second disconnect I've observed is that Service Advisors often fail to move a customer to the vehicle sales department when the time is right. Here, the trust between the customer and the Service Advisor is not being exploited to its full potential. A good relationship between the two is a perfect opportunity to sell not just more service but additional vehicles. The Advisors need to listen for what I call buying whispers - "I really want that new ---" or "It's about time for me to trade" and move the customer (if willing of course) to sales quickly and safely. This problem is very similar to what I discovered in sales; the service people don't want to send the customer to the front, they're afraid to! To an Advisor, sales appears (key word – appears) to be focused on one thing and that is getting the customer into a vehicle and out the door as quickly as possible – regardless if it's true or not. They just don't want to jeopardize their relationship with the customer.

You can help correct this and shift the appearance by doing something very similar to what I mentioned before. Sit the sales and service staff down together and talk about moving a customer between the two. Maybe the sales staff can help teach the advisors to listen for some of those "buying whispers" or maybe you can show both teams the process and benefits of delivering the customers from service to sales and then back to service again. Both departments need to think positively about every customer and about each other, regardless of appearance throughout the entire transition. If the service customer does buy a new/used vehicle after moving from service to sales, you've completed the buying circle and the chances of them returning for regular maintenance and recommending you to family and friends are much higher!

Most likely you spend thousands of dollars on advertising and marketing each month to bring the customers in, but if they don't stay at your dealership you've not only lost them forever – you've wasted a great deal of money. You need to play the game and improve owner loyalty, complete the buying circle and form a unity between sales and service now. It requires the cooperation of the entire dealership to provide a customer with an experience that will ensure their return. The times are tough and now more than ever we need to form a truce between both departments. Today, dealerships are forced to rethink their methods of doing business and these are some clear problems that need addressing. Regardless of what the newspapers say, you can still operate a very profitable business. The real key is to not think of how terrible business is, but to instead think of how much more business you can generate as the competition around you falls and you stand united and strong. Teach your dealership how the two divisions can become one and work together to mutually benefit one another. A dealership can either stay divided and die or come together and prosper. Where does your dealership stand?

Joshua Hays is an aggressive marketing consultant with a strong background in design and nearly ten years of broad experience involving both B2B and B2C marketing techniques including print and online campaigns. He has advanced knowledge of both the Microsoft and Adobe software suites and is cross-platform, multi-operating system (MAC & PC) trained. Joshua specializes in product and campaign development and is a self-proclaimed marketing extraordinaire. Joshua Hays can be reached at his website.

Tags & Keywords : car dealer, dealership, car sales, marketing, service, service department, advertising