Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/551693
SOLUTIONS 30 • August 17, 2015 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com What's unique? Front line employ- ees have a perspective of what happens in the store. Ask a front line Harley-Davidson dealership employee what the trend in the industry is and he will tell you, "Baggers." That's because he can't get enough Street Glides, Road Glides and Ultras in his showroom. In his world (read: reacting to the front door), baggers are the trend, and he's right. But ask anyone who truly watches the entire industry, and you'll find something differ- ent. Bikes aren't getting bigger (baggers with 23-inch front wheels). They are actually getting much smaller. The 1000c sport bikes have given way to smaller displacement urban runabouts. For those who truly ride off-road, 1200 BMW GS models and Ducati Multistra- das have given way to Triumph Tiger 800 XCs, 800 GSs and KTM 500 EXCs. And if you really want to know what the CRAZE in the industry is, you'd have to say café racers ... not baggers. So why are sport bikes fading from exis- tence? Why are café racers a craze? Why are bikes getting smaller? Why has Harley's mar- ket share fallen a bit this year, yet Yamaha has rebounded? Shall I go deeper? Why has Victory been around since 1998, yet they've sold less bikes than Indian this year? Ever ridden a Victory? They rock ... so what gives? And wait ... what "motorcycle" has Polaris sold nearly 4K units of (UTVs and ATVs not included)? Ah yes ... the Slingshot. Wait ... what? Yes, Polaris has sold almost as many Slingshots as they have Indians this year. And if you combine the number of Indians and Slingshots sold, it more than covers the num- ber that Harley-Davidson has gone backwards. Great, so what? Translation = People want something unique. Yes, people are certainly resurrecting Honda CBs into café racers, but it doesn't negate how popular BMW Nine-Ts and Ducati Scramblers have been this year. Those two models are not what you'd normally expect from the likes of BMW and Ducati, but they sell very well and usually for all the money. We know every manufacturer is trying to drive down the average age of their buyers, so we must look at the buying habits of the younger buyer. Simply put, a millennial wants something different and unique. The Harley is something he may get to, but not something that it on his radar right now. However, take a Street 750, chop the tail, and make some minor modifications to it ... and you've got a home run café racer. I wonder how many of the two-thirds market share who don't ride Harleys would flip if given an option that isn't a traditional Harley? Side note: Wonder how many Ducati Monsters (Ducati's No. 1-sell- ing bike through the years) have had the rear fenders chopped? Answer = ALL OF THEM. People want to be unique. H-D is losing mar- ket share because the bikes look the same to those outside of the H-D family. Slingshot? Unique, way different. Yamaha FZ9 & Bolt = Unique. Indian = Different, uber-nostalgic. And dealers need to suck it up and put some modified (read: unique) bikes on the floor. Everyone offers the stock models. Few offer the modified ones. Remember before the economy tanked and H-D dealers were con- stantly accessorizing half or more of the bikes on the floor? You can't shop the accessorized bike. It's one-of-a-kind. It holds all the margin. More importantly, it gives customers reason to come in the store. Let's just go ahead and handle this objec- tion from sales managers: "But Sam, then I'd have a ton of money in a bike that may or may not sell." Yes you will, but you're missing the point. The customized bike on the floor is immediately selling parts and service work. More importantly, it's selling ideas of what someone could do with the bike. That open palette causes more stock motorcycle sales in your stores. H-D dealers who have done this with the Street have noticed major spikes in stock unit sales of a bike that many claim to be stale across the country. Let's not forget how many adventure bike enthusiasts dump $10K into a $15K bike to load it up with crash guards, hard shell pan- niers and skid plates. I assure you, a loaded up adventure bike on your floor sells more stock adventure bikes, period. Whatever the craze, you need to get in — all in — to the game. If you have the brand that's hot, deck it out to sell more stock models. If you don't carry that particular brand, go buy the "hot model" at auction or at retail to put on your floor. That drives in people who wouldn't normally come in your store. If they want that used bike that you just brought in, sell it at a premium and go buy another one. Want-based selling is driven on emotion, not logic. "Something different" causes emo- tion. When looking at value differentiation in your store, go with the piece that causes you to be unique, not just another logical option. PSB Sam Dantzler is the founder of Sam's Powers- ports Garage, a membership website dedicated to best practices and all-staff training. He can be reached at sam@samspowersportsgarage.com. Unique offerings attract customers, interest SAM DANTZLER HEADROOM