Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/575161
www.PowersportsBusiness.com SOLUTIONS Powersports Business • October 5, 2015 • 31 Would you believe hotels care more about the linen on their beds than some dealerships care about their major unit leads? That might be a slight exaggeration, but it's cer- tainly worth think- ing about. Consider: Online news agen- cies are reporting major hotel chains are placing tiny tracking devices in their towels, robes and bed sheets. It's a high-tech way to identify what's on the prem- ises, or what is walking away. In the powersports world, we should be concerned with what's entering the premises, specifically consumer data — the consumer's name, number and email address, and the notes we take on what these consumers do for a living, which unit they want and which one they previously owned. This stuff is gold. It's the Play-Doh of your growth potential. How you shape it into a sale is debatable, but you gotta have it, and you gotta store it correctly, or it might walk away. For some dealerships, that storage part looks like this: The past six months of major unit leads are located in one Excel file on the sales manager's computer. This one and only file (probably not backed up) is on the man- ager's desktop and not in a central database that can be viewed and used by other staff members. Is that really the best approach? Those leads are the result of thousands of dollars of marketing efforts and expenses, and they get stored in one person's computer? These names, numbers and email addresses are our best shots at sales growth. They reflect the people who might or might not have bought from us in the past, but they're the logi- cal reason why we will grow in the future. All we have to do is use this data. Email them our newsletters. Invite them to our get-togethers. Call them so they can take advantage of our latest service special. It's easy stuff! Plus, it's relatively inex- pensive. We don't have to undertake an expensive ad campaign to find them. All we have to do is contact them. But how do we do that if the past six months of our leads aren't in a central database? Or worse, they're scratched out in pencil or pen on a series of yellow pads of paper that now lie stacked on the sales manager's desk like an incomplete Jenga game. With leads of any sort, but especially major unit ones, there should be two abso- lutes we unfailingly maintain. One is based on security, and the other is accessibility. Security is simply identifying a safe place for these leads to reside, and an Excel file on the sales manager's computer doesn't cut it. What if that person leaves the dealer- ship? What if six months of your leads are suddenly gone? What if they're now with a competitor of yours? Perhaps you view that entire scenario as unlikely. My sales manager has been here for years, you say. Why would that suddenly change? The better question you need to address is this: What if it does? Also, if just one person has access to these leads, how does the entire dealership benefit from your prior marketing spend? Let's use the parts department as an example. Their once-a- year blowout sale in the fall traditionally draws good in-store traffic. But wouldn't you like good traffic to become great traffic? If nothing else, that increase in traffic certainly couldn't hurt PG&A sales and it might result in a couple of strong unit leads, if not sales. So how do you draw better traffic? Have your parts department contact each of your major unit leads from the past three months and give them a legitimate reason (a one-day-only coupon?) to come to the dealership on the parts sale blowout day. But can your parts manager access those leads? If you don't have a business platform with a central database where all your market- ing leads reside in an accessible format, then probably not. Consider all the dollars and time you've put into collecting that consumer data and how best the entire dealership can benefit from it. After all, we don't want that data walking away like those hotel towels. PSB Neil Pascale is the industry communications manager for Dominion Powersports Solutions, the provider of the DX1 Powersports dealer management platform. He can be reached at neil.pascale@dominionpowersports.com. The absolute of major unit leads: They're gold THE DEALERSHIP OF TOMORROW hotels care more about the linen on their beds than some dealerships care about their major That might be a slight exaggeration, but it's cer- NEIL PASCALE at the chance to tell you what's on their phone, as it's usually the source of great pride and joy for them. Be it through the obvious, through F.O.R.M.A.T., or via a simple phone pic- ture, never forget the value of the first step of the sales process. Harley-Davidson's CUSTOM sales process has that step nailed, as they call it "Connect." When you "connect" with someone, you get to know her, and find common ground. You don't "politely clerk" them, you "connect" with them. In the world of psychology and human behavior, it's a massive difference. And at the bar? Think about it. … 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. DANTZLER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30