If your strategy for attracting customers to your dealership is to make your screen prices competitive, you may be looking at other areas where you can make profit, and a heavier focus on aftersales may be the way to keep your margins looking healthy.

To an extent, aftersales should be treated like car sales. You should try to build a rapport with customers, and help them figure out what would be beneficial to them, rather than overselling, so that they do not leave feeling disappointed. This is key for customer retention.

Be Organised and Efficient

You have probably learned by now that a little bit of organisation goes a long way when it comes to the running of a dealership, and aftersales is no exception. Ideally, vehicle health checks should be completed as early in the day as possible, so that there is time to contact the customer and have them approve work, so they can get their car back the same day.

If a customer has a bad aftersales experience, they are unlikely to return, so make sure your process is refined and that you always have plenty of staff on hand to deal with appointments.

Build Trust

With aftersales, customers may be more inclined to trust a technician or service manager. Particularly in a situation where a customer is declining Red or Amber work which could be a risk to safety, a technician could be more persuasive.

Making service professionals the point of contact can also be more convenient for customers, as there is less chance of them feeling like they are being passed from pillar to post.

Don’t be Pushy

When sales people are involved, it is important not to be dominated by the need to sell. The focus should always be primarily on adding value, rather than closing a deal. Pushing too much could damage your relationship with customers.

Follow Up

Individuals may want to defer Amber work until a problem advances. In this situation, it is important to make a note of when the work is due, so that you can contact them to book their vehicles in and prevent them going elsewhere.

For more information about how Click Dealer can help you make your aftersales process more efficient, get in touch by emailing [email protected], calling us on 01782 904 715, or messaging us via our contact page.