How a novel retail sales process is having a big impact in dealer showrooms
Make no mistake, selling cars is a tough business. Furthermore, with more competition than ever and consumers armed with greater knowledge, it is increasingly important for dealers to not only sell more vehicles but ensure they have “the right process,” to do it. Clint Burns, chairman and CEO of The Next Solutions Inc., believes he has a worthwhile tool to help sales staff have just that: The Next Up closed sales floor system.
Recently, we got to chat with him during the NADA 2013 Convention and Expo weekend.
REAL NUMBERS
The Next Up enables sales managers to track the actual number of prospects coming into their dealership and based on that information allocate staff to tasks that ensure they spend more time with each customer. “It’s a proven fact that the more time sales staff spend with customers and the more test drives you have, the more sales deals are going to be done,” says Burns.
Having knowledge of the actual number of clients available, sales departments can then ensure they have the right number of staff to service them, while others can then follow up or set appointments, improving productivity, while strengthening customer relationships and ultimately, increasing vehicle sales. Additionally, The Next Up enables managers to track the performance of each salesperson, so they’re immediately notified of those that are underperforming and those that are the most productive.
Burns says that The Next Up was designed to work for all kinds of dealers, from small, mom and pop operations, to big suburban and group owned franchises. Also, even if a store already has a CRM in place, The Next Up provides the additional resource of accurately tracking customer leads at all times. “The problem with a lot of CRM data,”
he says “is that they will only provide information that’s logged in by staff. So if you can’t see it you can’t track it.”
SERIOUS RESULTS
Burns’ approach to the sales process has resonated with dealers south of the border, to the point that The Next Up is one of the fastest growing software tools being adopted by franchises across the country. And those that have, say they’ve gotten great results from it. Santa Margarita Ford, in the Los Angeles area, which recently acquired The Next Up, has seen its local market share jump from 6.7 to 8 per cent and a 20 per cent increase in test drives over just 90 days.
“The Next Up, has changed the culture in our store, says general manager Robin Edmond. “It seems to level the playing field and give everyone the opportunity to make a sale.”
MIGRATING NORTH
So that’s in the U.S., but what about Canada? Well, The Next Up is also being adopted by dealers here too, the first of which was Silver Star Motors, a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Montreal.
Dealer principal Jonathan Eltes says he first heard about The Next Up at last year’s NADA Convention and Expo in Las Vegas. “I saw the process and it really stood out. There was a big Mercedes-Benz franchise in the U.S., Fletcher Jones that was using it. So I figured, if it was good enough for them, it was good enough for us.”
Eltes says that while there’s often a good deal of resistance to implementing new technologies in dealer stores, when it came to The Next Up, it was different. “Within a day, everybody on our sales staff had bought into it,” he says “and they were running it on their own.”
He said that with sales staff spending more time with customers, better receiving them and more effectively taking care of their needs through the entire sales process, business increased. “In 2012 we had 2,000 new vehicle sales and just under 1,000 used. The Next Up helps you measure the success you’re having. It’s a different measure of accountability than typical online analytics.”
Approximately 10-15 dealers in Canada are currently using The Next Up and as more and more invest in the digital space, that number is likely to grow, especially if, like stores that have already adopted it, they too see healthy increases in vehicle sales.
