THE SALES AND THE SERVICE DEPARTMENTS ARE TWO CRITICAL BUSINESS UNITS WITHIN THE DEALERSHIP, YET THEY OFTEN BUTT HEADS
In most Canadian dealerships, the sales department is focused exclusively on its own performance. The same is true on the service side.
From the outside, it often looks like two separate businesses are sharing a roof and a name, but nothing else.
This becomes really problematic when the sales and service departments fight or plot against one another.
Some dealer principals and general managers have been living with this dynamic for so long they accept it as is.
But other dealerships around the world find ways to integrate the two departments.
In some Australian dealerships, for example, a single contact person inside the dealership is responsible for sales, parts and service, and for helping bridge the divide between them.
That way, customers become accustomed to working with an individual at the dealership and can develop greater trust with the business. This approach can benefit the customer and the dealership as a whole.
One dealership in Belgium takes a more consultative approach. The Mons Automobiles S.A. dealership follows a traditional sales and service department that’s similar to Canada, but the dynamic between the departments is different.
At this dealership, a salesperson and service advisor would meet together with the customer on a regular basis. After these meetings, the sales and service departments would walk away knowing the customer’s financial situation and any service requirements that might be needed over the foreseeable future.
This approach helps to educate the customer and also establish trust. In some cases, these meetings led to vehicles being sold four to six months in advance.
Can we adopt a similar attitude in Canada? It’s not so simple.
Mark O’Brien, Senior Director of Dealer Solutions at Dealertrack Canada, identifies some of the biggest problems with how traditional dealerships are run in Canada.
“One issue is the siloing of the sales/service departments, and how compensation is paid to each. And as much as the dealership might wish differently, the first instinct is always to follow the compensation plan,” said O’Brien.
For O’Brien, fostering a better relationship between the two departments starts with a simple vehicle appraisal.
“There is no dispute that sales should turn the customer over to service post purchase. Once the service burden on the customer becomes too much, the service should turn that customer back over to sales,” says O’Brien.
Some dealerships are trying to do this with the aid of data mining tools that draw information from the Dealership Management System (DMS) and calculate equity on the customer’s existing vehicle based on the equity position.
A simple and efficient appraisal process can also play a key role. An electronic appraisal or app can streamline the appraisal, said O’Brien. He says Dealertrack Canada’s Inventory+ tool has mobile capabilities that can perform complete appraisals in seconds.
One best practice which can be effective is if the dealer attaches an appraisal value for the customer’s vehicle to the service work order when the customer picks up their car.
“Imagine a customer that doesn’t want to trade their car, but is surprised by the valuation,” says O’Brien. “This can put them back in the cycle faster.” The sales and service departments now have an incentive to work together, he added.
There’s still a lot of work to be done for sales and service to exist in harmony, but some of the new technologies that provide greater visibility into the owner’s situation can help narrow the divide.
