TECH SAVVY WAYS TO GEAR UP SALES FOR SLOWER SEASON
As your busy season begins to slow down, just because customers are no longer eagerly lining up for needed new equipment and service doesn’t mean you need to put up with months of lackluster sales. With some thought and creativity, it is possible to still bring in some new business. Take a look at some ideas that may help you work towards building year-round sales, including some clever spins on holiday promotions.
SPUR HOLIDAY SALES
Over the past few years, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other sales “holidays” have grown to epic proportions. Why not enter the fray and get involved yourself? Shoppers of all types are accustomed to finding great deals at this time of the year, and are ready to pull out their charge cards to make a big purchase.
Look at your numbers and find out what type of sales you can offer. Be sure to advertise in advance, on your website, and notify your customers by mail and email. Once you have brought your customers into the store or to your website, you may make other sales too.
Capitalize on the holiday wishlist idea! Start early and have customers fill in their wishlist items when they are in, and make notes on their customer records to follow up with them when those items go on sale.
GET IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
Try getting customers to come by with a holiday open house with refreshments, prize drawings, and special markdowns.
GET ACTIVE ONLINE
Increase your online sales by investing some time working on your e-commerce site if you have one, work on getting listings and photos of all your older parts, new and used units uploaded to high-traffic units and parts listing sites. Get active on social media by including links to the listings for those units you really want to clear off your lot. Be sure to embellish your posts with personal, added commentary. Certain dealership management systems, such as ASPEN, have their own locator programs that allow dealers to share parts information with other dealers using the system.
PUSH ACCESSORIES AT POINT OF SALE
Be sure to use point-of-sale reminders in your business system to suggest additional parts or accessories when ringing up customer sales. These can either relate to the individual customer or the item they are purchasing.
Review your customer records for notes on wearing parts, belts, etc. that might need replacement, and use their model information to let them know about promotions on attachments and other accessories they may need for their particular unit. Use direct mail, email and phone calls to encourage them to pick up any accessories you know that they have been eyeing. This helps you to start preparing for the season ahead—and your customers as well!
OTHER WAYS TO BOOST SALES WITHIN YOUR CLIENT BASE
You can increase sales right within your own customer base by keeping track of sales history and outstanding quotes. If you’ve been using your CRM correctly, your salesteam should already have reminders and calls scheduled to prospects they still haven’t closed sales with. Likewise, review all your service history to see who is due for service and keep an eye out for warranty expiration.
While you may not see the same type of numbers in your off-season, with these tips, you should be able to retain a solid, steady pattern of sales through those dreary days. Don’t forget to take some time to rest, recover and make preparations for the busy season.