While working with non-automotive businesses, we’ve seen how managers of brands respond when they need to drive sales volume.

Coca-Cola sales slowed in 2013. The company’s response? An innovation of new product including personalized Coke cans with the first names of consumers on them, plus “green” Coke with lower sugar and a container with a natural logo design. Sales and market share have climbed.

The auto industry has entered a phase of transparent pricing. Instead of becoming defensive, dealers should get innovative.

Consumer still enjoying buying a new car, but clearly the rules have changed. Maybe now, they really want to buy “their” car.

When we work with successful dealership principals across the country, some creativeness jumps out at us. I’ll describe some of them. But there’s no limit to the imagination and creativity of a car dealer.

If I visit 10 Chevrolet stores, most look the same. They all feature that same ’15 Trailblazers in the same black, silver and white colors at the same price, lined up the same way.

But, there are always interesting dealers who change the buyer experience.

When I speak with them about their store’s financials, they often are more profitable, even if their sales volume isn’t as high as some competitors.

So let’s review some best practices, inventory management and creative decisions that you can build profit. Let’s start with what Disney defines as “the moment.”

What do shoppers see at your dealership the moment they pull up? Does something grab their attention?

Here are a few innovative things I’ve observed from working with dealers over the past 20 years:

• In Florida, I saw several of the same vehicle model lined up. But they were of different bright colors. It looked like jelly beans all in a row. They had attractive prices on the windshields. Consumers got excited.
• A Detroit dealership had every showroom unit accessorized, selling them as high-profit vehicles. This was also one of the state’s top-volume dealerships.
• Another dealership had a pickup truck in the showroom, and in the bed was a tall menu board of every offered option expressed in low monthly payments (Roof-top fog lights for only $3 a month, for example.)
• In California, I studied a dealership that lined up every Ford model from compact to sedan to oversized SUV with the actual lease payment advertised on a sign atop the roof of each. I watched customers walking down the row and stopping at what was like their current payment. What a great way to qualify buyers.
• In South Carolina, I saw a pickup with custom leather seats, accents and pinstripes all in the colors of the nearby major university. Instantly, a regular Ram became a “University-Series Special.” It could not have cost this dealer more than $2,000 to make the truck special and alluring to alumni.
• In Utah, a local hunting and fishing TV celebrity had his own limited edition of a “tough guy” pickup truck customized by a local dealer. The truck included the TV program logo embroidered on the seats plus all the accessories needed to handle the rugged Utah landscape. It sold well.

In an era of transparent pricing, innovation on the car lot is a key profit builder.

Sometimes, I hear dealers complain about not being able to get hot-selling inventory from the factory. But a dealer can create his or her own hot product through clever accessorizing and displaying.

Consider creating an exclusive line only available at your store. Why fight other dealers in an era of transparent pricing when all the consumer really wants is personalization and customization at a great value?