Follow these 4 steps to transform your dealership from a dreary snow covered lot into a winter wonderland.

1. Off Work and Online:

With tons of people staying at home this is the perfect time for you to connect with your customers online. Utilize your social media and special online offers to keep your dealership on the top of shoppers minds. People get cabin fever, make sure to let your customers know if you are open or not and if so, offer them something special to make their trek through the snow worth it.

2. Big Snow, Big Vehicles: SELL SIZE

Huge snow storms will help you persuade shoppers with smaller vehicles that it may be time for an upgrade. Their little compact may get good gas mileage, but it sure isn’t going to get them through the snow to work or to pick their kids up from hockey practice. Sell the necessity of these larger vehicles and give customers multiple reasons on why a larger automobile will make their winter much more manageable.

4/All Wheel drive becomes your winter hero. Show customers that these vehicles mean business, post pictures, videos and examples online that prove to customers that the added cost of these systems and vehicles is well worth it in these snow ridden climates.

3. After Snow Accidents:

Terrible road conditions lead to lots of accidents and where do people bring their car after its been all banged up…to your service department of course!

This is the perfect time to create a great relationship with your customers, accidents are traumatic experiences and couple that with cold weather makes for an even more irritated client. Make sure you are on top of your customer service and turn customers bad on-road accidents to great in-store experiences that will create a great memory and keep them coming back to you.

4. Empower Employees:

The last thing your sales team wants to be doing is spending all day clearing off your entire inventory with your “foam brooms” that seem to take endless pushes and pulls to clear off each car. If you are requiring your employees to fight through the snow to get to work and then spend all day outside make sure you are rewarding them. Happy employees are productive employees. Keep it fun and use the time outside as a team building exercise and make sure you stay warm, nobody wants to work with a salesman who is frozen literally and emotionally.

Make the most of every season and play your demographic strengths to your advantage. No one wants tons of snow burying your profits so come up with creative and beneficial ways to heat up your dealership all year long.

- Josh Knutson

Image sources: ( www.lehighvalleylive.com , appirio.com , motortrend.com)