Over the past two months David Lewis and Associates has had their grand opening of their new state of the art training center.  Now I finally have a moment to sit back and reflect on the successes of this event and what it means.  I smiled recalling a sales associate who had attended the DLA Advanced Sales course requesting that we provide hot sauce at our cafe bar.  As he put it," Everything tastes better with hot sauce!"

This got me thinking...

I take pride in my extensive history as a service provider, and I am often dismayed by the lack of customer service within the establishments with whom I have conducted business.  If you have ever assumed an automotive dealership was only a retail driven store, you would have been incorrect. Then again, perhaps you have never gave it any thought in the first place.

This is where most retail professionals miss an obvious opportunity. The service portion of a dealership is not exclusive to the service department. As dealers and service providers we need to expand on the definition of an automotive service department to include more than just the maintenance of our customer's vehicles.

The relationship between buyer and sales professional does not end with the closing of the deal. The true relationship begins the moment your customer seeks you out on the internet, takes their time to call you, and then comes to your place of business to make the initial purchase.

How are you adding value to your prospective customer’s experience?

Being proactive is a step in the right direction to elevate the heat in your sales and service process and productively engage with your customers during all phases of their buying experience.!