Open Floors or Split? What drives EXCELLENT Results for New and Used sales?
In today's market where Used Cars are at a Premium and New Cars are somewhat of a commodity, should a dealership separate the floors and staff the seasoned sales staff in the Used Department to achieve maximum profitability? All along with driving as many New Cars out of the door as possible from the less seasoned staff?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Philip Zelinger on
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Hi Kelly,
The fast answer is -- NO! Having seperate but equal sales staffs for New and Used Vehicles can be justified depending on your facility logistics and depth of resources regarding inventory, staffing, management and marketing, however your assumption that new vehicles are "somewhat of a commodity" ignores the more relevant fact that customers are not commodities and they are the true focus that should be addressed with your question.
Obviously customers present unique needs and expectations from your staff and categorizing them by what they initially included in their shopping process could and would be a fatal flaw in your first impression and ability to properly qualify their actual needs vs. their presumed wants. The net impact of concentrating your seasoned staff to one team vs. another would be to sacrifice the dealerships reputation within that segment of the market and the lines between new and pre-owned are blurred once they leave your dealership. After all, there is no such thing as a new vehicle in the marketplace since the moment they leave your facility they are all used!
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Permalink Reply by Kelly A. Spires on
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Philip,
Thanks for your thoughts, if the floor was split and MANAGEMENT oversaw the New newbies more than the Seasoned Used Car sales people, don't you think we could control the customer experience to the levels that we expect along with moving all of the New cars and holding gross along with not missing a Used car deal??
Of course all of the right rights have to be in place, Management, Expectations, Training, and so on...
Kelly
Philip Zelinger said:Hi Kelly,
The fast answer is -- NO! Having seperate but equal sales staffs for New and Used Vehicles can be justified depending on your facility logistics and depth of resources regarding inventory, staffing, management and marketing, however your assumption that new vehicles are "somewhat of a commodity" ignores the more relevant fact that customers are not commodities and they are the true focus that should be addressed with your question.
Obviously customers present unique needs and expectations from your staff and categorizing them by what they initially included in their shopping process could and would be a fatal flaw in your first impression and ability to properly qualify their actual needs vs. their presumed wants. The net impact of concentrating your seasoned staff to one team vs. another would be to sacrifice the dealerships reputation within that segment of the market and the lines between new and pre-owned are blurred once they leave your dealership. After all, there is no such thing as a new vehicle in the marketplace since the moment they leave your facility they are all used!
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