AUTOMOTIVATION!
HOW TO GET SALES AND SERVICE DEPARTMENTS
TO WORK TOGETHER
IN A PERFECT WORLD, Sales and Service Departments work hand-in-hand to give every customer an A+ experience every single time.
BUT IN REALITY, customers often get less-than-stellar service for one simple reason: Sales and Service barely communicate with one another!
No fistfights probably, but all too often, Sales and Service don’t work well together. And when that happens, EVERYBODY loses:
• Customers get frustrated and go elsewhere
• Car sales fall
• Service work drops off
• And then…YOUR DEALERSHIP SUFFERS
A SALESPERSON thinks…
“Hey, Service guys have it easy. Service doesn’t understand the pressure I’m under to sell. My monthly quotas are impossible. I get customer rejections. Competing dealerships are killing me. My Sales Manager’s always on me, blah blah blah.”
A SERVICE ADVISOR thinks…
“Yo, Sales guys have it easy. I get all the problems – cranky customers; scheduling problems; impossible deadlines; constant complaints about repair costs; a million calls a day, ‘Is my car done?’ And my Service Manager’s always on me, blah blah blah.”
How to get the Sales Department & Service Department to WORK TOGETHER
Communication is the key. When people hear the other guy’s point of view, understanding grows, and so does desire to help the other guy. Here’s how you can help it happen………
1. Throw a Pizza Party
Get the Sales force and Service Advisors together. Shop Foreman, too. DON’T give ‘em a lecture on cooperation. DON’T sit ‘em down for a PowerPoint presentation. Throw a pizza party – an easygoing, fun, informal get-together.
Food servers & waiters? Dealership Owner, General Manager, Sales Manager & Service Manager
“Hey, Service guys have it easy. Service doesn’t understand the pressure I’m under to sell. My monthly quotas are impossible. I get customer rejections. Competing dealerships are killing me. My Sales Manager’s always on me, blah blah blah.”
3. Anonymous Gripe List
As bellies fill, ask each employee to write down the three most frustrating parts of their jobs. (NOT their gripes about the other department – about THEIR jobs.) No names – 100% anonymous. Read them aloud to the group. Throw in some humor and keep it light. “Hey, you think you have problems, listen to this one!”
4. Management Finesse
Don’t threaten or criticize to get more cooperation. Thank the group for opening the door to communication. Tell them communication breeds understanding. Let them know they are valuable, that OUR dealership benefits when OUR departments work together like parts of a well-oiled machine.
5. Put CUSTOMER SATISFACTION above all else
Tell them you, as Management, will be holding more meetings like this to foster understanding and cooperation between departments. Let them know you can’t eliminate every job frustration, but tell them you will work to fix the situations that are fixable – then DO it!
But make it VERY CLEAR that openness, cooperation, and putting customer satisfaction first is EVERYONE’S responsibility – every tech, every salesperson, every manager, every VP, every secretary!