Ready to Fire Your Service Advisor? Try This First.

Hey, friends. It’s Chris Collins again—the Fixed Ops Fixer— with a story for your service advisors that’ll save at least one of them from getting fired this year. 

Let’s set the scene:

Rocky (my non-smoking bulldog) had lung cancer.

So, there we sat: Rocky, me, and my ex-wife, Satan—(yeah, you heard me right)— waiting 5 long hours to meet the only surgeon in the area willing to operate.

Though he possessed a glowing professional reputation, his bedside manner was less than underwhelming and he outlined the procedure stoically—without petting Rocky or even glancing his way.

Now, if Satan had a single redeeming feature, it was that she really loved that dog. And because the doctor didn’t give Rocky an ounce of attention, she flat-out refused to allow him to operate.

No matter that he was the best surgeon in the country with an impeccable record—

The universal truth in any transaction is:

Ignore the dog [insert whatever’s important to your customer here], lose the sale.

The end.

Now believe me, I get it—your team may be the most talented in town—but if your advisor doesn’t connect with your customer, the customer might never come back. Period.

Or worse—they’ll come back, but dread it. 

3 Simple Ways to “PET THE DOG”—

(Or in other words: How your advisors can make a personal and meaningful connection with your customers by noticing & honoring the things that matter to them.)

1. Meet your customer at their vehicle, right as they pull onto the service drive (Honor their time & prevent them from walking around trying to find a Writer.)
2. Compliment their vehicle—the model, color, stereo, tires—or something else you notice. (Honor their taste—they likely spent weeks on these decisions.)
3. Find common ground with your customer—use bumper stickers, child seats, a soccer ball in the back seat—anything to connect comfortably. (Remind them that “we’re in this together and we honor you as a person—not just as a customer.”) 

Want to save at least one advisor’s job this year? Introduce your advisors to Rocky, Satan, and me—Chris “the Bulldog” Collins—in this animated video of “Pet the Dog” during your next advisor meeting.

See you there—

Chris "the Bulldog" Collins

www.chriscollinsinc.com

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