Service Advisors NEED CONFIDENCE as their number one skill!

Here are 5 tips to build your confident sales approach

We have all met Service Advisors who just seem to be natural at sales. Some people have simply “got it” when it comes to sales skills, inspiring admiration and envy among those of us who witness their polished methods of selling.

These Advisors have a certain confidence that comes across, especially when closing a sale. For the seasoned professional Service Advisor, the close is never overly robotic, nor is it pushy. The expert knows that the close is the heart of the sale. Without this last essential step a sale really is not a sale.

The close is so important that worrying over its success can cause you to blow it. You do not want that to happen, so you will want to arm yourself with enough confidence that you navigate the approval of your legitimately needed additional service requests as smoothly and worry-free as possible.

Let’s take a close look at closing the sale with the expertise of a professional Service Advisor.

Service Advisor Sales Tip #1: Remember to ask for the sale!

The number one sales tip for closing may seem obvious, but it is something that often goes overlooked. You have to ask for the sale. Your prospective customer expects you to ask for the job. Moreover, customers sometimes play hard to get, leading them to offer many objections.

Many times, your prospects know that you offer the services they need, and they only object so vigorously to have their instincts confirmed. They expect you to offer things they may not believe they need. If you succeed in overcoming their objections but fail to ask for the sale, you will leave them hanging. Give the people what they want: do not forget to ask for the sale! Remember to have a plan “B” ready to fire and offer PAYMENT OPTIONS that are at your disposal.

Service Advisor Sales Tip #2: Create a sense of urgency

While being careful not come off overly eager, you should still create a sense of urgency in closing the sale. You can do this with a little help from words like “NEED.” “The important things YOU NEED to take care of today are….” You can also use words and phrases like “Immediately”, “Right now”, “Required”, “Now” and “Safety”. Make sure to be assumptive as another tool to create urgency “Let’s go ahead and take care of your immediate needs today so you are safe and your car is reliable.”

Also, don’t shy away from creating a deadline. If it will create an unsafe condition of potential damage and loss of performance, let them know! “The good news is you haven’t damaged your rotors YET but if we don’t take care of this NOW your repair cost will triple.”

Service Advisor Sales Tip #3: Don’t be overly aggressive

No one likes a forceful Service Advisor. What is too aggressive? Repeating yourself is one example, another is assuming too much. We have all been there, you must temple your enthusiasm to be careful not to turn your customer OFF. If your customer does seem agitated remember to let them know that you are their Advisor and it’s your responsibility to keep them informed and also tell them WHY they need the prescribed service offering.

Make sure you are presenting the customers’ needs in order of priority starting with the Prime Concern (and related to prime needs) FIRST! Organize your presentation using the Prioritized Presentation Method. Here are the steps using this technique.

Address the Prime Concern (WHY THEY BROUGHT IT) and anything related to the Prime Concern.

Tell the customer what is positive about the car and condition.

Inform about what services are NEEDED NOW and everything related to what is needed now (Brake Job, include the flush here, Tires, include the alignment and nitrogen)

Let the customer know what is COMING UP or CLOSE to needing attention

Notify the customer of how long before their next service. Paint a picture of a well maintained vehicle that won’t need a major service for XX,XXX miles. “After that you really will only need oil changes and rotations for some time”

State the GRAND TOTAL PRICE and ask for the sale

Offer options readily and ask again….Offer credit or payment options available

You can return to the closing part (or thank them for their time) based on the answers you receive.

Service Advisor Sales Tip #4: Ask open-ended questions

There are “yes and no” questions, and there are open-ended questions. You want to avoid the “no” option as best you can, within reason.

Avoid doing this:

“Have you had your transmission fluid changed?”

This can get you struck out before you even get up to bat! You see, this question has a few possible answers: yes or, I do it myself, My mechanic does it….etc. The difficulty with the above approach is; the Advisor is "shot down" before he or she has a chance to make a presentation or overcome an objection…Like a good friend of mine, Scott Russeau says, “It's like trying to hit a home run while sitting in the dug out…nearly impossible.”

Here is a better question to ask:

“It will take about 1 more hour to get you going, have I answered all of your questions?” OR “We can get you out of here by 4 – did you want the FREE carwash as well today?”

You will never force anyone to take a sale or anything else by wording your questions this way. Nevertheless, the only “no” you cannot avoid is one that is inevitable, no matter how you ask, wherein the customer has already made their mind up long ago. On the other hand, interested prospects will appreciate your continued interest in their needs while you wrap up the sale.

And, even if you don’t get this sale, they will remember your attention to service for next time.

Service Advisor Sales Tip #5: Timing is everything

The Inspect it 1st Inspection rule says to inspect it 1st and review the results with the service Advisor ASAP.  Example: LOF and Tire Rotation takes 1 Hour to complete, the technician should have the inspection completed and back up to you with in the first 15 minutes for the most effective presentation to the customer.

A HUGE mistake is often made, by reviewing the findings of an inspection after the vehicle is completed and parked outside, or when the customer arrives to pick up the vehicle. At this point in time, the customer has already "mentally left" the dealership and they certainly are not willing to wait around for some additional time to have services completed. Typically what happens in these situations is: the customer takes your recommendations and has them performed somewhere else at their convenience, when it was you and your technicians who actually made the sale happen!!!

On the other hand, if you let the customer know what items need attention early in the service visit, your chances for approval increase dramatically. Performing the inspection and making recommendations within the The Inspect it 1st Inspection rule is a much better situation for the customer.

The customer's vehicle is STILL in the shop.

It seems like only a small investment in time to have the additional work completed.

It leads the customer to the "might as well take care of it whiles it’s there” conclusion.

If there is a known outcome (i.e. Lube Oil & Filter/Tire Rotation and no prime items or items to diagnose), the inspection should be done in the first 10-15 minutes that the vehicle is in the technician's stall; and the results of the inspection returned to the Advisor.

If there are prime items or items to diagnose, the inspection should be completed IMMEDIATLEY following the diagnosis of the prime items. The results of the diagnosis and inspection must be returned to the Advisor as early as possible, allowing the Advisor to make one effective and timely call to the customer.

Are you ready to close your next sale with confidence?

Did I mention “confidence,” yet? There is a reason to bring it up again. Confidence is something your prospective customers will notice. They won’t believe in your service if you don’t. The confidence you exude during closing the sale will reassure your customer that they are in good hands. That confidence may be just the thing to firm up the deal, and win you the business. Strive for the best and you may just hit it!