The demo drive is a vital and fundamental selling process critical to the effective closing sales in dealerships new and used vehicle departments.

Is there a similar sales process in the service department that is crucial to attaining benchmark sales performance as well?

The answer is YES.  Or at least there should be one in your service departmentif you are serious about cash flow, improved technician production, net profit and improved fixed coverage.

What is this process called?

It is called the Interactive Reception or Walk Around Process. This process is performed by service advisors with customers on the service drive!

Let’s discuss why dealers should implement an effective walk around process and:

- Why dealers struggle to implement it;

- What service advisors should not say when they make service sales suggestions or sales closing statements:

- How to perform the walk around properly;

- How much it costs dealers by not having an effective walk around and point of sale process!

The service advisor walk around is as important to the service departments selling performance as the demo drive is to the new and used vehicle sales department. In both cases, it is the point of sale opportunity to present features and benefits of the product or service to the customer. Of course, to the consumer, it is more exciting to purchase a new vehicle rather than spending money on a factory 30,000 mile service.  However, in both cases, the dealer has spent thousands of dollars per month to attract customers to the dealership and each department has a responsibility to ensure their sales personnel are properly trained to effectively handle customers. While there are many components and processes to an effective walk around, here are some examples of ineffective walk arounds we see too frequently at dealerships.

Examples of an Ineffective Walk Around Process.

The service advisor:

- Walks around the vehicle without the customer;

- Only walks around the vehicle to inspect for damage;

- Walks around the vehicle without an inspection sheet;

- Does not discuss features and benefits of the service suggestions;.

- Does not open the hood and misses the opportunity to discuss maintenance services such as fluids, filters, belts, battery cables and terminal condition;

- Does not have a sales plan and is not organized to present potential up-sell recommendations;

- Suggests maintenance when the customer’s prime concern is a diagnostic issue such as a check engine light which adversely affects the credibility of the presentation;

The walk around, if being performed in dealerships, can vary greatly from one dealership to another. Our company gets numerous compliments from service clients about our version of the walk around. Service management and advisors claim it is easier, quicker and more effective to perform than what they have been instructed to do previously.

The interactive reception entails the service advisor interacting with the customer at their vehicle which is the point of sale following the meet and greet. The most common issue we see is the lack of interaction with the customer and service advisor during a walk around in dealerships that claim to have the walk around process implemented.

Effective word tracks for service advisors whether they do or do not know the customer’s vehicle history prior to the walk around is imperative. The service advisor should make service maintenance suggestions to the customer with an emphasis on the features and benefits of the services recommended. The service advisor opens the hood of the vehicle to discuss what the service department provides complimentary for the customer during the service (such as top off fluids, etc.) At this time, the service advisor discusses with the customer what is in good operating condition visually and maintenance services to be recommended based on mileage and current condition.  In addition, future service needs may be mentioned at this time as well.

How to Desk the Deal!

Once the walk around with the customer is completed, the service advisor goes to his/ her computer, reviews history, and tailors the online factory compliant menu based on the findings from the walk around and vehicle history.  The service advisor checks the appropriate box on the service menu to include the dealer recommended services and then makes the visual menu presentation to the customer. The customer is also informed that a complimentary vehicle inspection will be performed and that they will be notified if any items need immediate attention.

The repair order now has the captive sale services that the customer initially requested and the point of sale maintenance services that were just upsold and authorized. In addition, a potential follow-up sale is in process by way of the vehicle inspection sheet that is ready to be dispatched to the technician.

When the technician gets the repair order, he completes the vehicle inspection first. If the technician finds safety issues needing immediate attention, he will bring the repair order back with parts pricing to the service advisor so the customer can be informed of the safety issue and pricing. This process ensures that the preventative maintenance is not performed until the customer is provided an opportunity to determine if the additional unforeseen safety related service item is within their total budget - even though they already approved recommended maintenance services and pricing.

The walk around presentation and interaction at the point of sale is one of three distinct stages of a service sale. The point of sale transaction has significant labor hours per repair order associated with it.

If there is no point of sale process in place in the dealership, there is potentially tens of thousands of dollars being left on the table every month!

Besides an effective point of sale/walk around process, the word track utilized by service advisors will determine the outcome of the sales presentation. While there are numerous effective word tracks for closing a potential service sale, these are some sales closings we often hear in dealerships.