1. ‘Independent Workshops’ is
they don't feel valued or re-
spected as a customer. We
deliver the process stuff but
without the people skills needed
to build loyalty. Providing your
AfterSales employees with regu-
lar training on understanding
and engaging with the customer
will ensure your Dealership will
prosper and grow through great
service with the personal touch.
(Efficient Solutions provide a range of
Customer Handling Courses designed to
build your business).
The old saying that ‘Sales sells
the first car but AfterSales Ser-
vice sells the next’ is still true to
this day. The Australian Auto-
motive market is extremely
competitive where customers
have more brand choice than
ever before. Attracting and
retaining customers to your
Dealership and Brand has many
benefits:
Reduces acquisition cost
Provides business stabil-
ity through tough times
Provides greater word
of mouth advertising
Delivers greater Dealer-
ship profitability
Research tells us that it takes
between 5-7 positive service
experiences with a business to
move a satisfied customer to
becoming a loyal one.
The Dealership AfterSales de-
partment often has more cus-
tomer interactions in one day
than most sales departments
will in a month. The majority of
this service value is delivered
face to face by well trained Ser-
vice and Parts employees.
As with AfterSales we must also
satisfy customers with a pur-
chase they do not want nor
understand. With this in mind a
sustained focus on training and
development of all your cus-
tomer facing staff must be main-
tained.
Delivering on the ‘People
Stuff’.
We see it everywhere, custom-
ers being treated like they are
part of a sausage machine, being
processed but not really taken
care of. One of the core rea-
sons customers leave the fran-
chise service outlets for the
Building Dealership Loyalty
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
Building Dealership
Loyalty
1
Selling Service
made simple
1/2
Interactive Service
Reception
3
Efficient Topics
Q T R 2 2 0 1 6V O L U M E 4 1 S S U E 1
S P E C I A L
P O I N T S O F I N -
T E R E S T :
Building Cus-
tomer Loyalty
through After-
Sales.
R.I.S.K. Selling
System.
‘Interactive Ser-
vice Reception’.
Interactive Service Reception
R.I.S.K® Selling System
In the fast paced world of car servicing we often overlook the fact that our Service Advisors are profi-
cient sales people dealing with 10 to 15 retail customers every day. Adding to this; they must satisfy
customers buying something they don't want or even understand we can then see that most Service
Advisors do a pretty good job.
As we already know Customers like to buy, not to be sold to; so having a well thought out sales proc-
ess is important in building trust and selling more service. The R.I.S.K selling System identifies 4 simple
steps to quickly building rapport and build satisfaction.
Continued over page…..

2. P A G E 2
‘Customers don't
come to your
Dealership just
for service and
parts but for the
peace of mind
and benefits that
genuine service
and parts offer
them’
‘They treated me
like they care…
Great Service -
Great Sales’
R.I.S.K® Selling System
R — Relate… having a prac-
ticed and well thought out
greeting process for your
Customers will help to allay
the customer fears and barri-
ers when they arrive at your
Dealership. The easiest way is
to have a number of ‘Word-
Tracks’ you can use when
greeting the Service Cus-
tomer such as…
‘Good morning Mr. Jones, how
was your drive in today?’
‘I hear the weather is looking
good for the weekend, got any-
thing exciting planned?’
‘Wow your car still looks brand
new who does the detailing?’
‘I notice you are a member of
the local sailing club, what do
you sail?
Asking mostly open questions
enables the Customer to be
part of the process without
feeling threatened. Often you
will be surprised at how much
you and your Customers
actually have in common.
wherever possible try to in-
clude compliments in your
RELATE statements.
The key; is to have a number
of easy to remember opening
lines (word-tracks) that will
help you to quickly build rap-
port and defuse any worries
or barriers the Customers
may have.
I— Identify Needs… the
key role of the Service Advi-
sor is to find solutions to the
Customers needs. Before you
can provide any solution you
must first ask some ‘Identify
Needs’ questions of the Cus-
tomer. To do this you must
be prepared with at least 3 to
5 Identify Needs questions…
‘I see you have a tow bar fitted,
do you do a lot of towing?’
‘Tell me what type of driving do
you do, lots of short trips or long
drives?’
‘How often do you carry passen-
gers or heavy loads in your vehi-
cle?’
‘I can see you look after your car
very well, are there any accesso-
ries that you desire for your car?’
‘How has your vehicle been
performing? Is it up to your
expectations?’
Being prepared with a per-
sonal list of ‘Identify Needs’
questions will assist you and
your Customer in building
value into the service experi-
ence.
S—Satisfy Needs…
The next step in the R.I.S.K
Selling System is to ‘Satisfy’
the needs of the Customer
based on your ‘Identify
Needs’ questions. Remember
your service Customers don't
come to your Dealership just
for service and parts but for
the peace of mind and bene-
fits that genuine service and
parts offer them. To achieve
this we must satisfy needs by
offering the most appropriate
servicing, parts and accesso-
ries to the Customer. All
services or items recom-
mended should be done using
Feature, Function and Benefits
that these services or prod-
ucts will provide them. Your
product knowledge will be of
paramount importance here.
So if you don't know why the
product will benefit the cus-
tomer; don't expect them to
either.
K— Keep the Relation-
ship… as Service Advisors
are the Customer representa-
tive within the service depart-
ment, maintaining a relation-
ship with the customer is
imperative. Keeping the cus-
tomer informed throughout
the day on work progress,
monitoring the work within
the workshop and ensuring all
Customer work requests are
being upheld. Post service it is
important that the relation-
ship is maintained, through
post service follow-up, service
reminders and special offers
or events. Maintain your DMS
Customer information on
their likes & dislikes, offer
them opportunity to attend
New Owner nights, Women
on Wheels or Father Son
functions.
The RISK Selling system
should help you build a strong
customer base and loyalty.
‘I hear the
weather is
looking good for
the weekend, got
anything exciting
planned?’
E F F I C I E N T T O P I C S

3. Unit 1-B Ground Floor 23 Middle Street Cleveland Qld
4163
Web: www.efficientsolutions.com.au
P: 07 3821 7314
M: 0410 074 488
E: efficientsolutions@bigpond.com.au
Our Mission Statement
“Efficient Solutions will provide clear and accurate operational
improvement concepts and plans that will better the perform-
ance of our customer’s day to day business operations.
Our goal is to ensure our customer’s are fully skilled so they
provide the best customer process and service experience possi-
ble, this will ensure their business growth and our future suc-
cess.”
Efficiency is our game—Profit is your gain
What is ‘Interactive Service Recep-
tion’?
Interactive Service reception is an on
drive customer reception procedure con-
ducted from 7:00am to 9:30am. It re-
quires a facility that includes all weather
undercover driveway, defined service
lanes, clear directional signage and an
appointment process that staggers ap-
pointment times and informs the cus-
tomer about Interactive Service Recep-
tion.
Why ‘Interactive Service Reception’?
Involves the customer in the service
reception process.
It is undertaken in the customer’s
‘Comfort Zone’ not the Service
Advisors.
It builds value into the work to be
completed.
Customers can see immediately any
additional work recommended.
Allows the Service Advisor to gain
approval for additional work on the
spot.
Reduces time delays later in the day
gaining additional work approval.
Provides the Service Advisor the
ability to show and explain what
work will be completed during the
service or repair and build value in
the customers mind.
Background
Most customer don’t understand
today’s automotive technology and
the required serving techniques.
Many new car customers are wary
of franchised service departments
often through bad word of mouth.
Traditional reception procedures
don’t allow adequate time with the
customer to build confidence and
rapport with the Service Advisor.
Many service customer just feel like
a number being processed.
Benefits
When implemented correctly – es-
tablishes smooth workflow.
Builds confidence and rapport with
the Customer.
Customers can gain first hand un-
derstanding of what it going to hap-
pen to their car.
Builds the Value Message in the
customer – price becomes secon-
dary.
Customers can see first-hand the
need for any additional work that
may be required.
Due to the interaction with the Cus-
tomer a more complete Repair Or-
der is completed.
Less Technician downtime – since
more information is gathered and
approved a more complete repair
order is provided to technician.
Reduced downtime waiting for cus-
tomer call back for additional work.
Interactive Service Reception Process
Implementing Interactive Service Recep-
tion will require a defined process proce-
dure to ensure smooth flow of vehicles,
people and paperwork is maintained.
The following areas should be consid-
ered when developing your process:
Informing Customers of your interac-
tive Service reception process at time
of appointment.
Offering the Interactive Reception
Process to the Customer
Staggering your bookings at 10-15
minute intervals (Peak Period)
Clear Customer directional signage
and service reception lanes.
Location/storage of repair orders,
seat covers and floor mats.
Process to manage Customers with-
out appointments.
Vehicles requiring technical investi-
gation.
Updating repair orders with addi-
tional work.
On drive computer access.
Morning management of phone calls.
Movement of vehicles, keys and R/
O’s to the workshop.
On drive tools and equipment, clip
boards, tyre depth gauges, Point of
Sale materials, pricing guides etc.
Interactive Service Reception Process
A written reception process is recom-
mended to ensure consistency. The rec-
ommended role for the Service Advisor
in the reception process is:
Greet Customers as they arrive
(using their name)
Confirm the Customer needs and
their prime Item of concern
Reconfirm best contact number
Install seat covers and floor mats
Conduct an interactive vehicle walk
around check and explain the work
to be completed (use a Pre Diagnosis
Check sheet if required)
Provide clear cost and time estimates
Obtain Customer ’s authorisation to
undertake the work
Present SA business card which in-
cludes cost estimate and promised
pick up time
Confirm alternative transport needs
Interactive Service Reception