| Get the Book Out |
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| Written by Mike Thompson |
| Tuesday, 06 October 2009 15:41 |
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What book? I’m glad you asked. In every new vehicle sold in this country, there is a book and the book is called the “Scheduled Maintenance Guide”. For short, we’ll call it the SMG. Most vehicle manufacturers, except GM, include the SMG as a separate book in each vehicle they produce and it can be found in the glove box enclosed in plastic. This book contains the required maintenance services that each vehicle shouldreceive to:
· Keep the vehicle warranty intact
· Keep the owner’s cost of operation the lowest possible
· Maximize the vehicle’s life
· Increase the vehicle’s resale value
· Tie the customer to the dealership (and the advisor)
· Create a foundation for an advisor and tech to up sell from
· Give the advisor a maintenance roadmap to follow that has impeccable creditability
This little book is probably the most underrated and underutilized book on the automotive planet! The fact is, when I am in a service drive training advisors on creditable selling techniques, we find the SMG is still in its original plastic pack 90% of the time.
To unleash the power in this book, you have to get it out first. How do you get the book out? You ask for it! The word track sounds like this: “While I finish making some notes about your vehicle’s problem, would you look in your glove box and get the Scheduled Maintenance Guide out for me please?”
That was pretty easy—no blood spilled, no name calling.
Now that we have the SMG in our hands, what’s next?
Open the SMG to the maintenance section and point to the corresponding mileage box and say this: “This is the service required by the manufacturer, based on your current mileage…I can have these services done for you today and I will also validate your SMG…this helps ensure you will receive your full warranty coverage and it helps increase your vehicle’s resale value…the service is only $69.95…I just need your OK to get started.”
If I could…would you?
“If I could save you time and money and increase your resale value, could I earn your maintenance business Mr. Customer?”
Believe me, you can. When you show your service customers how they can use their SMG, your days of having to “hard sell” are over…let the book do it for you. Did you realize that a completely documented SMG will add $500 to $1,200 to the resale value of a vehicle versus a vehicle without the documented maintenance records?
For proof of this, pay attention to the vehicles running through the auction lanes and see how much more the vehicles with documented maintenance records bring over the vehicles without maintenance documentation.
You can help increase your customer’s resale value, but the vehicle must be maintained by you and validated by using a manufacturer approved maintenance stamp.
This works!!
Mike Thompson is a professional consultant/trainer with Net Profit Inc, an international automotive management company serving dealers and manufacturers from Alabaster, AL since 1979. For more information call 205-663-1962 or email
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