I don’t know about you but I am sick of hearing about the economy, the election, the war, and the price of gas. So how about this—let’s focus on something we can do something about, something that puts money in the bank at a time when we need it most. Ok, maybe car sales stink right now, but I do know this: Even if people aren’t buying new cars, they still need to have their own vehicles serviced—and I think they should have them serviced at your store. Wouldn’t you agree?Here are three easy steps that I promise will make you money if you just get serious and do them:

Step 1—Get back there.

Go on, it’s not that bad back in service. Get back there and teach your service advisors how to sell, how to answer the phone, and how to get more customers in your store when they call. Teach them how to ‘Wow’ customers and how to carry themselves like they work at the Ritz Carlton, not the Motel 6. Make sure they do an inspection report on every single car and teach them to be positive and how to close more deals with good news instead of saying, “Whew, you better sit down before I give you this estimate.”

Step 2—Do not cut service advertising, spend more!

For as long as I can remember service departments have functioned on tiny, fractional ad budgets—just two to three percent of service gross profit. I can tell you one thing, that just isn’t enough. The competition is strong and getting stronger. You need more traffic and profits from your service department and for that you need more customers. You need to get your lost customers back and you need to attract new ones and, like it or not, that requires some serious advertising. What do you do when your sales department traffic is down? You advertise, right? The same goes for service; spend it wisely, but spend it!

Step 3—Don’t panic.

Several dealers I have talked to are in panic mode and cutting everything. Come on guys, you know you can’t save yourself into a profit. It has never worked before and it won’t work this time. Now, don’t get me wrong. If you’re running a store with a lot of fat in the expenses, cut them and cut them fast, although you should have done that before things got tough. You should always run the store a little lean instead of fat, right?

Here’s the deal—there is an awesome opportunity in your service department. Do not let it pass you by; you can make a profit when you need it, right now. Build traffic at your store which can spill over to the sales department and plant the seeds of future car sales as customers build relationships with your service salespeople. If you’re uncomfortable being back there, I suggest you get comfortable. At over 70 percent gross, there is more money to be made in service than in any other department of your store.

Randy Johnson is president of Car People Marketing, a leading provider of customer retention and service marketing systems for auto dealers. He can be reached at 866-227-7337 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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