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Ask Tory: Business wasn’t great for us this spring due mainly to the weather, what’s the best way to make up for it?

Tory Hornsby | 06/05/2018

 

The best way to make up for a slow start to 2018 (or if business has been great for you, to continue improving it) is through marketing and training. Good marketing generates measurable leads and traffic through your doors. Training your staff ensures that you’re selling as many new & used units, PG&A and Service as possible.

 

Marketing and training go hand-in-hand, and they must consistently happen simultaneously, not sequentially. Don’t fall into the trap of believing you must do one before the other.  

 

Also, you can’t afford to wait for business to get better before implementing good marketing. We hear dealers say this frequently, and they end up wasting a lot of time just waiting for business to pick up when they could have been ‘making’ it better. This way of thinking reminds me of a friend of mine who once told me he wanted to get in a little better shape before he joined a gym… wait, what? 

 

With that said, I do understand why dealers want business to get better before spending money on marketing. Their past experiences include spending (wasting) money on advertising that didn’t make one iota of difference. While, it didn’t generate more profit than the expense, they know they need to advertise, so business has to pick up before they can afford to spend the money. 

 

Their challenge: BAD MARKETING

 

While this may be a bit of a moot point right now because the weather is warm, and the riding season is upon us, spring being in full force means there’s even more reason to drive traffic and generate leads. You have to make hay while the sun is shining.

Even when business is booming, however, it doesn’t mean you can view your marketing budget as an expense. You can’t just spend it and hope; it must be invested. 

Our Sharp Shooter program has been utilized literally thousands of times over the past decade by well over 1,000 dealers. It generates a positive return in Gross Profit, which makes it a true investment. It has stood the test of time and it always works.  

 

It generates leads in 6 ways: new sales, pre-owned sales, parts, accessories, apparel and service. You may be wondering how? 

We find the best people to market to – those who are most likely to buy something from you. Our strategy not only increases customer retention, it also carves off new market share and generates new customers. It’s the best of both worlds. 

 

Once we know who to target, we utilize several 1-to-1 direct marketing strategies to get the best response possible.  It’s not uncommon for us to get well over a 10% response rate, and 1% is considered good by most.

 

We write ad copy that relates to everyone we’re marketing to with a call-to-action that generates leads and gets traffic into the dealership. 

 

Staff training is included to maximize your R.O.I. 

 

Call me at 877-242-4472 for a quick one-on-one. I guarantee you’ll be glad you did.

 

Speak with you soon…

- Tory