Now, you’re probably already aware that vehicle service contracts (VSCs) are an excellent way to deliver a boost to dealership profits. But, did you know that you could take your VSC sales to the next level with one small change in your process?

Creating a culture of collaboration is important to achieving business goals, and it’s particularly crucial when it comes to maximizing VSC sales. By encouraging collaboration between both the sales and service departments, you can multiply the opportunities your employees have to talk about VSCs. When all employees—from the showroom to the service lanes—are working together towards the same goal, you can increase VSC sales, and ultimately rev up your bottom line.

How Can You Encourage Collaboration Among Service and Sales?

• Educate. Do both the sales and service departments understand the ins and outs of the VSC program? It might be difficult to set aside time to train both departments, but their understanding will help them to confidently approach customers who may benefit from a VSC.
• Set goals and clearly communicate them. When both teams know the goal at hand, they’re far more likely to get on board. Build a solid case for what you’re trying to do and inspire the teams to care as much as you do. Be clear about what you expect from team members and provide regular updates on your progress toward the goal.
• Incentivize. This is especially important for service lane employees. Often times, it’s the sales team that is given rewards for making a VSC sale, even though it may actually be service employees that are better positioned to do so. A sales team member has one shot to make a VSC before the customer drives off the lot, but the service lane employees often see that same customer several times over the course of a year and are in a prime position to sell maintenance contracts post-sale. For best VSC sales results, ensure that you make it worth the service department’s while to talk to customers about the program.
• Practice. Review the five opportunities to talk about VSCs in our free whitepaper and make sure everyone on the team is comfortable talking to customers in each of those scenarios. Take time to talk about specific customer concerns and how they should be addressed.
• Market internally. Think about ways to keep up momentum within the dealership. Activities like regular check-ins and email reminders can keep both teams motivated to achieve the goal you’ve collectively set.

Evaluating Your Progress

After you’ve put some of these methods into action, take time to reflect on what worked, what didn’t and what improvements you can make to keep the collaborative spirit alive.

• Evaluate progress towards goals. Are you on track to meet your VSC sales goals? If not, how can you build excitement to get the boost you need?
• Ask for feedback. Ask both teams how they think the new system is working and what improvements can be made.
• Identify barriers. What hurdles do you have to overcome to make the system work and to achieve your goals?

Thriving service lanes and booming sales are equally important components of a successful dealership, and collaboration between the two departments is one key to continuing dealership growth. Fostering collaboration between the two teams can be tricky, but it’s a proven way to open lines of communication and help meet unified dealership sales goals.

To learn more about boosting VSC sales at your dealership, contact Budco Financial today at (313) 327-1111.