-by Kristopher Hampton, sw Service Solutions trainer
Have you ever considered how many clients your service advisors work with each day?
According to NADA, most advisors write-up an average of 15 customers per day and talk to many more on the phone. This makes them the most important customer service representative in your store. They have the most opportunities to generate sales and increase customer retention. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some simple math.
An Average Service Advisor
If your advisors write an average of 12 ROs per day at 1.5 Hours per RO (NADA average) They are producing 18 hours per day.
With a $110 effective labor rate, they are selling $1980 of labor.
With an 80% parts to labor ratio, add $1584 for parts.
This means an average advisor is selling $3564 per day.
x 21 workdays = $74,844 per month.
x 12 months = $898,128.00 Total sales annually per advisor!
But why stick with average? We must think BIG and this next set of numbers will help you see how even small increases in hours per RO can make a huge difference in your profits. And all of this is without adding a single new client!
A Professionally Trained Service Advisor
Let’s say your advisor is still writing 12 ROs per day, but we increase their hours to 2.0 Hours per RO (A realistic number for a trained advisor although some will be much higher.)
They are now producing 24 hours per day.
With a $110 effective labor rate, they are now selling $2640 of labor.
At 80% parts to labor ratio, add $2112 for parts.
A professionally trained selling advisor is selling $4752 per day.
X 21 workdays = $99,792 per month.
X 12 months =$1,197,504 Total sales annually per advisor!
This is an increase of $299,376.00 per professionally trained advisor!
Keep in mind that the potential to increase can go much higher as your advisors’ master how to give professional benefit-based presentations. You will also achieve higher customer retention, higher customer satisfaction, and even increased employee retention.
After looking at the potential, it becomes clear that your advisors should be considered a sales team which requires consistent training for growth. Do you have someone in your service department who is qualified and experienced enough to train and motivate your team? Let’s face it; most service managers are not sales trainers, and they already have a multitude of task to perform. The potential for increased revenue is enormous. This growth is attainable with consistent training, strong processes, daily motivation and goal setting meetings. With this type of growth on the line, isn’t it time to consider investing in professional sales and customer service training? Take this next important step towards success.