Value Proposition: Three Reasons to do Business with You!

Want to try an interesting experiment? Walk around your dealership and ask staff members who interact with the buying public, "Why should I do business with you? The dealer down the road is cheaper."

You'll probably get many stammering responses. Unfortunately that's not the way to win business today.

How you perform in this situation is crucial. But before you can, you must do the difficult intellectual work of delineating what it is you do that positively sets you apart from other businesses.

• Do you save the customer time, energy and effort?
• Can you teach them something about motorcycling?
• Do you have stand out characteristics or people?
• Have you created a "no stress" retailing environment?
• Do you create social opportunities?
• Have you created ways to recognize your customers?
• Do you provide legendary customer service?

If you haven't done so already, get together with a few other dealership people and brainstorm between three to five existing or possible ideas for each of these questions.

Then put these ideas into action and you'll begin to earn more business. You do really need to separate yourself from others not just in words, but in actions.

Just as important then codify what you do into three concise points which you'll be able to teach everyone on staff. This will be your "dealership response" to this question, i.e. everyone answers this question the same way.

Why three points? People love to think in triads (threes). Psychologists aren't exactly clear why but it is an aspect of the human condition. So ... use it.

Also you should tell the customer that there are three reasons why people do business with you. Why? Well first of all it speaks to triads as we mentioned above. Second, people love lists! And they will be more apt to listen to your responses.

Here's an example of how this might work.

"Why should I do business with you? The dealership down the street is cheaper!"

• "Great question! And one you should ask before buying a motorcycle (or any other purchase decision)."
  (You want to validate their question. It is a good one, and people will be more likely to listen to your response once you have demonstrated you are listening to them.)
• "There are really three reasons why most people decide to do business with us." (Here's the list idea.)
• "First. We have nothing but factory trained technicians and provide priority turn around for customers who purchase their motorcycles here; you'll be a member of our VIP club.
• Second. We are open from 9 - 9 during the week and 9 - 4 on the weekends so we are here when you need us.
• Third. When customers buy from us, your salesperson will give you their personal cell phone number so you'll always have someone to call when you have questions about your motorcycle or need help."
• "Do you have any other questions I can answer for you?" (This is called a transition statement enabling you to guide the conversation back to selling the motorcycle.)

Don't get hung up on the reasons I used, your list will undoubtedly be different (Every time I bring up the personal cell phone number idea in workshops typically half of the group resists the idea and half love the idea or already doing it!) and it should be. The important idea here is for you to know what separates you from others and have the ability to communicate your value proposition.

So, why should I do business with you?

If I see a dealership employee playing solitaire ... I'm going to lose my mind! Times are tough. Winter is here. For many dealerships customer traffic is off. This is a precious opportunity for you to get organized, not time to play computer games.

What should you do?

1. Prospect, prospect, and then prospect some more: Find reasons to interact with people. Non-threatening, engaging and effective.
2. Clean your store. Customers equate the cleanliness with your store with the efficiency of your operation. Dust, vacuum rearrange, it's everyone's job.
3. Engage in skill development: Have product knowledge competitions in your store. Walk-around contests, product presentation contests, objection handling contests. Build the skills now!
4. Come up with a better method: Use this time to improve your processes. How do you work with service on accessorizing new bikes? How do you handle floor traffic? How do you route incoming calls? How do you develop new business? Use this time to improve.
5. Find out what customers really want! Get 11 of your customers together for a focus group. Ask what should your dealership start doing to be more effective? What should our dealership stop doing to be more effective? What should your dealership continue to do?

When the season hits you want to be ready for it. And now is the time to prepare.

1. Value Proposition: Three Reasons to do business with you!
   
   
2. 5 Ways to Turn Downtime into Up Time
   
   
3. Management Moment: Avoid Layoffs
   
   
4. Asking for Referrals: What to Say When
   
   
5. Dealership Superstar Contest - Lori Miller: Adventure Harley-Davidson