weekend traffic

[ssdd]

it was a cold rainy Saturday here in north Ga. but traffic was encouraging. I have asked most of the dealers around this area and the seemed to say the same about their Saturday. how was traffic at your store?

[dafuzz1956]

boo hoo boo hoo

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by ssdd

it was a cold rainy Saturday here in north Ga. but traffic was encouraging. I have asked most of the dealers around this area and the seemed to say the same about their Saturday. how was traffic at your store?

That's great to hear - any increase in traffic is good news.

While I'm one step removed from the day to day operations I spoke to a good friend in California who indicated that traffic is still very slow.

How about the rest of you "lurkers"? Post up.....

[SHACOS]

Traffic, what traffic?

[XDCX]

What happened to our optimistic post?

I was hoping to hear some more good news.

[goodone414]

Our Saturday was normal for the last couple of months. Very slow Maybe 5-6 ups all day. 1 Pre-owned sale 0 New vehicle sales

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by goodone414

Our Saturday was normal for the last couple of months. Very slow Maybe 5-6 ups all day. 1 Pre-owned sale 0 New vehicle sales

How many salespeople did you have working that day?

I've worked at a store where traffic varied so much that on occasion a salesperson would work a full shift and never have an up. It's hard to keep morale positive in that environment.

The other thing I hate about slow traffic is when you get the customer in the showroom and start working a deal they sense that there's something wrong because no one else is there. It's so much easier (and more fun) to work a deal when there's a lot of activity and the salespeople are rushing to see who can get their customer into the Finance Office first.

[goodone414]

Originally Posted by XDCX

How many salespeople did you have working that day?

I've worked at a store where traffic varied so much that on occasion a salesperson would work a full shift and never have an up. It's hard to keep morale positive in that environment.

The other thing I hate about slow traffic is when you get the customer in the showroom and start working a deal they sense that there's something wrong because no one else is there. It's so much easier (and more fun) to work a deal when there's a lot of activity and the salespeople are rushing to see who can get their customer into the Finance Office first.

6 on the floor Saturday.

[dafuzz1956]

the sad thing about that is what is left on the floor is more tempted to take shortcuts rather than properly work the prospect. As mgt we have a harder job to make them "walk the sidewalk instead of cutting accross the grass, and not pissing them off to the point of no return. We don't want to chase them away from us as a team, because all attitudes are a little low right now,plus that fat guy in the red suite is right around the corner.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by goodone414

6 on the floor Saturday.

That makes for a long day.

I've read that with the advent of the Internet that customers don't go to as many dealerships as they used to before they make their purchase.

In the old days a customer may have gone to three or four dealers just trying to decide what type of car they wanted. Now most of those decisions are made by reviewing vehicles on the Internet.

With today's customers, many of them know exactly what they want and they're just shopping for price and availability.

The bad news is that there is less showroom traffic, but the good news is that the customers that do arrive are more likely to be buyers.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by dafuzz1956

the sad thing about that is what is left on the floor is more tempted to take shortcuts rather than properly work the prospect. As mgt we have a harder job to make them "walk the sidewalk instead of cutting accross the grass, and not pissing them off to the point of no return. We don't want to chase them away from us as a team, because all attitudes are a little low right now,plus that fat guy in the red suite is right around the corner.

That's an excellent point.

I think that's one of the worst parts about having a franchise that's going through a slump. Not only is your product not in demand, the best salespeople and managers "jump ship" and headed to the hot franchises.

As a manager you're left with people that have less talent and less drive. If you push too hard you might lose them - it's like walking a tight rope.

It's even worse if you're running a Five Star store and you're trying to keep your sales staff certified. In many cases you simply can't afford to lose a salesperson that has all of his certification credits.