Fixed Ops Magazine 2022 Vol 19-6 - 18

massive negative impact on retention. The data that
supports customer defection for tires, and not coming
back, can no longer be ignored by dealers; it is simply
too overwhelming. The impact is so much bigger than
just losing the tire sale. You are losing the customer
and everything that happens as a result. This is far too
important to the overall health of the dealership to
let success rest in the hands of your technicians and
service advisors who are not motivated to sell tires.
company, TraXtion (formerly Tire Profiles), 10 years
ago, we have scanned over 175 million tires. And with
data, I can tell you that when a need for tires is identified,
your current process is closing less than 10% of
the opportunities. Herein lies the second reason dealers
don't do well with tires.
So, why are advisors not selling them? This is a little
more complicated, as there are factors like price and
availability that play a role, but there is a common denominator
and, surprisingly, it's the same as with the
technicians: a lack of motivation.
The service advisor position is built around pay plans
that incentivize dollars and, in some cases, margin. In
both scenarios, advisors are often disincentivized to
sell tires. The way comp plans are structured in most
cases does not support the sale of this high-dollar,
low-margin item.
Share of wallet creeps into the heads of even the advisors
who want to do the right thing. They have to decide
between selling needed tires or something else
with a higher margin that will make them more money.
This is a difficult decision that often leads to deprioritizing
the tire, which is very bad for your dealership.
Again, I'm not suggesting that an advisor would not
recommend replacing a completely bald tire. But a
tire that has 3/32nds and should be replaced often
gets pushed off to the next visit, with the unfortunate
consequences of the next visit being with someone
other than the dealership.
The combination of these two things results in dealers'
poor market share and, more importantly, it has a
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Fortunately, technological advancements provide an
easy solution. Step 1 is to use technology available to
measure and find the opportunity. Take it out of the
hands of your technicians. Both tire and alignment can
be quickly and very accurately measured on the drive,
and the best part is that it requires zero labor/people.
Step 2 is to directly sell to the consumer. Again, use
technology to take it out of the hands of your service
advisors and put the decision directly in the hands of
the consumer. This process forces the advisor to do
the right thing, even if their pay plan motivates them
otherwise.
Of course, an alternative could be to change pay
plans, manage better, and work the system you have.
But the system dealers have been using for 30 years
isn't working (8% market share), so perhaps it's time
to try a different approach.
David Boyle
brings
more than 25 years of
automotive experience
to his role as Chief Operating
Officer at Tire
Profiles / TraXtion. In
his role as President and
Chief Operating Officer,
David was directly responsible
for all aspects
of Tire Profiles' North American business. Over his career,
David has logged thousands of hours in dealerships
across the US and Canada and is a recognized industry
authority on dealership fixed operations. Having been a
senior executive for more than 20 years with two (MPI
and Newgen) of the more successful automotive dealer
suppliers, David is recognized as a successful operational
leader in the automotive vendor arena.
http://traxtion.com
Fixed Ops Magazine 2022 Vol 19-6

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