Avoid Sales Event Pitfalls

An event sale can jump start dealership sales, create enthusiasm among staff and generate some impressive revenue in a short period of time.

Often an outside company will go to your dealership for typically three-five days and oversee the event. The company generally will do all of the advertising and, the day before, meet with your sales staff to establish logistics and fire them up. During the event, the company staff will sell cars along side dealership personnel.

A four-day sales event at Greg Goebel's Hyundai dealership in Evansville, IN, netted $83,700 with an investment of $34,400. The dealership recorded 251 ups with an estimated 70-100 missed because of volume. Of those 251 ups, 40 were funded deliveries. The average gross front and back was $2,952 per vehicle.

Goebel believes the training his staff received during those four days was invaluable. In the three-week period after the event, his dealership sold more cars and generated $60,000 more in gross profit than in any prior month.

Goebel also was able to hire two top sales people from other organizations. “Because of the aggressive campaigns, and the knowledge that we would continue these types of events on a month-to-month basis,” explains Goebel.

Although results often are impressive, dealers still need to be careful of potential pitfalls, warns veteran sales trainer Joe Verde.

“Remember, you're just buying sales. The increase is finished once the event is done,” he says.

Instead of looking at the event as a mere one-shot deal, Verde advises dealers to use it to build a base of contacts for follow ups.

Chris Leedom of Leedom Associates agrees dealers need to be cautious.

“Make sure you're careful with the staff the company brings in,” he says. “If they bring in some scorchers who don't know how to handle your customers, you could lose sales.”

Otherwise, he says, “some of them have had incredible results.”