David Dollard recently wrote about a few great tips to help dealers increase their profitability in his blog post.  Here are a few suggestions on how to protect and possibly increase your profit margins.

• Make sure you upsell using monthly payments versus the Promo Price.   Most customers will want and can afford the better piece of equipment for only $20 or $30 more per month.

• When a customer says they can buy the same machine for less at another dealer, show him a list of benefits your customers receive when they buy a new piece of equipment from you at your asking price. You can call it a “Preferred Customer” List of Benefits.  Let your customer know that if you were to meet the lower price quoted by the other dealer, he would not receive the list of benefits your preferred customers receive.

• Talk about the qualifications of your Service Department and take your customer on a tour of your Parts Department.  Focus on the support you provide after the sale, such as loaners and timely repairs, which are sometimes completed while your customer is waiting.

• Is your customer still trying to get you down on price? Communicate that the time saved with high quality, local service over the life of a machine will far exceed the initial savings of purchasing a less expensive, lower quality mower at another dealership.

I hope these tips are helpful.  Feel free to comment below if you'd like to discuss more on this topic!