Could your business benefit from a Commercial and Fleet Vehicles program? This is the question that many dealers should ask and explore for their market.
With many new vehicles for private customers sold through pre-order programs, it might be time to expand your business. Adding another arm to your dealership with the commercial customer support they need will bring a new stream of revenue that offers consistency and partnership. Your fleet business could be the cornerstone of your dealership once you convince many businesses to work with your team.
The Lifecycle of Commercial Sales is Continuous
Sometimes it’s difficult to see how commercial car sales can benefit your dealership. Commercial sales aren’t always selling large trucks, adding toolboxes to these trucks, and allowing a commercial team to use and abuse them. Commercial sales incorporate many industries, all of which rely on transportation to keep things moving. Whether you sell delivery vans, rental cars, commercial-grade trucks, or SUVs that are used as company cars, the relationship you build with the business owners in your area can create the most consistent stream of income for your dealership.
Commercial Vehicles are Serviced Properly
Most businesses that rely on a fleet of commercial vehicles to operate understand the importance of keeping them operational. Most fleet managers are aware of the service needs of these vehicles and manage the mileage appropriately to ensure these vehicles receive necessary services on time. Your dealership can offer these fleet operators service programs that work for their business while benefiting your dealership. This means adding a Chevy commercial and fleet vehicles program to your dealership brings consistent service appointments for vehicles used by these fleet operators.
Multiple-Vehicle Lease Programs
Commercial programs allow you to lease several vehicles to a company to meet their needs. These lease programs benefit your commercial customers by providing them with new models on a rotating basis every three to four years. When the older models return to your dealership at the end of a lease term, they can be sold as used models or offered to a fleet customer looking for lower-priced used vehicles to add to their fleet. This allows your dealership to benefit twice from one vehicle. You can lease it when new to one customer and sell it to another one the lease is over. You’ll create a continuous cycle of vehicles that are leased and sold as pre-owned models.
More Consistent Customer Stream
You never know when private customers will engage with your team to buy the one car they might buy from your dealership during their lifetime. Without a service program in place, many of these customers will look elsewhere for their service needs once the warranty has expired. Commercial customers want a one-stop-shop for all their needs. You can lease and sell fleet vehicles year after year, provide a cycle of new and used models to each customer, and build relationships resulting in consistent long-term customers that spend more at your dealership.
How Can Your Dealership Become a Commercial Location?
Those who don’t know might think that all dealerships support both private and commercial customers, but that’s not the case. For instance, there are more than 3,000 Ford dealerships across the country, but only 675 of them are Commercial Vehicle Centers. This is an important distinction and one that makes sense for your location. How can you change from a regular Chevy dealership to add the benefits of the Chevy Commercial and Fleet Vehicles program to the mix?
Complete the Required Certification Program
Every automaker requires completion of a certification program for dealers to be commercial locations. Typically these programs include service center upgrades, staff training, and added lot space allocations. Completing this program is the first of the steps to becoming a dealer capable of supporting various business customers in the area. Your team will learn to sell more than one car at a time but offer a full package to fleet operators. Adding commercial support to your business opens up a new world of vehicles that weren’t previously available at your location.
The Sales Training is Different
One of the most important jobs of your commercial team is to partner with commercial customers. This means keeping the needs of the business in mind and not the profits of the dealership. A good deal means the customer has the right lineup of vehicles for their operation, and your dealership has profitable business with this customer. Sometimes, a commercial shopper isn’t aware of the various options they have for the car, truck, work van, or SUV they want to add to the mix. Your sales team must understand all of the options and how they can benefit your new customer base.
More Staff Might be Required
The need to keep vehicles on the road is more important to your commercial customers than any other group of customers you’ll serve. These vehicles mean money to their business. Many commercial dealers operate extended hours in the service center. Rather than putting a truck in the shop during the day for a simple service appointment these hours benefit commercial customers. The requirements of the Chevy Commercial and Fleet Vehicles program could include extended operating hours for your service team. This means you’ll need more service technicians ready to work on these vehicles and put them back on the road for the next day’s operation.
Should Your Dealership Become a Commercial Center?
If you’re maxing out on sales and seeing customers turn away from your dealership because all vehicles require a pre-order, it could be time to expand your operation. Adding a commercial arm to your business allows you to reach a new customer base that consistently requires a fleet of vehicles to give them the service and products needed to make money every day. If your dealership can provide these vehicles and services to business owners in your area, you’ll have a new, more consistent customer base to serve with a team that understands the needs of these fleet operators.
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