Accessory Manager Responsibilities Video

Video Transcript:

[upbeat music plays throughout]

 

Hello, welcome to accessory sales 101. I’m Tom Lombardo, your AddOnAuto specialist at Reynolds and Reynolds. This session is going to cover the responsibilities of the accessory manager.

The accessory manager title might be one of many you hold at the dealership. If you are not the primary presenter, your responsibilities in this role won’t typically take up too much time, but you should be committed to focusing a few minutes on your accessory program every day.

The key component of this role is to ensure accessory sales become part of the dealership culture and to enforce the new accessory program.

There are six responsibilities you need to make part of your daily, weekly, and monthly routine as the accessory manager.

  1. Verify good presentations are delivered to all customers.
  2. Train new associates on how to perform a good presentation.
  3. Review accessory results during sales meetings.
  4. Make sure accessory spiffs are paid out timely.
  5. Ensure routine catalog maintenance.
  6. Report key performance indicators to the management team.

 

Now, let’s dive into each responsibility to see examples of how to perform them.

Verify Good Presentations

As the accessory manager, part of your job is to ensure good presentations are delivered to every retail, lease, cash, new and used customer.

What does a good presentation look like?

It should take place after the vehicle terms have been agreed upon but before the customer is taken to F&I.

A good presentation length is between 6 and 10 minutes. A little longer than 10 minutes is okay for highly engaged customers but never less than 5 minutes. Research indicates it takes a person at least five minutes to start considering a purchase.

And you want to make sure it’s a low pressure presentation that shows a large variety of accessory options to every customer. It’s a numbers game, the more products presented to more people will result in higher sales.

Let’s watch some examples of good and bad introductions to the accessory presentation …

 

Bad Introduction

Salesperson: Well were you thinking about buying any accessories today?

Customers: No I don’t think so.

Salesperson: Alright, then we’re done here. Thank you for your business. I’m going to bring you over to the F&I department right over here, okay?

Customers: Yup.

 

Good Introduction

Salesperson: Congratulations on your new truck! We’ve got a few minutes while they work on the paperwork, so let’s go ahead and have some fun with your new vehicle.

Customer: Okay, sure! 

Salesperson: So what you can do in here is you can press anything to see what it looks like…

 

Tom Lombardo: Your dealership may have a dedicated accessories rep to present to all customers. In this case, you need to ensure a good hand off takes place. Let’s look at a good and bad example here as well… …

 

Bad Hand Off

Salesperson: Why don’t you two have a seat over here. I’ll have Madeline come over and discuss some accessory options for you.

Customers: Okay, thanks.

Salesperson: I’ll see you later.

Dedicated Rep: Hey guys, I’m Madeline, how are you?

Customers: Hi, doing well how are you?

Dedicated Rep: Alright so um, we’re going to take a look at some accessories today. I’m going to get your vehicle pulled up. What did you guys drive previously?

Customers: A minivan.

Dedicated Rep: Okay, and you have an SUV now?

Customers: Mhmm.

Dedicated Rep: And did you buy any accessories on the old minivan?

Customers: No.

Dedicated Rep: So what were you hoping to look at today?

Customers: Um, I don’t know.

 

Good Hand Off

Salesperson: Hi! This is Nathan. He is going to be showing you some things about your vehicle while I go get your paperwork. (to dedicated rep) This is Joe and Beverly. They just traded in a mini-van for an SUV they’re going to use to take their kids back and forth to sports.

Dedicated Rep: That’s fantastic, have a seat here.

Salesperson: I’ll see you soon!

Dedicated Rep: You guys are really going to like this SUV. And there’s a few options I’d like to show you right here…

 

Tom Lombardo: Notice how the salesperson mentioned their previous vehicle and what they used it for? That gives the accessory rep an idea of what items to show them in AddOnAuto. Possibly a cargo net for their trunk space, floor mats and seat covers to protect their interior. A good hand-off is very a very important thing for the next person to be successful in selling accessories.

Train New Associates

It’s critical new hires understand the accessory program and your dealership’s processes. You should add these processes to your sales manual and new hire training program.

New hires should also understand the talk tracks your dealerships uses to introduce and present accessories.

Review Accessory Results

One of the most impactful things you can do as an accessory manager is to talk about accessory performance and point out top performers during regular sales meetings. This will energize the team, and ensure they understand accessory sales are important, and foster healthy competition.

Often, having a trophy or some other tangible acknowledgement helps to increase enthusiasm.

Leader boards are also useful to keep the team motivated.  

Ensure Spiffs are Timely

If accessory spiffs aren’t paid out timely, motivation will drop and associates will be less inclined to sell.

Our best practice is to hand out spiffs during sales meetings. This will help underscore the importance and benefits of presenting accessories.

Make sure the spiffs are separate from their regular commission checks. This will make sure it’s seen as an added bonus and not overlooked.

Routine Catalog Maintenance

An up-to-date catalog is a must have for the highest level of success. Usually someone in Fixed Ops is designated to manage the catalog. As the accessory manager, you should verify the catalog is being updated and enhanced.

To stay on top of this process, review your catalog with your consultant on a regular basis.

Report KPIs to Management

There are many tools in AddOnAuto and your Reynolds system to help manage and report your team’s accessory sales performance.

Just like reporting on vehicle sales, discussing accessory performance is important to the growth and success of your new accessory department.

The key is to use the information to manage high performers and underperformers, learn the products you’re selling and not selling, and understand the vehicles that are most accessorized.

Reporting on accessory sales will keep your dealer updated on performance, and help make accessories part of the dealership culture.

 

Let’s recap the six responsibilities of the Accessory Manager. Remember these when you get your day started:

  1. Verify good presentations are delivered to each and every customer.
  2. Train new associates on how to perform good presentations.
  3. Review accessory results during sales meetings.
  4. Make sure accessory spiffs are paid out timely.
  5. Ensure routine catalog maintenance.
  6. Report key performance indicators to the management team.

This will help you maintain a successful accessory sales department.

Thank you for watching. For additional help or training, contact your AddOnAuto business consultant. Happy selling!