Did you know it would take a car salesman 22 cars sales a month to match the monthly gross sales of one average service advisor? These numbers may shock you!

Have you ever considered how many of your clients an advisor works with each day? According to NADA, most advisors write up an average of 15 customers per day and talk to many more on the phone. This makes them the most important customer service representative in your store with the most opportunities to generate sales and increase customer retention; not only in your service department, but in every department.

An Average Service Advisor:

If your advisors write 15 ROs per day at 1.5 Hrs per RO – The NADA average– They are producing 22.5 hours per day.
With a $90 effective labor rate, they are selling $2025 of labor.
With an 80% parts to labor ratio, add $1620 for parts.
This means an average advisor is selling $3645 per day.
$3645 x 21 workdays in a month = $76,545 per month.
$76,545 x 12 months= $918,540.00 Total Sales Annually per advisor!

As you can see your advisors are the “meatloaf and potatoes” of the automotive dinner. But wait – wouldn’t you rather eat a filet? Really, who wants to be average? We have to think BIG and this next set of numbers will help you see how even a small increase could fill your freezer.

A Professionally Trained Service Advisor:

Let’s say they’re still writing 15 ROs per day, but we increase their hours to 2.0 Hrs per RO– a realistic number for most trained advisors, although some will be much higher- They are now producing 30 hours per day.
With a $90 Effective Labor rate, they are now selling $2700 of labor.
At 80% parts to labor ratio, add $2160 for parts.
A professionally trained selling advisor is selling $4860 per day.
$4860 X 21 workdays = $102.060.00 per month.
$102.060 X 12 months= $1,224,720.00 Total Sales Annually per advisor!

This is an increase of $306,180.00 per chair that results from investing in training for your service advisors. Add to that: higher customer retention, higher customer satisfaction and even increased employee retention.

After looking at the potential, it becomes clear that our advisors should be considered a key part of our sales team. Do you have someone in your service department who is qualified and experienced enough to train and motivate your team? Let’s face it; most service managers are not sales trainers. The numbers above clearly indicate this department demands good training.

The potential for increased revenue is enormous. This growth is attainable with consistent training, strong processes, daily motivation and goal setting meetings. Investing in professional sales and customer service training for your team will develop them individually and collectively. Isn’t it time you tasted success?

~Kristopher Hampton and the Fixed Ops University Team

sw Service Solutions offers in-store training nationwide and Fixed Ops University; engaging online training for managers and service advisors. Their training includes the highly sought after “What Drives Women?” program and the book, “Words That Sell Service.”