Pub. 4 2014 Issue 2

16 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com n selling cars — continued In The Vehicle Own every opportunity in the vehicle with custom products from Reynolds Document Services. www.reyrey.com/ClaimYourSpace. To learn how to claim your space, contact your Reynolds Document Consultant or visit ©2013TheReynoldsandReynoldsCompany.Allrightsreserved.Printed intheU.S.A.8/13 often don’t have enough cash sitting in a savings account to take care of it. Their parents, on the other hand, probably do. That makes them more receptive to GAP coverage than their parents. • They expect you to be responsive and easy to reach…digitally. Your website needs to be helpful and informative. You need to be comfortable with both emails and text messages, and respond to any kind of message as soon as you reasonably can. • People in Gen Y like brevity and efficiency. To someone who is used to text messages and Twitter, anything bigger than bite- sized is probably too big. Keep things short. • They use the Internet for research, so you can assume that if you tell them something, they’ll check on it. Make sure of your facts before you begin talking. At the same time, the Internet does not always help people understand things that are intangible or why owning a specific product would be beneficial. This is where you can offer them some value by supplying the personal specifics that the Internet lacks. • People in Gen Y are notorious for being wary of sales pitch and are uncomfortable with any attempts along those lines that you might make. In general, therefore, a straight sales pitch will not go well with them. What you need to do instead is point them in the right direction when it comes to research, and help them understand the things that might not be clear online, such as why they should make a particular decision. • If they think you don’t like them or respect them, they will move on to someone who does. • Now that you have a better understanding of your customer, let’s talk about what does interest a member of Gen Y when it comes to cars. They have a particular interest in the following: • Excellent customer service: Gen Y thinks the sales experience is three times more important than the actual product being purchased. If someone in Gen Y has a bad experience at your dealership, then more than 52 percent will be soured not only on the dealership but on the vehicle brand. They will probably never buy that kind of car again. If you give them a great buying experience and make it easy for them to take care of all maintenance at your dealership, on the other hand, and they will happily keep coming back to your dealership year after profitable year. • Hybrid repairs: Members of Gen Y are inclined to go for package deals that include maintenance, because they don’t want to deal with that part of owning a car themselves. But that doesn’t necessarily mean repairs for a traditional gas engine. Quite the opposite: Since 71 percent consider the effect of a car on the environment before buying, and since more than 50 percent will pay money to get a car that is environmentally friendly and inexpensive to drive, your dealership would be well advised to have a good selection of hybrids and a great repair shop to go with it. Don’t worry about purely electric cars right now; only 2 percent of Gen Y would currently rather own an electric car than a hybrid. At the same time, realize that could shift in the future, and be ready to adapt when it does. • The use of technology in cars: Gen Y wants the best that technology has to offer when it comes to a car. Safety systems, collision avoidance, and anything to do with the Internet all matter. Approximately 60 percent of them want a car that has a hybrid powertrain. How do you avoid making a straight sales pitch? This is an art, but basically it comes down to turning things that are boring and hard to picture into things that they can relate to and under- stand, because it’s about them. You need to find out about their circumstances, and then figure out why buying a car from you is in their best interests. Help them see the reasons for themselves, based on how they will use the car, and talk about it. Suppose you have customers who are they likely to wear a car out by putting tons of miles on it. How much money do they have for repairs when that happens? If the answer is “not a lot,” then you can tell them about a product that would pay for those repairs. The best thing about selling to Gen Y is that the techniques are universal. Everyone, no matter what their age, understands a simple, personal approach that addresses their own specific needs. And everyone who can see appreciates a good visual. 