If it’s a potential retail trade-in, then you need to ensure that your trade-in price is competitive and that you look at the whole deal in terms of potential profitability versus the used vehicle and new vehicle department trying to maximise their individual GPs on the deal. Your sales person needs to negotiate the deal securing the trade-in versus just selling the car. Your sales person needs negotiation skills and not just sales skills.

The person who prices the trade-in needs to be highly skilled and knowledgeable about the market. The used car market is dynamic and the more skilled your used car pricing person, the more likely you are to get good stock. How skilled is your “pricing person”?

Find out why you missed out on retail trade-ins on which you were working? Where did it go and why? Discuss trade-in values offered with your pricing person to understand why a vehicle has been priced at a certain value and make sure that you are happy with the reasoning. Use this information to try and ensure your “process” improves and that you are more successful in securing retail trade-ins going forward.

Measure your trade-in and lost trade-in stats? Look at them by sales person, by model. What are your expectations and how successful are you compared to your expectations? Include retail trade-in’s as part of your sales person’s commission scheme. This will certainly assist in ensuring that the sales team is part of your trade-in strategy.

Dealerfloor (dealerfloor.co.za) and I will be publishing regular articles on dealership efficiency. I am really looking forward to sharing ideas with you. Join the conversation by sending a WhatsApp to 082-776-1887 to be added to our group.

- Donald Christy