Powersports Business Blog
Give Customers Another Reason to Buy
October 2009
Most dealership owners have figured out that they need to sell their dealership to customers and not just sell the products carried by their dealership. On the other hand, the facts say that most salespeople are focused solely on selling a product and not the dealership. In fact, when we recently measured nationwide how often a motorcycle salesperson gave compelling reasons to buy from their dealership, we found that it happened only 34% of the ...
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Powersports Business Blog
Do You Prohibit or Require Your Salespeople to Mention F & I?
August 2009
Visit the most successful motorcycle dealerships and in nearly every one you will find an F & I manager. For good reason too given the incremental profitability an F & I manager generates. Some dealerships with F & I managers take it a step further and forbid their salespeople from making any mention of financing. After all, the possibility of mistakes and litigation today makes it dangerous for anyone other than the experts to talk about ...
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Cycle World
Ups & Downs: Up to Pied Piper PSI
July 2009
Up to customer service, for showing us that dealers care in the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study. The independent study sent more than 2000 anonymous “mystery shoppers” into motorcycle dealerships across the U.S. to observe and determine how customers are treated when shopping for a motorcycle. “For the motorcycle industry as a whole, the 2009 PSI results showed widespread improvement in the way ...
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Powersports Business Blog
You Really Don't Want to Buy that Brand
July 2009
A motorcycle buyer arrives at a dealership interested in buying a certain motorcycle, but when he speaks with a salesperson, the salesperson mentions advantages of another brand instead, in the end convincing the shopper to buy a different motorcycle. How often does this scenario happen? How often does a shopper asking about a Honda CBR ride off the lot on a GSXR, or vice versa? The facts say that industry-wide, salespeople try to push 13 ...
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Powersports Business Blog
Offering Test Rides - Is it Worth the Effort?
June 2009
Fact one: Today when a motorcycle shopper walks through the door of a dealership, 77% of the time there will be no mention at all of the possibility of a test ride. Fact two: Motorcycle dealerships which offer test rides to prospects at least three-quarters of the time retail on average 43% more motorcycles than those who do not. Few dispute the fact that test rides sell motorcycles, so why do so few dealerships figure out how to offer test ...
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Road Racing World.com
Ducati Gains Market Share In United States
May 2009
New Dealership Openings and Highest Ranking in Prospect Satisfaction Index® Contribute to Company Success Nationwide Cupertino, Calif. (May 20, 2009) – Ducati North America is delighted to announce a significant boost in market share across the United States for the first quarter of 2009. Despite adverse market conditions and a drying up of consumer credit, Ducati is attracting a bigger share of the market than ever before. "Ducati has come a ...
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Las Vegas Sun
Ducati grows U.S. business by better relating to customers
May 2009
Ducati has been the fastest-growing motorcycle brand in the United States for the past five years, but it was by no means an immediate success. The company changed almost everything about itself, from the models it imports to the distribution of dealerships. It focused more on boutique, specialized dealerships and removed itself from the big multibrand dealerships that sell product, but don't sell brand. Because Ducati is a niche product, Lock ...
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Motorcycle.com
Duc dealers first in customer treatment - Study ranks dealerships on helping prospective customers
May 2009
A recent study gave Ducati dealers the highest ranking among U.S. dealerships for how they treat their customers.
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PowerSports Business
Survey: Retail sales practices improving for most brands
May 2009
Compared to last year, the motorcycle sales department staff is more likely to introduce themselves to clients and ask follow-up questions, not to mention encourage consumers to sit on a bike. However, they are less likely to inform the consumer about financing options, discuss the bike's unique features and how those compare to the competition, and less likely to provide visual aids, like brochures. Those are some of the key findings from a ...
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Motorcycle Product News
Pied Piper Releases Customer Satisfaction Study
May 2009
Ducati dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2009 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study, which measures how consumers are treated when shopping for a new motorcycle.
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