Lexus Wholesale Parts Pros Unite
Best Practices Guidelines
Whether you’re a veteran in the automotive wholesale parts business or you’re newly adding this potentially lucrative revenue stream to your business, hearing about best practices from your peers is a great way to take a look at your business and ignite innovative thinking. Successful dealers agree that thriving in today’s market requires a delicate balance of embracing the new and remembering the basics.
“Leveraging technology helps keep overall operations clean and gives us more time to focus on the basics. But it’s important to find the balance between technology and personalization.”
Rob Healy,
Parts Director
Prestige Lexus of Ramsey, Ramsey, NJ
Follow these best practices to help your parts department navigate your evolving business and grow wholesale parts sales.
Embrace Technology
Successful Lexus wholesale parts dealers’ number one bit of advice is to leverage the Lexus partner programs. Review the wholesale parts sales support tools available from Lexus and select those that are the best fit for your dealership’s needs. The Lexus WIN Opportunity Bulletin regularly highlights several tools that can help you manage and grow your wholesale parts business.
“The biggest benefit to our shop is our OPSTrax and ValuTrax system,” said Jorge Flores, Parts Director at Lexus of Woodland Hills, CA. “About half of our orders come through OPSTrax, which connects us directly to our wholesale customers. It allows us to be more competitive–we save time and money, and our customers get the right Genuine Lexus Part quickly!”
Build Relationships
People do business with people. We are in a relationship business and building those relationships through face-to-face contact is critical. If there is a downside to technology, it is the lack of personalization. Depend upon your team to build trust and loyalty by connecting with customers, either on the phone or face-to-face.
Your delivery drivers represent your dealership in the field. They are the face of your dealership. They’re aware of what’s happening in the field and can identify opportunities to improve and grow your business.
Some of the ways you and your drivers can help keep your dealership top of mind include:
- Include promotional flyers with all wholesale parts deliveries
- Ask your drivers to collect business cards from potential customers along their routes and reward them for new business from these contacts
- Follow up with new contacts by emailing the decision maker
It may seem elementary but answering the phone is key to your success! Consider implementing a “two-ring pick up” rule. Afterall, an unanswered call equates to lost business.
Deliver Quickly
“We sell service–we deliver parts. We’ve got to be on top of our game,” explains Greg Duerr, Parts Director, Park Place Lexus in Plano, TX. “Delivering as quickly as possible helps shops improve cycle times. Our customers can buy parts anywhere; they come to us for the service we provide. We don’t give them a reason to look elsewhere!”
Delivering quickly means having the inventory and a solid, reliable logistics process. You can leverage logistics software solutions to help expedite service and give you more time to build relationships.
Engage Your Dealership
Wholesale parts sales can be a profitable part of your dealership’s business. Make sure that your dealership is committed to wholesale parts and understands the opportunity. A good place to start is to measure your potential using the Lexus Urban Science tool. A quick look at your “Service View” will show you a list of all IRFs in your PMA. Remember: they aren’t your competitors! They are potential wholesale parts customers and represent a tremendous opportunity.
“The business requires a large amount of attention to be profitable,” says Todd Garrett, Parts Director at Lexus of Chattanooga, TN. “Ownership, management and staff have to be ‘all-in’. They need to support the investment in parts inventory and delivery vehicles that is appropriate for your market.”
Mind Your Reputation
Your reputation is your brand. Be true to your promises, own your mistakes and deliver the best service you can. Social media can make reputation management a challenge. Greg Duerr keeps an eye on social media reviews to watch for issues. “Turning around a bad review is key–you must resolve it immediately,” he advised. “The client will be appreciative, and you might learn something. And you may move up a couple of notches just by calling back!”
The old days of calling in an order and processing are diminishing quickly. Now, dealerships use tools like OPSTrax, Microcat Partsbridge, RepairLink and CollisionLink to expedite orders and improve accuracy. Finding that balance between swift electronic transactions and building relationships through tried-and-true customer service basics will help to secure customer loyalty and grow your business. Lexus WIN is here to share best practices and innovations that can help propel your wholesale parts business to new heights.
