PowerSports Business
How to get your customers to say, “I'll take it”
March 2011
How do some experienced salespeople make selling motorcycles seem so easy? The simple answer is that they have mastered three basic steps: trust, understanding and value. Yes, the motorcycle sales process consists of many more than three steps, but these three often separate the beginners from the pros.
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Powersports Business Blog
How to avoid, “No thanks, I'm just looking.”
January 2011
Salesperson asks, “Can I help you?” Shopper answers, “No thanks, I'm just looking.” Ten minutes later the shopper walks out the door. The shopper was interested in motorcycles. You are interested in selling them a motorcycle. What was the problem? You heard what the shopper said, but this is what the shopper was thinking, “I'm psyched to be looking at these motorcycles, and if you were my friend, I would tell you all about what I like and don't ...
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Powersports Business Blog
Will you surrender to ‘creative destruction?'
December 2010
In business, the term “creative destruction” applies to successful new ventures rising out of the ashes of other failed businesses. We watch a typewriter manufacturer go out of business, but find that its building and its employees are snapped-up by a new supplier to the computer industry. Or newspapers lose circulation and layoff journalists who instead find jobs making online publications successful. How does the “creative destruction” concept ...
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PowersSports Business Blog
Internet inquiries: Respond by e-mail or telephone?
November 2010
More than 80 percent of today?s motorcycle shoppers visit a Web site before visiting a dealership, so we shouldn?t be surprised as more and more shoppers? first contact with a dealership is by Internet/e-mail too. Successful dealerships have a defined process in place to handle Internet/e-mail leads, but is the ?best practice? to respond by e-mail or by telephone? Some experts argue that since the customer contacted the dealership by ...
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Dealernews
Want a customer's perspective? Try Secret Shopping.
November 2010
The PSI process measures how effectively each brand?s dealerships help motorcycle shoppers become buyers. Dealers can pay Pied Piper to secret-shop their own store. The cost is $99 per salesperson evaluation, and the information is collected and viewed using a Web-based program.
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Powersports Business Blog
When was the last time you spoke with your customers?
September 2010
Years ago, after he had created a multi-billion dollar business from scratch, Ross Perot was asked about his role at the company. His answer was ?sales.? Along with all the other obvious roles of a CEO, Perot was clear his top priority was taking care of customers and finding new customers. How often today do owners or general managers pick up the telephone to spontaneously call a customer who hasn?t been to the dealership for a while? Turn the ...
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Powersports Business Blog
What can your dealership learn from Starbucks?
August 2010
Are Starbucks baristas hired only if they love coffee, or only if they already have experience making a cappuccino? And does a Starbucks manager dread losing an employee since the departing employee?s ?tribal knowledge? will be so hard to teach to a new hire? No. The Starbucks business model embraces the fact that baristas will come and go, by making sure the processes used to run a Starbucks are written down and are simple and easy to follow. ...
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About.com: Motorcycles
Victory, Ducati, Harley-Davidson Top Pied Piper's Dealer Satisfaction Survey
May 2010
If you've ever looked forward to motorcycle shopping but wound up feeling insulted by the sales process (or the lack thereof), Pied Piper's Prospect Satisfaction Index might hold some interest. Using 2,014 anonymous mystery shoppers, the study tracks major motorcycle manufacturers and their ability to sell their brands to prospective buyers. The study's top 14 finishers can be seen in the graph above; click to enlarge.
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Motorcycle Product News
Polaris' Victory Tops in Pied Piper Study
May 2010
Polaris Industries Inc.'s Victory Motorcycle brand ranked highest in the recently released Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study from Pied Piper Management Company LLC. Brands finishing just behind Victory's score of 107 and above the industry average of 103 were: Ducati and Harley-Davidson at 106, and BMW, Triumph and Yamaha at 104.
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motorcycle.com
Victory tops 2010 Pied Piper PSI study
May 2010
The fourth-annual Pied Piper PSI study examines how effectively a brand's dealerships help potential buyers. The Monterey, Calif., based Pied Piper Management Co. sent 2,014 anonymous “mystery shoppers” into dealerships across the country between July 2009 and April 2010. The 2010 report examined 14 brands. Brands were rated based on a number of factors to produce an overall score.
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