Happy New Year ! It's 2011 and we are told that the retail car market is getting back to normal.

I don't think it will ever be normal again after the shock to our system caused by the banking crisis which closed many businesses down and cost many millions in lost revenue, as the market paralysis struck in 2008.  

Since then finance company underwriting has become much tighter, currency fluctuations has caused several price rises plus increased VAT means that customers choose carefully before buying and most people are now conditioned to only buy if its a perceived good deal.

If we want to sell more cars, we have to combine excellent customer service, strong sales process, caring and efficient aftersales , effective follow up  customer relationship management.

If you are a salesperson my advice is to follow the sales process , record every enquiry, follow up every lead , re appoint and look after your customers until next time.

If you are a manager , you must have a clear , signposted sales process that the team can follow and you can manage.   If you get the above right, profitability , teamwork and customer satisfaction tend to follow.