Many dealerships would agree, the most obvious benefit to selling accessories is the profit potential. You might even be able to picture the added OEM bonus money if you believe accessory sales will help you hit those goals.

But there is one benefit many dealerships never consider up front. What effect will accessory sales have on your employees?

According to NADA’s 2016 Dealership Workforce Study, employee turnover for sales consultants was 67% and the average tenure was just 18 months.

Investing in the wrong employees can cost you upwards of 150% of an employee’s annual salary, but investing in accessory sales might actually help you:

• Improve employee satisfaction.
• Increase employee retention.
• Lower turnover.

Firsthand Experience:

With new car sales falling flat and profit margins continuing to shrink, there is little money to be made on the car sale itself. Many dealerships investing in an accessories department find their employees are more satisfied because they are given the opportunity to make more money in other ways, besides selling the car.

Manhattan Beach Toyota in California is seeing the employee benefits from accessories. “Our pay structure helped make accessory sales a success. Salespeople and managers get paid a flat percentage based on the selling price. This keeps things transparent and they know exactly how much they are going to make with each accessory sale.”

Manhattan Beach Toyota’s General Manager, Ron Vartanian, agrees it’s not easy keeping good salespeople today because it’s hard to make good money. But accessories are an easy way to keep them happy with more money.

What’s In It for You:

In addition to keeping your employees happier and at your dealership longer, accessory sales might also bring in more applicants for you to choose from. If word starts spreading around town that your salespeople have the opportunity to make more money on each car they sell, you’ll be one up on the competition already.

So, could you see accessories benefiting your dealership in more ways than just profit?

Check out Manhattan Beach Toyota’s testimonial video to learn other ways accessory sales have impacted their dealership.

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