This is one of my favorite sayings when I am helping our team get on the right page about selling tires. Hands down the best way to sell tires is to LOOK like you are in the tire business. To do this you need to put more effort into your staging strategies and make sure your merchandizing is up to date, fresh and clearly marked with information on fitment and pricing. Tires need to be staged everywhere, in your service drive, your waiting lounge and by your advisors desks. If you are putting in the right amount of effort you will realize this is a daily task. Know going into it there will be times when you are straightening your display and cleaning out wrappers that someone has stuffed in there and under your breath you will be cursing, however simply think about how many customers now know you have tires that fit their vehicle and they are competitively priced.

Down the street from one of my stores is a very well known tire retailer chain and I used to watch their guys daily roll out over thirty stacks of 4 high tires with bright stickers on them. This I know took them over a half of an hour to get it set up and they had it down to a science. Why do they do it? They are a well-known tire retailer with the most common name brand of tire on the front of their store. Everyone knows they sell tires. The point is, not everyone is “aware” that they are ready or in need of tires until the moment happens and somehow you want to be top of mind in awareness when this happens.

Here are some well known display strategies that will help you capture more tires sales.

Clean and Orderly – This is going to be a daily task for someone at your store. If you have tires in all the right spots they are going to be touched, moved and ultimately sometimes used as a place to hide a piece of garbage. Keep it clean and not clutter.

Name Brand – All of us have access to name brand tires, leverage your name brand tire you offer such as Goodyear or Michelin for display. This helps customers recall the national advertising done during any sporting event or motorsports event. In addition this helps you display some of the rebates given and marketing point of sale materiel.

What is your tire “motto” – Really what is your message? Are you the lowest price? Do you have “factory” replacement tires? Do you offer free tire rotations after tires are sold? Do you store their winter tires for them? In most cases you probably said yes to all of these and more than likely offer more benefits to buying tires from you. Here is the question do your customers know? Make sure your signage is clear an concise with all of these items simplified so a customer without question knows you have the most to offer.

Know your waiting lounge “hot spot” – Where are you going to get the most of your efforts in displaying your tire message and tires. Every lounge has a sweet spot that is clear to see and is in constant view. This is where your tires need to be along with all of your marketing messages. Remember keep it simple, clear and easy to understand.

Be Creative – Use your imagination and make it fun. One time we took a huge inflatable tire display and put it on top of the dealership and one time we backed two trucks up together and but it in the bed of the trucks so everyone driving by saw this crazy display and knew we had a tire event going on.

Selling tires should be one of those key business fundamentals where the dealer/owner/general manager and the rest of the staff should be involved. Looking at the defection rate there is typically a forty five to sixty percent loss at the mileage band when tires are typically needed, remember the first one to speak of tires will be the first one to sell tires. Develop a solid process and demand excellence.

Having the right display is part of the equation the next is having your staff ready and poised to capture the sale. On my next article I will discuss how to get your staff in to the tire business as well.

Own the tire business and you will own the customer