If you want to sell more CPO vehicles, do a better job of educating both your staff and customers. It's really that simple.

3 steps to selling more CPO vehicles

    Step 1: Educate your team.
    Step 2: Educate potential buyers.
    Step 3: Reap the rewards.

Last year a dealer group enlisted my services to help their stores on digital marketing strategy and sales process. One of the of the objectives this group has was to increase their CPO sales.

As I went from store to store across the group, I went through the same exercise at each location. I asked every staff member in the room (GM, SM, product advisers) if anyone could recite the entire CPO program to me — accurately. I even offered up a $50 Starbucks gift card for anyone who could do it.

As I went from store to store, the results were underwhelming at best. Across 6+ dealerships, not a single general manager, sales manager, or product adviser knew their respective CPO Program in its entirety.

How can someone effectively sell something that they don't even fully understand? Why should any consumer cough up the extra cash for a CPO vehicle when they aren't being educated on all of the value-adding benefits?

The lack of education didn't stop there. Next, I turned my focus to the auto groups' dealership websites. I went through every single page, on every single website in search of information outlining the details of the CPO program.

While each site had a 'Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles' inventory tab, not a single site explained what a CPO vehicle was. Every dealership website should include a point-by-point listing of your CPO program, explaining why consumers should pony up the extra cash.

In fairness, this dealer group’s story is not the exception — it’s the norm.

CPO Knowledge Test

  • Can you recite your entire CPO program from memory?
  • Can your sales staff recite your entire CPO program from memory?
  • Does your website have a detailed listing of your CPO program?

My bet is that the answer to each of these questions is a big ole' no.

Here is the good news — it doesn't have to be this way.

Here's how you fix it

Make CPO education a part of every daily/weekly sales meeting until every member of your team knows it like the back of their hand. As with all things in the training world, this needs to come from the top down. All management in the store should be as familiar with the program as the
product advisers are.

Have your on-staff website manager or your website provider build a page on your website detailing the exact benefits of your respective CPO program. Your staff can now use this page to educate themselves and others on the details of the program.

If you educate them, they will buy

Now that you know the secret to selling more CPO vehicles, it's time to take action!

Call a sales meeting, update your website, and make 2015 your best year in history for CPO sales.

Kevin Gordon is a co-founder of Convertus, a fast-growing automotive digital marketing agency based out Vancouver. Contact Kevin at kgordon@convertus.com or call 888.354.6441 to see how Convertus can help you craft a winning digital marketing presence for your store.