PHOENIX -

Getting to the point where you’re moving 300 used vehicles a month — particularly if half of them are certified pre-owned sales — doesn’t happen overnight.

For Bill Luke Chrysler Jeep Dodge & Ram, which has steadily climbed to these heights, it has required a significant investment in processes and a dealership-wide buy-in from the staff and management, says owner Don Luke.

Not to mention training.

On the consumer-facing end, the sales staff has to know how to emphasize the CPO value and then execute. The service department has to be willing to put in the extra involvement in reconditioning vehicles to be certified, and management has to be willing to make the investment in the program.

So how did this Phoenix-area Chrysler Group store achieve such a buy-in?

“It’s time,” Luke said. “It takes time.”

But the payoff is worth it.

Beyond the additional sales volume, consider this: the Bill Luke store gets better trades on sales to CPO customers than it does on non-CPO used-car sales.

Being aggressive on the trade-in side is something that has been key to the store’s success within certified. In fact, doing so has helped them generate inventory.

As sales manager Jody Knaub put it, the Bill Luke store has managed to get the CPO buy-in; “now we have to go get the cars.”

If a consumer looks at the dealership’s website  —  www.billluke.com — one of the first tabs the shopper will see is one for “Trade Value,” with buttons to generate a trade-in valuation report from Kelley Blue Book, or an online trade offer from the store via AutoTrader.com’s Trade-In Marketplace.

The dealership also has a billboard sign in the area advertising the fact that it buys cars from consumers.

Taking a similar approach as CarMax, it has developed a reputation around town that it’s a buying center, the store says. And the more people the dealership can get to walk on the lot — whether it’s to buy, sell or service cars — that’s all the more business it will have in the future.

Another interesting tactic the dealership uses to drive trade-ins is from buying a great deal of rental cars, particularly the minivan and Dodge Charger variety that Luke refers to as “spinners” because they arrive and sell fast.

The dealership prices these vehicles about $300–600 above cost. Priced well, they get good placement in searches, eventually generating a sale, as well as that all-important trade.

These strategies appear to be paying off, as the dealership tends to have around 250 used vehicles displayed up front at any given time, half of them being certified.

In fact, when asked what distinguishes Bill Luke on the consumer-facing retail side of the CPO market, Luke said it’s “the fact that at any given time we have 120 of them” available for purchase.

The Chrysler certified branding is so strong that all things being equal, consumers will gravitate to where there is more selection.

While that might be helping Bill Luke sell upwards of 150 certified cars a month, this sales total is not the end-game.

“It’s a long-term commitment,” Knaub said. “It’s an exponential growth pattern.”

Joe Overby can be reached at joverby@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.