Managing a rental dealership isn’t easy. You have dozens of plates to keep spinning at the same time and probably feel that there are always areas that need improvement. But it can be hard to know if your focus is in the right place.
4 questions to strengthen your sales process
We’ve compiled a list of important questions that we hope will help you evaluate and strengthen your rental processes. Maybe you have a handle on most of these, but maybe you don’t. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to check over your systems periodically. The best part is that these are actionable steps–they’re free, simple, and you can begin implementing them today.
Question 1: Are you advertising your damage waiver solution?
People looking to rent equipment have an array of options these days, so dealerships need to look for any advantage possible. Look around and compare your rental dealership to your local competitors. If you offer a better protection option than your competitor, make sure all potential renters know why your damage waiver is the best. It could result in additional rental sales for you.
However, if your protection isn’t more comprehensive than your competitors, look into ways to improve it. (If you have a self-funded waiver, may we suggest an alternative that may be easier and more profitable?)
Question 2: Are you documenting how often you turn away rental sales?
How often have you had to turn away a potential customer for lacking sufficient coverage? It’s a worthwhile metric to track. Some of the dealers we work with don’t monitor the number of times they’re forced to turn away potential clients simply because they didn’t have proper coverage.
Of course, established contracts will have the proper coverage, but homeowners and weekend warriors often don’t. If you start documenting these situations, it will give you some insight into ways to improve your equipment protection options and capture that potential revenue.
Question 3: Do you tell customers about the benefits of putting a damage waiver on high-risk rentals?
As we mentioned above, most well-established contracts have proper coverage that will enable them to rent equipment. However, if those customers are renting a machine that is at a higher risk of damage, it might benefit their business policy (and your relationship with them) to attach an insurance-backed damage waiver to that rental.
If damage occurs, it won’t affect their business policy premium and you’ll able to continue your ongoing quality rental relationship with them. Explaining the benefits of damage waivers on high-risk rentals safeguards your customers AND protects your equipment if it should be damaged. You may want to prepare some real-life examples that your rental coordinators can share with customers.
Question 4: Do you have a solution in place for liability coverage?
All equipment dealers need to solve the issue of liability coverage and be able to recommend options to their customers who don’t have their own coverage. Every renter should have liability coverage before any equipment is in their possession. If a third-party accident occurs, your dealership could be held liable. A few viable options include
1) requiring all customers to have certificates of liability coverage,
2) not renting to homeowners or similar-type customers who cannot obtain liability coverage or
3) working with an insurance company to use their liability product.
Would you like more information on improving in any of these sales-related areas? Contact us and we’ll be happy to help you strengthen your sales process, which will ultimately strengthen your rental business.
Up next: 5 ways to evaluate your dealership when it comes to your claims processes.
