First Time ATV Buyers Need Special Care & Attention

According to The Motorcycle Industry Council,
ATV unit sales were down 4.2% in 2006.
So with traffic down and the future always
uncertain, making the most of every prospect
and customer that walks through the door is
critical to your success.

The strategies I want to discuss today
relate specifically to first time ATV
buyers. Why? Because, according to some
industry surveys, dealers sell almost
50% of all new ATVs to first time
buyers. That's powerful information
that you should understand and take
advantage of to help grow your
ATV business.

How? Well let's take a look at the
buying experience from your customer's
point of view. Here's what a typical ATV
purchase process might look like for
Mr. Bill Jones.

Bill the potential buyer goes ATV
riding one weekend with his friends,
has a great time and decides he is
going to buy an ATV for himself.

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Typical Steps Bill Will Take
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Step 1 - Referrals - Bill doesn't
know a lot about ATVs so he does
what most people do. He asks his
friends what ATVs they like and
where he should go to buy one.

Step 2 - Research - Bill then
goes on the Internet to do
research and starts looking for
information on features,
prices, warranty, maintenance, etc.
Bill now has enough information to
start visiting some dealers to get
more information on specific
manufacturers, models and of course
prices.

Step 3- Store Visit - According to
some estimates, Bill will visit up
to 3 dealers before he decides on
a specific dealer to buy from.

I may have oversimplified the
process a bit, but these basic
steps will help you understand
how you can...

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Prepare Yourself to be the Dealer of Choice
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Let's revisit each step

Step 1 - This may be the most
important step because it's
what drives traffic into your
store, and traffic is the
lifeblood of any business. In
Bill's case, he got a referral
from his friends. This is key
so you must make sure you have
a referral-marketing program
in place for all your current
customers.

Referral Marketing - Over 40%
of the small business owners
who participated in a recent
Internet poll revealed that
referrals brought them the
biggest returns over other
traditional marketing methods
such as advertising, direct
mail and networking Why? Because
a referred prospect comes
to you pre-disposed to buy your
products.

In my Essential Referral
Marketing System Program,
I mention the 3 requirements
for a successful referral-marketing
program. It must be; Quick to
get started, Easy to implement
and Simple to maintain. In addition,
it should leverage all other sales
and marketing efforts and be capable
of producing quality results over a
long period of time.

If you don't have a systemized
approach to getting referrals,
you need to get one ASAP. I'll be
talking more about Referral Marketing
in future articles.

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Take a Look at Your Website.
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Step 2 A - Will "Newbies" find
helpful information on your
site that will answer their questions?
In my Ultimate Lead Generation System
Program, I talk about how important
"Education Based Marketing" is for
high-ticket products like ATVs,
Snowmobiles, Jet Skis, Motorcycles, etc.

In the initial stages of the buying
process, what most buyers are looking
for is to be educated with unbiased
information. You should have this
type of information available on
your website and in your store.

I suggest using articles, brochures
and special reports (either written
or via audio CD) to deliver this
information. You can provide this
free information on-line or use it
as a tool to get prospects into your
store. A Special Report such as
"Buying Your First ATV? - What to
Look for, What Questions to Ask,
and What Type is Right for
You" will immediately attract
the attention of first time
buyers.

Other things you should have on
your website include store hours,
phone number, contact info and a
map or directions on how to find
your store. (The purpose of this
article is not website development;
so I'll save that for a future article).

Step 2B - What compelling reasons
have you given to get Bill to get
in his car and drive across town
to your store?

Most dealers' first response is
"I offer great prices and customer
service." The problem is EVERY
dealer says that. In order to stand
out, you need to give prospects something
they need. And what they need at
this point is education - unbiased
information. Offering FREE Special
Reports to educate and motivate
prospects will get them to come into
your store.

Another obvious way to get prospects
into the store is through advertising.
But if you really want to appeal to
first time buyers, you must specifically
appeal to them in your ads. How?

Home Depot uses FREE seminars and
workshops. Walk into any Home Depot
on a Saturday morning and you'll see
seminars being given on such things
as; laying tile in your bathroom,
how to put up a ceiling fan, how to
install a closet organizer. Home
Depot appeals to the "do-it-yourselfer."
So Home Depot shows them how easy
a project can be, what tools to
buy and how much material they
will need. And guess what? Store
traffic increases and sales go up!

If 50% of all ATV sales are to
first time buyers, do your ads
appeal to them or just the other
50%? Why not appeal to both? At
least a section of your ads
should be devoted to attracting
first time buyers. Again, giving
away Special Reports is a great
way to do this.

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The Actual Store Visit Experience
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Step 3- So let's say you have
a killer website and ads offering
Free Special Reports and it works and
you get tons of first time buyers
coming into your store. Now what?

What do they see when they first
walk in? Let's face it; many
Power Sports Dealer showrooms
are laid out "warehouse style"
with model after model just lined
up in a row. To a first time buyer,
that can be very intimidating. I see it
all the time - it's the "deer in
the headlights" stare. There just
appears to be too many choices.

Is there a better way? How about a
banner or sign or even a separate
part of the store dedicated just
to first time buyers. You might
have a sign that says "Help for
First Time Buyers" or "Buying
Your First ATV? You've Come to
the Right Place" or "First Time
Buyer Information Center." This
is the place where you keep your
Special Reports and where your
sales staff is trained to take
new buyers to discuss their needs.

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Power Sports Special Reports Now Available
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After extensive research and
interviews, I have created a
series of Special Reports that
you can give your prospects.
Not only that, you can customize
it with your company name, address,
logo, etc.

There are a total of 5 Special
Reports for each Power Sports
Category - ATVs, Snowmobiles,
Jet Skis, Dirt Bikes and Golf
Carts. Here's a current list of
all 25 Special Reports that are
available on the PowerSportsSuccess.com
website. (Just substitute the words
Jet Ski, Snowmobile, Dirt Bike and Golf
Cart for ATV)

1 - 7 ATV Buying Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
2 - Insider Secrets to Getting The Best Deal on an ATV
3 - 12 Maintenance Tips - How to Keep your ATV Running Smoothly
4 - Buying Your First ATV? What to Look For, What Questions to Ask and Which Type is Right For You?
5 - Answers to ATV Buyers Most Frequently Asked Questions

Plus, I have added a Bonus Report that
can be used regardless of the Power Sports
product you are selling. It is titled:
How to Select The Right Power Sports Dealer.

For more information about these 26
pre-written Special Reports go to
Show Me The Special Reports

In conclusion, if you want to continue
to grow and thrive, you need to take
advantage of every opportunity to sell
every possible customer. With a few
simple changes to your website, ads
and showroom, you should increase the
number of first time buyers you close.

To Your Continued Success,

David Carleton
President
Power Sports Success