According to a recent survey, consumers considering the purchase of a new car or truck prioritize an attentive and informed salesperson who can transparently and expertly answer their questions as their number one expectation from a dealership. That comes as no surprise; todays buyers expect to be treated as individuals and not as a “consumer group.” Millennials might have helped reshape the automotive sales process with this new mindset, but older generations have quickly realized they, too, would like personalized treatment as well.
Delivering on those customer expectations is the goal of Sean LaFleur, new owner of Sault Nissan, Sault Ste Marie’s premier dealership for everything Nissan. Since moving his family from Vancouver Island to the community of Sault Ste. Marie, LaFleur has been driving home the importance of providing exceptional customer service to everyone who walks into his family-owned Nissan dealership.
“I think as a new owner I provide a fresh set of eyes for how customers are treated,” he said. “Whether someone is spending $5,000 or $50,000, they’re choosing to spend their hard-earned money with us. I think that with 95 percent of the customers that come through the door, I take the time to meet with them and thank them for the opportunity to earn their business.”
LaFleur wound up bringing his family to Sault Ste. Marie on the advice of a friend of someone he has always trusted to help make such profound life decisions: his mother.
“My mom’s neighbour is from Sault Ste. Marie. She said if you love the family lifestyle and you like the great outdoors, the Sault is a great place to be. My wife and I wanted to have something of our own. We made an offer on the store, realizing there was room to grow, and here we are.”
Since taking over the dealership, LaFleur has worked with his team to stress the importance of developing strong customer relationships.
“I think you would probably find if you were to walk in through one of our doors we’re one of the most customer-focused businesses in town,” he said. “If you don’t do right by your customers when they come in the store, there’s no amount of advertising dollars you can spend that can make up for not taking care and doing right by your customers.”
While there are many CRM tools available to businesses today to help manage customer relationships, LaFleur said it really comes down to one word.
“Transparency. People take really well to learning why their trade is worth what it’s worth, or perhaps how the banking side of vehicle purchases work,” he said. “We really take the time to ensure customers understand front to back what they’re getting into and how things are done at Sault Nissan.”
Additionally, LaFleur said a lot of customers have done their research before coming into the dealership. Most have narrowed their options down to two or three potential vehicles, makes, or models. They usually have some final questions they couldn’t answer through their online research, so they come in hoping to secure the final pieces to their purchasing puzzle. That’s where LaFleur says his team truly relies on professional customer service.
“For us, with that in mind, knowing the customer is 90 percent of t he way to buying, iit’s out job to make sure they know the benefits of the car and how it fits into their lifestyle. We like to take the time up front rather than rush them through the process. It’s really important here that a customer decides to buy a car and that they’re not being sold a car. It’s their decision at the end of the day and we want to make sure they’re comfortable and happy with the purchase.”
Fortunately for LaFleur and his team at the dealership, they’re selling top quality Nissa products, a brand that has made significant strides in recent years in terms of manufacturing top quality vehicles.
“Nissa has done a really good job the last few years in upping their game with a lot of new models that have come out. We find a lot of buyers cross-shopping between our Murano and higher end cars like BMW and Mercedes. Any customer that gets into a Rogue tells us it’s one of the nicest cars they’ve ever driven. People can get really surprised when they sit in one of our cars and see how elevated they have become.”
In the market for a quality vehicle? Visit Sean LaFleur Sault Nissan. Learn more online.