Q: hey guys I was wondering what you guys use for point of sale displays, the dealerships I do work for want some displays and I dont have anything but brochures I would like to know what you guys are use for displays or where I could buy any help would be great thanks

A: You can create all the point of sales material in the world that will help to explain about the product, but nothing can replace the customer being able to see/touch/feel the product on a vehicle. This involves placing the film on the vehicle in the showroom for "consignment" where you don't charge the dealer until that vehicle sells with the film. Some dealerships will participate in this, others will not. One of the downfalls (this is what I was told from one of my dealerships) is that when they are selling all the extras in the Finance department, when it comes time to discuss clearbra, sometimes the customer wants to see what it looks like. Now if they have to get up and leave the office to walk to the showroom, this is usually when the customer may say, "nah forget it" as they have been there long enough dealing with salesmen, test drives, this and that, they are ready to get out of there! So, an easy solution is to have the vehicle right next to them. How do you do this? Easy, have a 1/18 scale size vehicle and apply the film to the model. When it is time to discuss clearbra, the Finance personnel rolls the car forward on her desk and literally has to point out the areas covered (as it is hard to see) and then they can see the coverage they are getting, what it looks like, touch/feel, etc etc. This is a powerful selling tool and IT DOES WORK trust.gif Of course it is good to have the right model with the right dealership (wouldn't want a Porsche model in a BMW dealer) and tracking down these models can be hard at times.

A: The number one display is the car(s) on the showroom floor with the paint protection film installed on the bumper/hood/fenders/mirrors/etc.

Without vehicles on the showroom buy-in is very hard for both the sales people and the consumer who have little if any exposure to the material.

A: I have never, and will never do any consignment work! And certainly not something going on the showroom! The message it sends is simple 'paint protection film is so worthless and hard to sell I will give you one in hopes you can unload it for me'. First you must sell the dealer, if you can't do that forget about it! Also, selling through F & I is too late. They have many other things they can offer with MUCH higher margins. paint protection film needs to be sold with the vehicle by the sales staff. The sales person has just created a rapport with the customer and has closed them on an average $28k vehicle, it is a natural transition when they tell the customer about how they can protect their investment. You really should have us install a clear bra for you before you pick your car up!

A: Sorry to disagree on this one. While a little model car may be helpful, people considering a purchase want and expect some explicit written information regarding the product (removal, warranty, maintenance, etc.).

This month, 3M is launching some dealership Point of Purchase materials that can be ordered via the Internet. These materials are 'personalized' to the point that the cars displayed on the materials match the make the dealership sells and the pieces have the dealership's name printed on them. The materials are attractive and present a concise message describing what the problem is and how paint protection film solves that problem.

As well, we supply our Authorized Dealers with free point of purchase materials as a means of supporting their efforts on the marketing end. These materials have been professionally developed and designed by our ad agency and also deliver a threaded message to the customer describing the benefits of having paint protection film installed on their vehicle.

POP materials are an important component in the marketing effort. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

A: I couldn't agree more!! If the dealership you are working worth has been dealing with the paint protection film product for a while and can see the value it holds from a profitability standpoint and better CSI, not to mention satisfying a customer with chip free driving, then yes, preload as many as you can and bill them! But, if you are working with a dealer that is not ready to commit on that level, the Finance department is the stepping stone from my experience first hand and working with dealers in other states. One of my guys in California does an average of 10 cars a month from one dealership alone who pushes the product only through finance. May not be big numbers to some, but you have 4-6 other dealerships doing the same program and your getting into some very, very nice margins. Could he be doing more? Absolutely and last month one of his dealerships FINALLY began to see the light and is now having him preload bumpers and headlights only for a starting point. He was able to get to this level by starting small and working his way to the top. By far, working with the sales staff is another feather in your cap no doubt, some sales people will refer the client directly to you, and in return you work out a type of "spiff" deal for the sales personal. All kinds of avenues to explore with getting this product through the door and into the market, experiment and see what works for you. QUOTE

POP materials are an important component in the marketing effort. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

I never said to throw your point of puchase material out the door, you are correct, they explain the benefits of the product, absolutely. We have this outlined in great detail educating the staff on the product as they are the ones on the front line selling the product. I saw the 3M pop material they are fixing to release back in April and I must say it is very nice.

But let me give you a first hand experience of the little car idea: One dealership here has been selling paint protection film for about a year now through the Finance department. When I visited with them, all they had was a brochure and one other point of purchase display. She said they sell an average of 5 clearbras a month. After arming them with more information AND the model car, 4 days later they sold 3 cars. I asked her what has caused this progress, she said "After I push the model car forward, they can't believe it. They laugh and say they had been staring at it since they sat down and never noticed the film once. The whole time they are touching the material holding the car in their hand inspecting it. It's almost a guaranteed sell as I am explaining the benefits". So there ya have it, works for me and many others who have and are using this method.

If your not currently working directly with dealerships installing the product personally, you can say this and say that but until you have had success yourself, talk is cheap in my opinion.

A: Exactly right, BUT, there is a certain amount of attention you have to give this arena. For example, with the product being so new to many people you have the "wet paint" theory. People see a sign that says wet paint, first thing they do is touch it. In our product it's fine, but the first question they ask when viewing paint protection film is will it peel? as they are trying to peel the edge up.

As Sensei stated some dealers arent real thrilled when you have one on the hood of the vehicle on the floor with peeled edges, you have to get to the dealer every other day to trim and maintain it, and then its also an advertising cost. The dealer wont want to pick up the tab on that after all its YOUR product they are selling. Also it makes sense that when the display vehicle is sold, if the kit has sustained some visual "flaws" from being on display, you may want to replace the affected areas so that customer has a shiney new kit.

A: Going into too much detail can be detrimental to the sale as well. Hands on is by far the best sales technique. Also make sure that you arent advertising your name in the dealer, they are selling your product, BUT dont get into a situation where the customer can price shop you against the dealer. Your better served at that point just being a subcontracter and providing all your info to the customer in a packet AFTER the sale and installation.

A: You should, at the very least, offer all of the information that is asked for by the customer, as he is always right and deserves accurate and truthful answers to all of his questions. Carefully prepared, concise POP materials are one way of informing and educating the customer when you can't be there personally to answer questions. Customers expect to see POP materials and applicators, therefore, need to supply them.

There is nothing to hide or be ashamed of. This is a great product that very effectively does exactly what it is designed to do and has very, very few drawbacks.

A: There is nothing to be ashamed of and by having the proper selling points is what I was eluding to. there is such a thing as too much info/overkill. There always reaches a point in a sales pitch where the next person that speaks loses the sale. seen it many times.

Brochures and POP displays are designed to peek the customers interest, simply handing them a brochure with out any use of salesmanship or visual aides is only about 10% of the equation. I once had a salesman that would,could and did sell anything because he presented everything to every customer, his knowledge of certain products was less than the other salesman but he continually out sold them. By having some of the product in his hand and at a space where he could show it. Not by simply relying on a stand or a cardboard tent on a car. Hand out 100 brochures with no product out on display and put a trash can by the only exit, I guarantee that by the end of the day 10-15% of your brouchures will wind up in the round file. While the rest will filter they way into cans elsewhere.

While the majority of car salesman, have in essence become clerks. The invention of the internet and just smarter consumers. Customers are wanting to be helped to make a buying decision's and they want the saleperson to make them feel comfortable with their purchse, something that P.O.P cant do, they are effective as a back up. But hands on is the only way to go. Having the salesperson with samples of film on their desk.

Here is a basic human trait test, next time your somewhere talking with someone, just hand them a business card or something of that nature. The Natural human (pavlovian) response is to take what someone hands you, wether it be a brochure or a product sample. This will work over 95% of the time and its a method I use in my training seminars on how to overcome this very obstacle. Such as many retail establishments have the 30 second touch, where the salesperson must touch the customer within 30 seconds in order to break the invisible line, this is accomplished by using your hand to guide the customer towards something, totally unaware to the customer that they are being led.

As said, its a combination of selling tools, each customer will react differently to different sales tactics. One other way of having the salesperson prepped is setting a goal for their first month of sales, if they hit 5 kits their first month do their car for free. The easiest way for them to sell someone else is to say "it's on my car". Secondly, the sales manager will look favorably upon you if you take the time to be at the salesmeeting on Sat morning to give a breif 10 min dissertation on the product, just so the salesman know what it is and can tell potential customers that finance or aftermarket dept will go into more detail on it. Then hang around for a while after the meeting to answer any salesperson questions on the product. Your helping the dealer to build a profit center, while also building for yourself.

A: Point of sale displays are helpful, but in my opinion, you have to get the sales staff educated on their part to plant the seeds along the sales process of the car.

Most people have a trade in, and most smart dealerships will instruct the sales staff to have a look at the trade. This is the devaluation period where the salesperson begins the process of prepping the customer for a lower than expected trade-in value. A simple remark like, "Wow, the front of your car sure is beat up, that's usually a big deduct on such a nice car. You won't have to worry about that on your new one though, I'll tell you about that when we get back inside." is very good way to introduce this to a customer. This will peak their interest without ever seeing or knowing what the product actually is.

As they are walking back inside, the salesperson leads the customer back to his desk so they have to walk right in front of the example on the showroom floor. Just as they walk past the car the salesperson mentions the film the customer didn't notice and makes another brief comment like, "You didn't even see it."

At this point I believe all questions should be referred to finance, at least until the product starts moving on its own. I have attended dozens of sales meeting explaining this product in language I thought a 10 year old could understand, realize half of them weren't listening to the whole thing and will end up misrepresenting facts about what the film can and cannot do.

Now when the finance manager mentions it during the final paperwork, its not going to be thought of as one of those last minute dealer profit products like extended warrantys or tires for life propaganda. The customer has the memory of just how bad his old car looked from earlier fresh in his mind, and begins to think, "I have a desire to protect my new car and here is a tangable product that would have paid for itself had it been on the old one." All the dealership has to do is leave the dots and let the customer connect them on his own.