Wow! We have such an awesome opportunity to work in this fun business: Motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATVs, UTVs and PWC. Nobody is ever in a bad mood when they are riding the products we sell. This is such a fun business, we get to sell our customers something that they look forward to enjoying all week. Our customers dream about is the weekends spent with their family and friends, laughing and smiling the entire time. They dream about relieving the stressful work week with an enjoyable ride through the hills, carving up the pavement and bragging about it to their friends. Our customers enjoy coming into our dealerships and questioning our salespeople about the hottest new bikes. In our industry, and our industry only, our customers hang out in our retail store for hours upon hours. They hang out because they want to socialize with people of the same interests. If they could rent a room for the night at your store, they would!

I spend my working hours traveling the country consulting dealerships of all shapes and sizes. If there is one thing that I wish more stores did (and did well), it would be to start selling fun! When a customer walks into the door, shouldn’t he or she get hit with a blast of fun? Shouldn’t the customer be thinking that your store is the coolest place on earth?

Spring is just a few weeks away and that means if doors haven’t already started swinging they will very soon. Customers will be getting tax returns and they are ready to spend it with us. What steps are you taking to ensure that when they do walk in your door they feel welcome in the coolest store in the world? Is your music fun and borderline loud, or was it just an oversight and not even turned on today? Is your store well-stocked with new merchandise? Is your store spotlessly clean? Have you planned regular events that give additional incentive for customers to come visit? Is your store fun?

Another question is, how fun is your staff? Are all of your employees positive and welcoming customers as soon as they walk in? When staff answers the phones, are they smiling and projecting a fun vibe? Are you engaging in fun conversations with your customers and asking about their riding plans for the year? Are you inviting customers to your events and bragging about how FUN of a time they going to be? Do your employees have a clean appearance with clean work clothes? Are your employees fun?

Start selling fun! It truly is that simple. Get your store stocked up and spotless. Set a plan that as soon as the doors are unlocked the speakers start pumping some fun into the atmosphere. Have a staff meeting and get employees fired up. Teach them how to interact and socialize with customers. Make sure your employees look presentable and that their attitudes are ready to sell fun. Plan out a calendar of events at your store and let every customer know about it. Make sure your managers are setting the tone for their department and they are leading with a FUN example.

I promise if you do a better job of selling FUN, you will in turn sell more bikes, parts, accessories and service. Go sell fun!