Twelve years ago the amount of money people spent on "needs" was approximately 43% of their spending. By 2002 that number had dropped to only 33%. The other 67% was being spent on what CNW Market Research calls "Enhancements and Embellishments." And when it comes to spending money on cars, needs based buying is even less, as the average consumer spends nearly 55% on ehancements and almost 21% on embellishments.

This information is important because it tells us that customers want to personalize their vehicles. Unfortunately most service advisors have been reduced to order taking and miss a huge opportunity for adding "enhancements and embellishments" that customers are already planning to do on their own.

A simple approach to addressing this is to add an accessories section to your service menu. When you present the menu to the customer, simply use the following dialogue:

"This is our service and accessories menu. It shows a variety of services we offer; along with a list of ways you can personalize your vehicle."

As you proceed to walk around the vehicle with the customer, you can point out specific items from your accessories menu that will enhance, protect, and customize their vehicle. This isn?t a hard or pushy sale! You simply make the offer, show the benefits and ask for the order. You?ll be surprized how may will take you up on it.

Statistics show that customers spend nearly 75% of their car purchasing dollars on something they want rather than something they need. Whether you sell it to them or they buy it from the local auto supply store, they're going to give the money to someone. It might as well be you!

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