dealership parts and service 8 min read

Service Drive Selling: Understanding What You’re Doing Wrong

Put Yourself In Their Shoes

You pull up to the service drive for your 9 AM oil change appointment. A young, bright-eyed service advisor meets you at your car and gives you a warm, professional greeting. You inform him you’re here for your appointment to get your vehicle serviced.

“No problem,” he says. “Also, so you’re aware, we offer several other services to help you take care of your vehicle! We’re running a special on brake fluid flushes, which we recommend you do every 30,000 miles.”

“Here we go,” you think. “Time to get upsold.” We’ve all been there, we all see it coming, and we all have that small pit in the stomach when it happens.

The guy does a good job, though, and you eventually agree to do the flush for an additional $89.95. You hadn’t planned on spending that much, but you feel good about being proactive with your vehicle maintenance.

Fast-forward to later when you’re told that, based on the inspection, your car also needs about $500 of other work, such as a worn serpentine belt, front brake pads and rotors, sway bar bushings, and an alignment.

Now you’re mad.

If you had known there were more pressing issues, you might have held off on your “proactive” maintenance and decided to use your funds on safety-related items.

Unfortunately, the brake flush is done, so you’re already stuck with that bill. Now you have two options: fix all the necessary safety items or put your vehicle at risk by delaying some repairs you can’t afford.

Where Service Drive Selling Breaks Down

This is what happens when sales timing and transparency don’t align. It’s not about pitching more; it's about helping customers make smart, informed decisions. Done wrong, service-driven selling feels like pressure. Done right, it builds trust and long-term value.

If you’re unsure what it is or how it might work for your business, don’t worry. This blog discusses some actionable tips to help you promote sales-driven services with clarity and ease.

Let’s start!

Making Educated Decisions

Okay, not every customer will be faced with that ultimatum. However, if you’re trying to get upsells during check-in, you’re bound to run into this scenario, and the advisors know it.

Ever wonder why service advisors seem to give so much resistance to ’selling on the drive ’? They may not have put the idea together like we have here, but they DO get this funny feeling about selling expensive services upfront. It’s not a matter of asking for or selling services – they always do that. But doing it during the check-in – something just “feels off.” Here’s why:

If we are asking our customers to make a sizable financial commitment BEFORE they have all the information regarding their vehicle (like they will after the Multipoint Inspection), then we are preventing them from making an educated decision.

We should only be asking for someone’s money ONCE. Having to come back later try to “get more” is simply shoddy salesmanship.

The automotive service advisor’s role isn’t just to sell — it’s to facilitate informed decisions through a service drive sales process built on clarity and value. This is what differentiates a transactional upsell from sales driven services that foster long-term loyalty.

Let’s Unpack

Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s ensure we’re discussing the same thing. Am I saying we shouldn’t get anything more than a commitment for a basic service during the check-in? Absolutely not. There are lots of opportunities to increase sales and gross at the check-in. For example, educating the customer on various options for their service (often a good, better, best format) is a great place to start. Also, getting pre-approvals for small items like wipers, air filters, etc., can easily be done during the check-in.

What we’re talking about today is trying to sell those bigger-ticket items right when they arrive. Advisors inevitably start doing this, however, when we spread this idea of “Selling on the Drive.”

There IS Another Way – It’s Called “Pre-Selling”

Do you want your salespeople trying to get a hard commitment to F&I products before the Sales customer has selected a vehicle? Of course not—that would be silly, wouldn’t it?

What they CAN do is begin educating the customer about some of the products and protections we offer, and let them know they can get more information on them later from one of the Business Managers.

Planting these seeds, or “Pre-Selling,” can be a very effective way of increasing F&I product penetration.

Pre-Selling allows the customer to process what we’ve educated them about, and figure out how they might fit it into their budget. Building value, then letting that value sink in will result in higher closing ratios with our customers.

If we don’t want our salespeople getting commitments on products upfront, why do we think that’s effective on the service drive? Pre-selling on the service drive generally consists of pointing out items or services that may need to be done on the vehicle and informing them we’ll know for sure once we’ve completed the inspection.

Effective automotive service drive sales processes use Pre-Selling as a trust-building tool that leads to more genuine, data-backed decisions. It helps prevent surprises and aligns with the customer’s budget and priorities, especially when it comes to car repairs on the drive.

4 Core Benefits to Pre-Selling

1. Smooth, Low-Pressure Service Lane Experience

Especially when a customer comes in for maintenance, we want the process to be as smooth, efficient, and convenient as possible. To ensure the customer has a pleasant experience, we need to avoid making them “put up walls” right from the start.

2. Strategic Service Suggestions

Since there’s no hard commitment initially, the customer has time to think about what we mentioned. For example, while waiting for an oil change, they can take the time to figure out how to fit that alignment into the budget, if they end up needing it.

3. Increased Service Conversion Rates

If we wait to “let that seed grow” before we try to harvest it, we’ll get a better yield. Customers are much more likely to agree to services if:

We’ve done a good job of showing the value in them, and
They’ve had time to process/come to terms with it.

4. Build Trust by Highlighting What Doesn’t Need Fixing

Another (often overlooked) benefit to Pre-Selling is the ability to tell them that they DON’T need something we mentioned initially. If we tell them they’re not quite due for that alignment, they’ll almost certainly feel relieved. This does a couple of things…

For one, it shows them that we are honest in our advice and not trying to sell them everything we can. This builds serious rapport with people.

Secondly, it lends much more credibility to other services we say they DO need, of which you will sell more. Moreover, the service-driven selling approach shouldn’t just be about volume—it should be about building trust, being transparent, and creating a repeatable process that makes customers feel confident in your car dealerships’ service departments.

Timing is Everything

We need to mention a very important item: timing. While you can definitely try to sell services too early, you can also try to sell them too late. A mistake even more common than “selling on the drive” is trying to sell services at check-out!

If the customer sees that their car is ready, parked out front, and pays their bill, they see that beautiful white light at the end of the tunnel. If, as they’re running for it, you pop up blocking the way, and say, “By the way, there are some other things we can do to your vehicle as well, if you wanna stick around!” They will, most definitely, run around and/or through you to get out.

Multipoint Inspections should be completed and turned in within 10-15 minutes of the vehicle entering the shop. We need to have results and an estimate built for the customer as quickly as possible, so we can present them to the customer while the vehicle is still on the hoist!

When working with a sales-driven services mindset, it’s essential to understand timing as a strategic lever in the service-driven sales process. The goal is convenience, not conflict.

It would be much more convenient if we asked, “Would you like me to take care of that for you while it’s in the shop today?” rather than “Would you like me to pull it back in the shop and take care of that for you?”

Pre-selling is ALL about building value in the inspection and needs to be the entire focus. An inspection validates what we recommend. If you try to sell something after looking at the car for 10 seconds, the customer will assume you just say that to everyone. An inspection makes our recommendations specific, customized, and personal. It shows that we’ve carefully considered what we are presenting to them.

Wrap-Up

Like any process, there are effective and ineffective ways of Pre-Selling. Just because it’s not a “hard sell” does not mean that we shouldn’t be confident in what we Pre-Sell. If we can effectively pre-sell on the service drive, you will have a better customer experience, build better rapport with customers, have a faster, more efficient check-in process, and increase overall sales in your service and express service departments.

Suppose we can effectively pre-sell on the automotive service drive. In that case, you will strengthen revenue and the foundation of trust and customer satisfaction within your car dealership’s service department.

For more information on how to properly Pre-Sell in service or about other service-driven selling techniques, like the RIM Selling Process, contact our Black Ops team!

Today, service drive selling is no longer a one-lane route focused solely on final numbers; it’s a dynamic process that starts when a customer enters the service bay. Many dealerships unknowingly stall their sales by using outdated techniques, jumping into upsells too soon, or skipping the small yet meaningful interactions that build trust. However, with ATN’s in-depth training sessions, that’s achievable—here’s how!

Turn Mistakes Into Mastery with ATN’s Proven Training

At ATN, we specialize in turning service drive missteps into measurable performance gains. Our programs help finance and sales professionals identify what’s not working and replace it with high-impact, modern techniques that align with today’s informed car buyers.

Training for Finance Departments

Clearly presenting financing options that build buyer confidence
Boosting revenue through compliant, ethical F&I product sales
Staying aligned with legal standards and dealership policies
Creating trust through transparent, value-first conversations

Training for Sales Teams

Spotting where deals derail and learning how to course-correct
Using modern tools and techniques to engage today’s buyers
Building authentic, emotionally intelligent customer connections
Knowing when to close and when to let the seed grow

Flexible Learning Options to Fit Your Dealership

Virtual Training for remote accessibility
Customized In-Dealership Programs tailored to your challenges
Intensive BDC Boot Camps for laser-focused, results-driven performance

With four decades of automotive expertise, ATN helps teams stop repeating the same mistakes and start closing with confidence.