#DelphiTalks: Boosting Sales While Maintaining Quality and Profitability – Insights from Piotr Podrażka

In the highly competitive automotive repair industry, effective sales strategies can make a significant difference to a workshop’s success. To explore these strategies in more depth, we spoke with Piotr Podrażka, Business Development Manager for Export Markets and Diesel Eastern Europe. 

In this interview, he shares valuable insights on how car repair workshops can leverage upselling and cross-selling techniques, as well as how to design promotions that boost sales without compromising on service quality or profitability.

Could you provide examples of effective upselling or cross-selling techniques that can be implemented by workshops?

A workshop has many tools at its disposal to persuade the vehicle owners to increase their budget or expand the original scope of repair. The technician possesses technical knowledge, sound reasoning, and years of experience. Upselling, in most cases, involves offering a higher-quality replacement part, which tends to be more expensive. In some instances, products may offer additional features, such as a cabin filter with activated carbon instead of a standard insert. A well-implemented upselling strategy benefits both parties: the customer receives a superior product or service that meets their needs, and the workshop generates higher revenue, and often profit, from the enhanced transaction.

Cross-selling is used more frequently and is both technically and economically justified. For example, replacing a complete suspension set or the components of an entire axle instead of just a single element. In this case, the vehicle owner receives a fully operational car for a longer period, while saving time and money. In situations where preparatory work for the actual repair represents a significant cost—such as gearbox removal—cross-selling is not only justified but desirable.

How can workshops create and manage promotions or special offers to increase sales without compromising service quality or profitability?

Depending on the workshop’s situation, different approaches to special offers should be considered. Promotions might aim to increase traffic in the workshop, or alternatively, to raise the revenue generated per visit. In the first case, we rely on new customers or the return of existing ones. Such activities improve the workshop’s efficiency—its workstation utilisation rate. Careful pricing of the offer should ensure adequate profitability. However, it’s important to remember that promotions or special offers should be temporary and not occur too frequently. In the second type of offer, the previously mentioned upselling and cross-selling methods can be applied, making the most of each visit’s potential. A special offer could involve expanding on complex repairs—this won’t significantly raise the overall cost for the customer, but it will meaningfully increase the revenue generated from each visit.

A good practice is to carry out thorough vehicle inspections, which can reveal additional problems that may be addressed, thus increasing the value of the average repair order. Sometimes, the vehicle owner may not be aware of seemingly minor issues such as a burnt-out bulb or worn wiper blades. Offering comprehensive services builds customer trust and encourages repeat visits to the workshop.

Thanks for sharing Piotr!