Alex Hajj doesn’t look like your typical automotive agency executive. He wears no sports jacket or tie, just a casual shirt and pants, looking more like he covers Southern California surf shops than Northeast auto dealerships.

Appearances, as they say, can be deceiving. The Pennsylvania-based regional sales manager for National Auto Care does dress for dealership clientele – powersports dealers. His attire, then, is his first object lesson: If an agent approaches a power sports dealer in the typical agent garb, the visit is likely to be quite short.

It’s one of the many differences between power sports and general auto sales that Hajj, who refers to himself as a bench developer and coach, teaches agents new to the segment or considering it. 

But consider it, they should, because as Hajj emphasized to the summit audience, “RV-power sports has been the red-headed stepchild … but it is a growing segment and a segment that makes a lot of money for everybody.”

Not only that, but growing consolidation means smaller stores are getting eaten up, and others are closing due to competition, so the time is ripe to enter the submarket.

Since segment show attendance is increasing after a pandemic hiatus, it’s an ideal time to enter the niche business.

One of Them

The dress code is the all-important agent entrée to the unique corner of the industry, though. 

“RV and power sports – it truly is a party atmosphere,” he said as he addressed agents attending Bobit Dealer Group’s annual Agent Summit.

That doesn’t mean dealers are swigging beer on the showroom floor or anything like that. It’s just that they prefer a more laid-back atmosphere because their customers are obviously after fun when they visit. Why else would they be shopping for recreational vehicles? 

Hajj was joined by Thomas Johnson, who helped develop and oversees RV and motorcycle programs for Portfolio. Johnson, wearing a sport coat and dress pants for the summit talk, said that looking the part is the first step to breaking into the more casual segment where most dealers are enthusiasts.

“If you’re walking into a power sports-RV dealership, you don’t want this look,” he said, motioning to his own outfit. “They don’t want the auto industry, someone with a big ego who’s going to solve all their problems. They’ll run you out of that dealership as fast as they can.”

All Play, in a Way

Appearances, of course, are just the beginning of the differences. Johnson and Hajj said many aspects of RV-power sports depart from traditional product sales, though many do revolve around mindset rather than processes.

In fact, once you’ve convinced a dealer in the space that you’re the real deal, things tend to actually get easier. For one, RV-power sports dealers are known for being highly approachable, and the owner is usually present.

And, significantly, few rivals will try to steal your business, the men said. 

“They’re going to be yours forever,” Johnson said of dealers in the segment. “They’re much more loyal and much better for you as an agent – they’ll not be as hard to work with.”

After gaining dealers’ trust, agents will also notice nuts-and-bolts differences from traditional vehicle stores. For starters, the dealer’s own sales process contrasts starkly with passenger vehicle salesmanship. 

“Buyers will fight you tooth and nail, but if they’re buying an RV,” Johnson said, “they’re eating it up. It’s all about the experience.”

The Right Approach

Though agents don’t need to be RV-powersports enthusiasts themselves, they should familiarize themselves ahead of time with the products and the lifestyle that goes along with them, said Hajj, a powersports lover from the age of 12 who, though personally uninterested in RV travel due to his preference for hotel creature comforts, has solid working knowledge of that world.

“Dealers want to know that you’re ‘one of us,’” he said.

It pays to stay abreast of new products that hit the market to address issues peculiar to the segment. 

Buzzwords include “boondocking” and “off-the grid.”

When making a first pass at a prospective dealer in the segment, one should aim for a relaxed conversation sans sales talk, Hajj said.

“’We’re not trying to sell anything. We’re trying to see if there’s a pain point we have a solution for.’ Understand their dynamic … It may not be in a product. It may be in a relationship you have with a bank. Let them choose what makes sense to them.”

Of Course, There’s Also Work

Once an agent gets established with a dealer, there can be upfront work involved for them, since many stores are at least initially bare-bones operations, the experts said. 

“You’re going to see a lot of technology lacking in RV,” Hajj said. “They look for different vehicle-management systems. Power sports may be a little easier, but it’s still hard. What you’ve done in the automotive space can be transitioned into RV-power sports with a different mentality.”

You may have to establish a finance department for a dealership, as many don’t have one at all.

A typical store sells only about 30 units per month, Johnson said, but dealerships don’t have many of the working processes that traditional vehicle stores have, and an agent’s return on investment tends to be significantly more upfront.

Many dealerships historically haven’t embraced prepaid or customer loyalty programs the way traditional stores have, though some are starting to consider their value, so the time is ripe to help them add those to retain customers and drive revenue, Johnson said.

It’s important for agents to partner with providers that can offer dealers what they need, whether they be loyalty programs, training or financing, including programs that differentiate an agent from the competition, the experts said. Can you provide coverage for all of the new Chinese makes and models entering the market, for one?

In the post-pandemic wind-down, dealers are witnessing overladen wholesale auctions as consumers offload an expensive asset they bought during the long pandemic lockdown months, when living a nomad’s life seemed more realistic than it now does for many who’ve returned to the office.

But though most RVs Americans buy are towable models, not the $500,000 behemoths, the sticker price far exceeds the typical passenger vehicle’s. Still, payments aren’t through the roof, as they’re usually stretched over as many as 144 months.

“You can put a 12-month blanket policy on an RV and upsell four or five years,” Hajj said. “They look at PVR (profit per vehicle retailed) differently in RV. A lot of partners look at an RV as a percentage of vehicle sold.”

Though a lot of things are done differently in the segment, the experts showed it’s worth adding to an agent’s client base.