Tatnall Insights | eVHC Revenue Recovery
If Your Workshop Identified £83,000 Of Red & Amber Work Last Month…
What happened to it?
Every dealership wants to increase aftersales revenue.
We talk about workshop loading, technician productivity, labour sales, parts sales and customer retention.
But one question is rarely asked:
What happens to all the work we identify but never sell?
The £83,000 Question
Recently I reviewed dealership data across a three-month period and one figure stood out.
The average monthly value of identified but unsold work was:
Unsold Red Work
£21,000
average per month
Unsold Amber Work
£62,000
average per month
Total Opportunity
£83,000
identified but unsold
Before anyone gets excited, I am not suggesting all of that would convert.
It won’t. Some customers will decline. Some vehicles will be sold. Some repairs will be completed elsewhere. That is reality.
But the number itself raises a very simple question — what happened to it?
Where The Trail Goes Cold
1. Technician finds it
The vehicle is inspected and the issue is identified.
2. Advisor presents it
The customer is informed and given the opportunity.
3. Customer defers it
Not today. Need to think. Need to budget.
4. Opportunity fades
No structured recovery process means the work disappears.
Technicians Find The Work
One thing I have always believed is that technicians are some of the best salespeople in the dealership.
Not because they are selling.
Because they are trusted.
If a qualified technician tells me a component is worn, unsafe or likely to fail in the future, I am probably going to listen.
Most customers feel the same. The challenge is not usually identifying the work. Modern eVHC processes are generally very good at that.
The challenge is what happens afterwards.
Service Advisors Are Busy
Anyone who has worked in aftersales understands the reality.
- phones are ringing
- customers are arriving
- vehicles need invoicing
- bookings need managing
- technicians need support
- courtesy cars need organising
- workshop controllers need answers
So the focus naturally moves to today’s customers, tomorrow’s bookings and this week’s pressure.
Meanwhile, declined work slowly disappears into the background. Not because people do not care. Because time is limited.
Customers Often Need More Than One Conversation
One of the biggest myths in automotive retail is that customers make every decision immediately.
They do not.
Many customers need:
- time to think
- time to budget
- time to speak to a partner
- time to plan the repair
That does not mean the work is not required. It simply means the timing was not right on that day.
The Real Question
The question is not how much work your technicians identified.
The question is how much of it came back.
Is There A Better Way?
After spending years in dealership operations, I do not believe the problem is identifying work.
Technicians are already doing that. Service Advisors are already presenting it. Customers are already being informed.
The challenge is what happens afterwards.
What happens when the customer says:
“Not today.”
What happens when they need time to think?
What happens when the advisor is dealing with the next customer, the next phone call or the next workshop issue?
That is the gap.
eVHC Revenue Recovery Programme
Not More Opportunity.
Better Recovery.
The eVHC Revenue Recovery Programme has been developed to focus on recovering revenue opportunities that have already been identified but not yet sold.
Not replacing advisors
The programme supports the process, not replaces the people.
Not another dashboard
The focus is action, follow-up and recovery.
Not extra marketing
The customers and opportunities already exist.
Because if the average dealership is identifying £83,000 of Red and Amber work every month, the real opportunity is not finding more work.
The opportunity is recovering more of the work already found.
What Could Your Workshop Be Recovering?
If identified Red and Amber work is being declined and not followed up, there may already be recoverable revenue sitting inside your workshop process.
Visit Tatnall eVHC Revenue Recovery