HOW A DALLAS MAN TURNS ONE-TIME BUYERS INTO LIFETIME CUSTOMERS

Dallasites, whether from generations back or having just moved here, are familiar with the car dealerships that have the Sewell branding.

It's a brand that's been in business for a long time, and appears to be "the country's largest luxury-car dealer."

Through almost two hands full of stores, they sell Lexus, Hummer, Cadillac, Pontiac, Saab, GMC, and I almost forgot Infiniti.

When Carl Sewell acquired the business from his dad some years ago, he decided that he would step-up the business plan. His business would consciously provide such an excellence in customer service that it would "turn that one-time buyer into a lifetime customer."

And very dangerously and innovative for the time, that included the total discontinuance of price haggling, the noted but despised foundation of the car business.

"You'll pay more for that Lexus here than elsewhere, but there is no way that dealer will look after you like we will," he decided his salespeople would say.

So he began studying others, others whose business reputation was exactly what he wanted Sewell Motors to be. He got some of that knowledge from books, others he got by interviewing successful merchandisers and marketers.

One, Stanley Marcus of Neiman-Marcus, was a perfect match. His store had attracted the best clientele and was known for setting the pace for Dallas style. Mr. Sewell went to see Mr. Stanley, and before long, Mr. Stanley had agreed to be one of Mr. Sewell's advisors.

In 1990, Mr. Sewell wrote a detailed accounting of the Sewell Motor Company plan. The book is appropriately titled Customers for Life. And twice since then, once in 1998 and again in 2002, he's updated it to add the new things he's learned about how to keep "customers for life."

My friend, Kevin Johnson, is one of the most important business analysts that Mr. Sewell has. Last year, when Kevin and I were eating lunch at a Mexican restaurant, he just decided to suggest to me that Mr. Sewell and I exchange books. Kevin would be the catalyst. So I sent Mr. Sewell Bill Cherry's Galveston Memories and he sent me Customers for Life: How To Turn That One-Time Buyer Into A Lifetime Customer.

Reading Customers for Life would be a worthy investment of your time, especially for real estate brokers and their sales people. It's published by Currency, an imprint of Doubleday. It's a $14.95 paperback.

If for whatever reason you can't get a copy, let me know and I'll put you in touch with Kevin Johnson.

Finally, let me add that there is another business couple here in Dallas that follows this business plan, it's Bob and Marilyn Jackson's Jackson Home and Garden on Lemon Avenue, near Love Field. Ironically, Jackson's is surrounded by several Sewell Motor dealerships.

NOTE: As of February 21, amazon.com has new copies in stock and 41 used copies of Customers for Life.

Copyright 2008 - William S. Cherry