I intend to produce a video to contribute to the theme for DealerElite this month regarding sharing best practices -- as should we all!  While preparing for my video, I began reviewing the tools that I use when fixing a variety of problems for my auto dealer clients.  The common theme that surfaced is the subject of this post and it will certainly be referenced in the title of my planned video.

I often use the phrase, "What are friends for!", when sharing best practices and new technology solutions.  Fortunately, that phrase is a two way street.  I will list some obvious areas that reflect the relative importance of People vs. Process, Product and Price for your consideration.  That is not to suggest that all of these "P's" aren't important -- I am simply suggesting that they all start and end with PEOPLE and that is the true asset of any auto dealer, automotive advertising agency or vendor! 

Simply put, I will show you mine if you show me yours!   Please review my examples of people power as applied to selling cars and service in today's consolidating auto industry and add some of your own reflections and insights which I can include in my video.

After all, what are friends -- and DealerElite -- for!

1) Social Media; The most obvious evidence of the priority that people play in the auto shopping/buying/service experience is the explosive growth that social media has enjoyed as a marketing media vs. conventional radio, T.V. and print that used to dominate the automotive advertising landscape.  People have always preferred to do business with people that they like and social networking has expanded the spheres of influence of car shoppers/buyers to include their online friends -- hopefully including you!. 

The market is a conversation amongst friends before, during and after the car shopping/buying/service cycle and the auto dealers that have "friends" in the social networking communities are more likely to be invited to participate in the dialogue.  It is diffiult to befriend a building or a website!  It is the people that work at the dealership to support their families that have the story to tell to their friends and who will earn the sale  -- not the Chevrolet, Toyota, Mercedes -- whatever -- or the extended service hours and weekly specials.  What good is it to have Saturday Service hours if you don't trust the people that you hand your keys too? 

Having a friend in the car business is a relief that trumps the best process, product or price for the average car buyer and that friend might as well be you!  After all, what are friends for!

2) Morale - Employee Retention - Customer Satisfaction;  First impressions are irretrievable and they are not limited to a large inventory, clean showroom or even a dealer centric selling system that "processes" customers in sales and/or service.  The atmosphere in a well run dealerhsip reflects the morale of the staff in sales and service which directly impacts the customers that walk through the doors.

A smiling sales person, service writer, operator and cashier can't be forced as a part of policy -- much like customer satisfaction can't be bought or taken for granted by simply offering the best price --  it must be earned.  It is earned when a dealer or manager appreciates the individual and team contributions of his staff -- and tells them so on a regular basis!  It is maintained by HR departments and hiring practices that select personality over "prior auto sales experience" with compensation plans that reflect individual contributions with job descriptions and defined areas of responsibility that are managed and monitored by a caring management team.

Employee retention is directly linked to customer satisfaction and customer retention and neither can be taken for granted.  Dealers must invest in their people before, during and after they are hired.  It is their people that will reflect thier dealership and it is their people who will sell their cars and service to a growing list of friends and customers.  After all, what are friends for!

3) Training -- Processes Rely On People;  Most selling systems and related processes include a meeting and greeting, initial manager T.O. to qualify the customer's needs, inventory and facility walk, test drive, feature benefit presentation, desking procedure, manager T.O., negotiation, F&I introduction, delivery procedure, and service introduction supported by a state of the art  CRM/ILM, DMS and follow up system.  Unfortunately,  all of these well thought out steps are only as good as the sales person who entered the customer into the "system" and/or who is expected to follow up if not sold or to solicit future service and referrals.

Sales training is all too often limited to a few weeks immediately after the hire and/or some outsourced trainer hired to "pump up" the staff.  Given the complexity of a well planned selling sytem -- as described above -- how can a new hire be expected to retain everything that they need to know?  Add product information and an understanding of how human nature impacts the negotiation process and -- once again -- the investment in the people becomes self evident.

Coincidentaly, DealerElite just ran a contest on the "Best Trainer" that I was tempted to participate in but I decided against it.  First, because Grant, Jim and Joe are valued and respected friends and/or past and present business partners and second -- because I believe that there is a paradigm shift taking place in the way that sales and service training should be applied at a dealership.

In my humble opinion, sales and service training can't be limited to the new hires and or as needed to motivate the staff.  It must start in the hiring process by selecting trainable personalities and then integrated into the selling system in such a way that the processes teach the sales person as much as the customer until they form a habit to listen and learn from eachother before they presume to sell or buy anything!  I have often suggested that a sales person does not need to know everything -- they simply need to know where to find the answers that are relevant to the customer to move them through their buiying decision.   

As many of my friends know,  I often rely on new technologies to provide efficiencies applied to proven old world wisdoms.  I am presently involved in the development of a new mobile sales application that promises to provide a salesperson with the right information at the right place and the right time which will integrate training into the sales process. The key is to focus on the people part of the presentation supported by the processes, products and the price rather than the other way around.

I could go on but now it is your turn since my video will flesh out the conversation and best practices associated with People vs. Process, Product or Price. 

After all, what are friends -- and DealeElite -- for!