Women in the Auto Industry: How did you get your start in the car business?

Hey Ladies! 

As part of Women's Month here on dE, I thought it would be fun to hear from the ladies and learn how you actually got started in this crazy business of ours!  For most, we stumble into it and awake one day to find it (the car biz) under our skin and running through our veins!

I am certain we will hear a vast array of interesting stories, but looking forward to listening to each and every one!  (Thanks Stephanie for friend requesting me today and asking me how I got involved in the business...You gave me the idea).

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Permalink Reply by NANCY SIMMONS on May 9, 2011 at 10:04am
Making dreams come true!  Your story is really cool, I especially like the part that your turned the husband around in the presentation to the point he we so impressed he thought you should sell cars!  That speaks volumes!  Best of luck to you Danielle adn thanks for sharing your story!
Permalink Reply by NANCY SIMMONS on May 9, 2011 at 10:15am
I love your story Kristi and I have to say that I met many single moms through the years who were enjoying a career in automotive sales.  This leads me to believe there are dealers out there who will be flexible regarding the hours to accomadate a single mom's needs (or a single dad's needs) and even implemementing job sharing to attract more single parents.

Kristi Alguire said:
In early 1996 I worked for a non-profit, funded partially with tax money.  We were a casualty of the government shut-down, and as a single mother I needed a job fast!  There was an ad in the paper for a local Chevy dealer and it said "paid training", so I applied with no experience whatsoever.  The person that hired me is still a great friend - she put me in new car sales, and now, 15 years later I'm the internet director for a 5 rooftop group!  Love the stories - keep 'em coming.  Great idea Nancy!
Permalink Reply by Stephanie Young on May 9, 2011 at 2:00pm
It is no surprise to anyone that I grew up to be a car chick.  I was a total grease monkey by five.  LOL  My grandfather actually has a photo album of my childhood and most of the pictures are from the part house.  I think we you grow up so young in the family business as you did, it does not take long to absorb information and become a child sales prodigy. 

NANCY SIMMONS said:

Stephanie...This is crazy...the more I hear about you, the more I find out similarities...I started off at a parts counter was well. Love your story about your childhood memories...would be fun to put a scrapbook together...My dad owned a floorcovering business and I grew up on the showroom floor...I absorbed all product knowledge like a sponge, listening to all the manufacturers sales people as they came in... At 12 years old, I was selling carpet, tile and linoleum and figuring the costs based on floorplan stats...crazy!

 

said:

My pleasure, Nancy.  My place in the automotive industry was a birthright.  My great-grandfather owned a dealership in Southern California.  My grandfather after WWII, set up shop with his first parts store in my home town of Redlands, CA.  My father purchased his parts store when I was a very young girl in Rialto, CA.  You know how some people have pictures displaying every year of their childhood?  While, I had them too and they started as a baby in a baby carrier on the parts counter and ended with a college kid working the summer for her father behind the parts counter.  My role in the industry is kind of like the movie "The Godfather", it is the family business and they keep pulling me back in.  (smile)
Permalink Reply by Katie Colihan on May 12, 2011 at 3:50pm

I fell into the business by accident. A friend of mine was working as a receptionist for a local dealership and she said there was an opening in the BDC. I was working in collections at the time, and wanted out...desperately. I interviewed, got the job, and quickly moved up in rank from BDR to assistant admin manager, to co-operations manager.

 

....and the rest is history.

Permalink Reply by Heather Wirtz on May 18, 2011 at 1:33pm
I began in radio and wrote my first automotive script in 1999. I then moved into media buying for an ad agency that focused on healthcare and retail. I had one automotive dealership client, and we had a great relationship and built a profitable media strategy. I left a couple years later for a promotion to become the marketing and media director for another agency. About 3 months later, my automotive client contacted me and wanted to move to my new agency!  I also had a client partner who focused on subprime lending, plus two other dealerships in the Midwest. A couple years later, Mudd Advertising and I made a fantastic connection and now I solely focus on helping thousands of automotive clients succeed and wouldn't have it any other way! I enjoy being a part of this industry.
Permalink Reply by Sally Whitesell on June 19, 2011 at 6:14pm
I have been so busy traveling lately that I missed your reply.  Yes I think if you have the passion to help people it spills over into every aspect of your life.  I think any book about women in a male dominated industry  and vise versa would be fascinating.  I  was a cheerleader...funny!

NANCY SIMMONS said:
Sally, that is a fantastic story!  Your story is exciting and unique... I see the makings of a real intersting book in this thread... (or at least a good article)...How about you?  I, too, taught aerobics and was a cheerleading coach for years at the high school and college levels!  Watching people develop and enhance their lives is so rewarding...isn't it?

Sally Whitesell said:
I use to speak in training videos and TV commercials. I did a few car commercials and was hired to present some training materials in the industry for another training company. Somehow it turned into a 17 year career of writing service, managing and my true passion...training. I even train people in yoga on the weekends. It is so rewarding to help people reach new levels of success.
Permalink Reply by Ed Leclair on July 28, 2011 at 3:45pm

Good for you Elise!!  Glad to hear thing have worked out nicely for you.

 

Jose J

Elise Kephart said:

I grew up around the car business (my dad was in it for over a decade) and never in a million years thought I would be in it.  I worked every job possible (Subway, Longs Drugs, Receptionist, Jamba Juice, Paper Route,Sushi Restaurant (server), Italian Restaurant (server), PF Changs (server), Express Clothing, American Eagle Clothing, Starbucks, IT support for computer company...........with all these jobs, (some even being worked 3 at a time) it was always the same...working hard sun up to sun down and making a limited paycheck.  So it was my dad who suggested since I was used to the hours already, getting into the car biz.  I applied at a big corporate Nissan Dealer and they turned me down, I didn't give up though and applied a second time at a different store...they also turned me down ("no sales experience")....I went into Heller Ford Hyundai in Escondido and my now good friend and GM at the time, Rick Card hired me and said he saw potential.  I worked at Heller for about a year and a half on the sales floor...then moved back to my hometown of San Luis Obispo and have worked at Sunset Honda in San Luis Obispo for two years as the Internet Sales Manager.  Ive grown our social media platform, and have put a creative spin in what I do (it makes it fun)....ironically about 2 weeks ago, guess who I got a call from??? That SAME Nissan Dealer who turned me down twice saying they saw my youtube videos and offered me a "great position" and would pay for my move back down to San Diego etc etc....I kindly responded that I am very happy where I am at.
Permalink Reply by Naomi R. Heckler on August 11, 2011 at 11:37am
I was 19 and working in a Photography Studio.  I saw an ad that said Make $30,000 selling cars.  This was in 1982, and not many women were in the car business that I knew of.  I pulled into the lot and my engine caught on fire outside the owners office.  To this day he says he only hired me because he felt sorry for me.  He took me under his wing and is a fantastic teacher.  I sold cars for 2 years and did quite well.  We bought out a Ford dealership and the owner shipped me over there to access the employees at the store.  I guess I was kind of a spy lol.  I started doing warranty and keypunching for part, service, and accounting.  When we went on computers I was the only one that knew anything about them.  Then after a year or so a new Ford store opened and we had a mass exodus.  There was one person left in parts, so the Owner asked me if I wanted be manager.  I told him I knew nothing about parts just numbers.  He said you know how to make money, you can hire people to look up parts.  So I took it on, August 22 will be my 29th year with Carman Auto Group.  We now have Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Fiat, I am in charge of Fixed Ops.  And the Owner who felt sorry for me is 87 and still comes in almost every day.  His Son now runs the business and he is like a brother to me. 
Permalink Reply by Michal Ann Benedict Enders on September 1, 2011 at 3:07pm

26 years ago I was going out with the girls hitting the hot spots.  I frequently ran into a persistant, obnoxious, self absorbed car salesman who bought me drinks and told me how fabulous he was every time I ran into him. 

 

Hmmm....

 

Me- no $

Him- Big wad of cash

 

Me- 1975 Malibu with the hood of an ElCamino (diffent color) tied down, and red tape over the broken taillight

Him- Brand New Mustang

 

Me - nice

Him - Not nice

 

It seemed so obivous  to the 22 year old me.  If he was doing it I should be doing it.

 

I answered an ad in the paper.  They kept breaking the appointments saying they were too busy to talk.  I would keep calling and coming in because I actually didn't realize they were just trying to get rid of me.  I had no idea how few women sold cars.  I also didn't know there was a difference between GM, Ford and Chrysler.  I was blissfully ignorant and politely persistant.  They thought I was the most aggressive applicant EVER, and hired me.

 

 

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by TAMMY HUANG on September 1, 2011 at 6:27pm

I was working in finance when the economy fell and the bank I was with was the 1st to go "KA-BOOM!!!".

I was out of a job for 3 months, I was out walking down the street one day and saw the dealership.  I dont know what got into me but I just walked in and asked the receptionist if they were hiring.  She asked me to wait and callewd someone.  Then I was directed to the managers office.  He looked at me and asked a few questions and said" This is interesting, I dont know what to do with you."  "I am not hiring but maybe I can find a spot for you."

I left, two days later, he called me back and offeredf me the Internet Sales Manager position.Ive been here for almost 8 months now.....

 Its been so much learning, still constant learning....But I am ready to take on bigger, better challenges........

 

Permalink Reply by Tony Provost on September 1, 2011 at 6:55pm
Nancy- I encourage your persistance and professionalism. This is a great post!
Permalink Reply by CANDACE BENNETT MCRAE on October 12, 2011 at 11:55am

20something years ago, I applied at a local Ford store to sell.  The sales manager politely turned me away.  On my way out the door, a salesman stopped me and suggested that I return in a few days and reapply.  I did and was turned away again.  That same salesman caught up with me in the parking lot and explained that he would be moving soon and his position would be open so he gave me a quick life lesson: "be tenacious, don't give up, be tougher that any guy they know, and keep coming back til they hire you".  On my third visit with the salesmanager, he relented and told me that if I wanted to sales cars at that dealership then I would need to talk with the dealer.  He informed me that a month or so earlier, a young female salesperson at another store in town had disappeared and that he just didn't want to be responsible for a girl (I know I know).  So, I meet the dealer and for an hour or so I listen to him tell me why women shouldn't be in sales.  I quess since I kept sitting there, he caved and hired me anyway. 

Within 6 mos in sales, I was promoted to Finance Manager.  It took me a year or so to learn finance and turn the department around but soon the store had record grosses/penetration for that department. 

3 1/2 years after interviewing with that dealer, I married his son (who had became the dealer/GM).   When I took over as GSM, my father-in-law commented that a girl could never manage a team of salesmen.  Granted I had to dismiss almost all of the existing sales team and hire/train, but within months our sales had tripled. I won many Ford and Toyota contest and received great gifts for men like tools, men's watches, men's jackets/shirts etc.   Our store was a success model so in 2001, my husband sold the store to pursue other interest. 

In 2002, I opened an independent dealership which rivals the volume of the new car stores in my area. 

I have never felt discriminated against because I have always believed that I could do anything.  Excellence is not gender biased! 

 

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