Comment

Comment by Cortney Ewald-Ihde on October 29, 2010 at 12:14pm

So...ladies who have been in it to win it...what advice can you offer to YP/Gen Y women in the retail business to move up quickly and be as successful as you all are today? What advice can you offer to the only female in a 3rd generation family operated group? Women are great mentors when they have previously traveled down that road. Teach what you know.

Comment by Sheila York on October 29, 2010 at 12:01pm

27 years in the auto business. 1st female 20-group moderator. COO of multi-franchise dealer group. 2005 class of 100 leading women. Ask any of my Service Managers: On equal footing, females are the most productive Advisors and Sales people. Go Ladies!

Comment by Gail Sproul on October 29, 2010 at 8:35am

I have been in the car business in the Detroit area for over 30 years now. Luckily I worked for some of the Best Dealers. They felt women belonged in the car business a long time ago. I think we have a real advantage.

Comment by Sally Whitesell on October 3, 2010 at 9:58pm

So nice to find a group of women to chat with in this industry! Looking forward to being a part of this group!

Comment by NANCY SIMMONS on September 7, 2010 at 4:53pm

Thelma and Louise....LOL

Comment by Juanita Kiesler on September 7, 2010 at 3:26pm

Nancy, isn't it nice to know you aren't the only one any more. I knew the indsutry had to have other like minded women such as ourselves. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I believe women have come along way in this male dominated industry and for that KUDOS to us. As you pointed out Nancy, we still have to pave the way for others and insure they keep their eye on the prize. I started out selling cars, I was a single mother and in those days....salespeople had demos. The discovery was, I was most excellent! My accomplishments allowed me to rise thru the ranks. I made sure I rendered deaf ear to those negative comments and the other nonsense that was imposed upon me. Persistence, perseverance and never losing sight of the prize.CNBC started a discussion Women: Key to economic recovery? Women entering the work force is larger than any group out there.

Comment by NANCY SIMMONS on September 7, 2010 at 9:08am

I have to say, I am with Juanita...I started in this business in 1977 working in the parts department of the local Chrysler, Plymouth, Jeep/AMC/Renault dealer. At 18 years old, I would travel the roads visiting body shops and independents acquiring new wholesale accounts. I was the recipient of every sexual inuendo and female demeaning comment out there ....BUT...this just made me stronger and more focused and commited to change the role of women in the industry! I worked for a dealer one time who sat with me and told me he was acquiring a new store and thought I had all the qualifications and savy to be the GM for this store, but he did not think I was strong enough. (I have a soft voice and I do not believe hollering and screaming is the means to effectively accomplishing the tasks at hand). I proceeded to tell him my life story of the many major challenges I had overcome, including making the decision to take my daughter off of life support and hold her in my arms waiting for her life to expire)... After twenty minutes of listening to me, he was sobbing and sorry he had ever questioned my strength and proceeded to say he did not consider himself to be as strong as me. I have found a woman can sit in a room of her peers and convey her strong opinion and be called the "B" word, while a male can say the same thing and be called a "Strong Manager". This comes from fear and insecurities from the others in the room, struggling with their own ability to adapt in the fact that a woman CAN actually be top of her game! Setting the tone of confidence, 100% conviction in the content of your mission statement, and conveying the topic at hand ina style of "positive presentation" outlining the potential benefits to each individual as wall as the entire company comes naturally to most women in authority. I have found men in management to take on more of a dictator role as "Just do it because I said so"... Also, women by nature have a sense of pure compassion and genuine care to those she is interacting with whether it is a client, a vendor, or an employee. Our DNA has a nurturing gene and we sincerely want to help others and this is vitally important in building trusted and respected relationships!
Car Gals! We have come a long way from the days I stepped over the town drunk and had to get by the big drooling junk yard dog as I entered a body shop chimed by whistles and sexual slures to now being perceived as an "Automotive Professional" (no gender attached)... Let's keep forging down that path to enhance our position in the market place to an even higher elite status!

Comment by Juanita Kiesler on September 6, 2010 at 3:08pm

Finally! Out of all the networks I belong to, finally some real dialog. My apologies for being late to the party. This is a conversation near and dear to me. I have 30 years plus in the indsutry from selling cars to GM as well as having worked on the lending side. I've seen a male dominated industry evolve. May not seem like it to some but going back to 1978, I assure you it has. All industries have the good and the bad and I've seen most of it. I wouldn't trade a single experience, education and wisdom I've gained. I'm a mentor for women.I'm here to help.

Comment by DealerELITE on August 14, 2010 at 6:47pm

dE Challenge to Women in the Auto Industry Group
Could you get 100 members in this group by 8/30
Are you up to the Challenge ?

Comment by Karen Cousineau on May 26, 2010 at 1:51pm

Great topic!!

I have been in the Automotive Industry since 1997 and I have worked all aspects (service, sales, F&I, mgt) and I must say that I agree with Katie...it depends.

I have always had very positive experiences working in this industry. For the past few years, I've been working (and living) in a smaller, predominantly rural, area. There are very few females in Automotive in this area (I think in the area, there may be 4 or 5 women total within the 15 + dealerships in the vecinity). The reception, however, has been completely positive. Most customers are pleased to see a female sales person (some of the older generations are shocked even!).
I do agree that the ladies who handle themselves poorly, give the rest of us a bad name and stereotypes in the Automotive Industry are something that we are trying to get rid of.
Personally, I think that being a female in the industry customers feel more at ease because the average customer wouldn't have the same stereotypical perception of a female sales person as they would a male (high pressure, untruthful etc).

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