Recently, I spoke with an associate;  a top automotive recruiter. What I learned from them was not all that surprising. In my travels many in auto sales  have jumped ship or left the business altogether. 

He shared his thoughts which were based simply in that the younger generation is hungry to make money, but in many cases training and motivation stops after the initial introduction. The job becomes boring and there’s a disconnect between their senior piers leaving them behind while they become disengaged and ultimately unsuccessful.

On the other hand I’m excited to hear how many people have had an enlightened experience and how their time spent training with us was extremely helpful in the advancements in their career. One told me about their time at David Lewis and Associates while employed with another dealership - unfortunately before she left her dealership canceled the program.  When I asked why  the sales associate shrugged her shoulders and uttered, ”They’re cheap.”

Too many of the dealerships that I speak with are having a hard time keeping people; however they are reluctant to send their staff to training. Are we allowing our staff to hold us hostage? I’ve learned in my twenty five years of owning a business that people don’t always recognize what is actually the best choice for themselves and sometimes they fear the change that will result in their own growth and development.

One thing that I do know from personal experience is that employees wish to feel that they are part of the process. If not fully engaged, they lose their core enthusiasm and have a change of heart about automotive sales or perhaps being employed within your dealership. Don’t think that I don’t understand your struggle - at times it takes a mountain's worth of patience and time to hand-hold employees through the process of being better than average when it comes to the art of selling.

I hear your dialogue now - you don’t have the time to babysit or be friends with your employees. Frankly, assuming that they will become crack salespeople after watching a few YouTube videos is not in your business' best interest and yes I had a sales manager tell me his dealership trains the new hires by advising them to  google YouTube videos.

I once read the purpose of training is to tighten up the slack and polish the spirit. Continuously training empowers employees and builds confidence, giving your customers a much better experience. It gives them a sense that the company is invested in the staff when they offer offsite training.  As a partner with David Lewis and Associates we consistently make this clear to every team member you send to one of our workshops . We are invested in the success of your employees future and yours. 

We understand that senior leaders sometimes can be caught up in what’s going on day to day. Being physically in the building, it can be difficult to mentally break from their work. Going away allows participants to both physically and mentally separate from their work environment and understand that they’re putting that time aside to learn and share experiences among their piers. Infrequent in house training does not account for the “environment factor" which is essential to ideal learning. You may have reduced the investment portion of ROI by staying on-site, you also may have reduced the return by compromising the learning experience.