Why is it so hard for a Women to make it on the Showroom Floor.....is it because some of our Showroom Floors are ran as if they were a Mens Locker Room

I have been in show rooms where there is no respect shown, bad stories being told, bad language. I would not want my wife or daughters on those types of floors. Where are the owners and mangers to change this culture. Why do we act like this does not happen in our store..

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Permalink Reply by NANCY SIMMONS on February 14, 2011 at 10:37pm

Very critical topic in today's day and age and also very near and dear to my heart!.. If you examine the stats regarding women as the decision makers and also the closing ratios of female consultants, it only makes sense to think more dealers and GM's would want more female representation on their sales floor! But this is not always the case, because dealers haven't committed to offering more flexible hours to attract females to the sales force, nor do they want to change the culture of the working environment, condusive and compliant to women.

This is not typical of all dealerships, as many are run in an extremely professional manner with harrassment policies strictly enforced. However, we all know this type of behavior is still prevalent in the retail automotive world. I do not think the auto industry is alone facing these challenges, but because it is a male dominated industry, the stats are against us!

In closing, I believe the diversity of your sales force should be aligned somewhat to the diversity of your purchasing community. This is not limited to ethnic groups, but gender and race as well! If there are still dealerships that refrain from hiring women as sales consultants in fear of facing a potential sexual harrassment or discrimination legal claim, then their problems run deeper than the obvious!

Permalink Reply by Erin Touponse on February 18, 2011 at 2:23pm

All anyone needs to do is to take a look at the NADA convention floor to see that the industry is still dominated by a 1980 mentality. The playboy bunnies and half naked women greeting you at the various vendor booths make it difficult to be taken seriously as a woman in automotive.... And those of us that attend that event are not sales people- we are dealers, gms, directors... Perhaps we should look at the culture of the industry itself before we even begin the question why we can't find female sales professionals.

Permalink Reply by Jody DeVere on February 18, 2011 at 2:24pm

Creating a culture that is comfortable for women customers will help in hiring and retaining women who work on the showroom floor. If a woman is uncomfortable shopping for a car or getting service at the dealership...why would she want to work there is the question I would be asking.

Utilizing "best practices" on HR policy, hours, flex schedules and child care discount programs can help hire and retain women as well.

Here is a link to a good article on this topic to review:

http://caradvice.askpatty.com/ask_patty_/2010/03/best-practices-for...

Best Regards,

Jody DeVere
CEO
AskPatty.com, Inc.
www.askpatty.com

Ph: 805- 624-5673
Cell : 805-208-1008
Fax: 805- 435-2609
eMail: jdevere@askpatty.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/askpatty

AskPatty.com Certified Female Friendly®
www.certifiedfemalefriendly.com

Permalink Reply by Michael Baker on February 18, 2011 at 2:28pm

Agree with comments of the first few ladies 100%. Even though there maybe some o/s the dealership related duties, as mentioned above, women overall perform better in variable operations, once they have the 'tactful' closing skills developed, as many men do not, they are GREAT. Not that the political arena is in parity to automotive, look how 'far' the political arena has become just in the last few years. It's time.

Permalink Reply by Michal Ann Benedict Enders on February 18, 2011 at 2:32pm

I've been in the business 26 years. For the most part, rough language and behavior can be turned aside with a smile and a roll of the eyes.

It didn't take me long to figure out that when the salesmen are comfortable with me, they act like I am one of the guys, which means that I walk into conversations that don't stop because of my ...equipment. I am just one of them. They will often say, whoops, sorry, when they come up for air - but it is normally genuinely an atmosphere of belonging, not harrassment.

I also noticed that when I am treated as 'belonging' it means that I am subject to the same mean, dumb or petty things that guys do to each other all the time that women don't realize they do. It's a culture shift, Nothing personal.

The very few times I have been exposed to what I would call technical harassment, I stopped it in it's tracks. Myself. No HR needed.

I totally understand that some places are truly a nightmare. Just take you skills somewhere else. Most are good people and good places.

Permalink Reply by Michal Ann Benedict Enders on February 18, 2011 at 2:49pm

Totally agree with Erin. I was actually surprised by the bunnies and 'girls' at the NADA convention. Vendors, manufacturers, what is that?

Erin Touponse said:

All anyone needs to do is to take a look at the NADA convention floor to see that the industry is still dominated by a 1980 mentality. The playboy bunnies and half naked women greeting you at the various vendor booths make it difficult to be taken seriously as a woman in automotive.... And those of us that attend that event are not sales people- we are dealers, gms, directors... Perhaps we should look at the culture of the industry itself before we even begin the question why we can't find female sales professionals.

Permalink Reply by Jody DeVere on February 18, 2011 at 3:12pm

I agree with these remarks and that is what my passion is all about helping the auto industry at large make that "much needed" culture shift.

Permalink Reply by Deborah Sims on February 18, 2011 at 3:19pm

I had to drop what I was doing to reply this this topic. For myself as a 29 year dealership veteran and pass successful Dealer Principal, now automotive consultant and contractor. I started in young mind you regarding my age:). I, as all the women that have responded to this discussion, have been right on in so many areas of why women in the automotive industry is lacking in representation and leadership.

For myself and a minority female professional, I had to prove myself 10 x time over to get the results of selling, management, marketing my intelligence and needless to say the" Respect". But I did. I had to keep my lady hat on in moral values and integrity all the time and think like a man sometimes to get what I needed done, but I got it done and successful at making it happen. I worked the hours, I did the work and more required and more . And in many cases was treated unfair and discriminated fair and square, no doubt. The crazy thinking of discrimination was more of being a woman than my race. If it was my race, I always think I can get over that one.

With all this being said, I advocate helping and supporting others including all potential professional women to make it in this business. It's not hard as many men would want or advocate for women to believe, to turn them away and discourage them not to pursue this career. Believe me I've had presented every reason why not to think, hear and see no evil in this business. I did anyway stay focused and I had wonderful support with great Dealers and mentors.

I also must add a Few Bad Dealers that made me undestand the " life of bad store management" and selfish people in general. All this being said .. I am so glad this topic of women inclusion has come on the board. I thought to give you my prospective on this subject. Back to work. Thank for reading.. Deborah at @CarLance www.linkedin.com/carlance

Permalink Reply by Bobby Compton on February 18, 2011 at 3:29pm

Way to bring it Joseph - Outstanding share!

There's no question that at the dealership level some can learn better mannerisms and starting from the car lot believe it or not. I think of how many sales people are standing on the point, if to many scares customers away, or smoking in front of dealership entrance, cigarette butts everywhere, high fives on big grosses, and YES foul language on the lot and in the showroom.

This isn't only an issue for women, but children and men as well. I know for sure that these behaviors and mannerisms cost car dealerships deals everyday, no question about it.

There's a time for play and a time to be professional, and at the dealership it's time to suit up, show up and put on the best game face possible.

I like to look at it in such a way that if you wouldn't behave that way in front of your spouses parents when your were trying to impress them, then don't act any the lessor in front of a customer!

Best foot forward for the entire team, starts from the top! It's a Team Thing!!!!

Permalink Reply by Jared Davis on February 18, 2011 at 5:08pm

I agree! This industry has very little moral principle as a whole. I was at NADA this year and vendors were dropping the "F" bomb as they tried to earn my business with my beautiful girl friend at my side, and each one of these salespeople said excuse my french to her and kept speaking with the same 4 letter words. This is the same problem in the stores. I grew up in stores and trust me I'm far from an angel but we treat the reps that come through the door differently because of there gender and looks. There are a great amount of true gentlemen in our field, unfortunately they are over shadowed by these vendors that had playboy bunnies at the Super bowl party and the dealership personal that think woman are shining brainless lures. Woman have such an advantage over men as they can relate to both genders, we hold them back and never give them a true opportunity because of our barbaric behaviors and shallow ideas. At the same time some woman allow this atmosphere by using there attributes to get where they want, making it harder for the professional ladies that truly wont sacrifice there integrity because dealers and vendors think they are all the same. Ladies I hope you will build a coalition to clean the industry up so you get the respect you deserve and the equality you have earned.

I really appreciate this discussion Joseph.

Jared Davis

Impact 180

Permalink Reply by Jody DeVere on February 18, 2011 at 5:38pm

Actually this is why I skipped attending NADA entirely this year. I just do not have the patience anymore to put up with it.

However Jim Lentz CEO and President of Toyota North America made some very surprising and supportive comments during his industry speech on 2/5 on addressing the needs of women, respect.

"In addition to attracting younger consumers, we need to do a better job working with two other rising consumer groups…women and Hispanics.

Let’s start with women…and the fact that traditional roles of men and women have been blurring for some time.

In fact, women are now the majority of college graduates. And…according to the U.S. Census Bureau… more than half of all advanced degrees are now earned by women, so more will become doctors, lawyers and professors.

And as women climb career ladders, Market Outlook predicts their incomes will grow and have much more impact on business. .

As a result of this trend, vehicle demand for women will likely grow faster than average.

On top of that… according to consumer rating site…Women-Drivers dot com… women buy more than half of the new cars in the U.S., AND influence up to 80% of all purchases.

They also request 65% of the service work done at dealerships. 65%!

When you put this all together… women have 200-BILLION Dollars worth of purchasing power.

That’s more than the estimated GDP for the entire country of Denmark! (source: CIA’s World Factbook, est. 2009)

Yet, according to a recent article in Forbes… women continue having poor experiences when trying to buy a car.

In fact, nearly three-fourths of women surveyed say they feel misunderstood by car marketers.

So, how do we change that?

Well actually, it’s pretty simple. Women say the most important thing dealerships can do to bring in more women buyers… is…to LISTEN.

Jody DeVere, president/CEO of ‘Ask Patty’… a site staffed by women car experts… said women like to tell stories… and when they bring in their car for service, they want to share the ENTIRE story. But, men tend to interrupt and just cut to the chase… which… I have to admit…my wife Barb accuses me of doing sometimes.

Women want to be respected, and DeVere goes on to say it’s important to listen… not only because it’s polite… but because “REAL listening will sell MORE cars.”

I think that’s a good reminder for ALL of us… both professionally… and… according to my wife… personally.

So… let’s make sure we don’t take this consumer group for granted… women are DEFINITELY a key to the future success of the auto industry."

Read entire speech here:

http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/2011-nada-convention-jim-lentz-1...

Permalink Reply by Jason Mickeslon on February 18, 2011 at 6:27pm

Great discussion! Before I respond to the topic I must mention that it is interesting to me how the conversation shifted focus from why is it so hard for women to make it on the showroom floor to how offensive the convention was from a woman's standpoint. This seems like two different discussions to me and so I am going to comment directly on why few women stick with selling cars (in my opinion). I don't believe they are related.

There could be another reason as to why it is hard for women to make it on the showroom. In fact, I believe that it is difficult for many MEN and women to make it on the showroom floor. From what I have witnessed, it doesn't seem like there is a big difference in the success rate for either gender.

I have hired several women for sales, and worked alongside several, and many have been very capable of selling cars. Unfortunately, many have not made it in the business. Most of them have quit for one reason or another: too many hours, don't like rejection, too hard, or "I just don't think car sales are for me" have been many of the reasons that I have heard for not sticking with the profession of selling cars. However, let's be fair here, aren't these the same reasons that many men don't make it in the industry?

Like men, most women approach their boss and quit long before they have given themselves a fair shot at learning the business and the culture of the dealership. Car sales is a profession and few people are blessed with the God-given ability to walk into a showroom floor and sell cars their first day. It takes several years to learn exactly what you are doing and the process of evolving your skills never stops.

When I go through applications for sales I find more applications for men than for women. Naturally, if mostly men are applying, we will most likely see more men selling. It would be interesting to know if there is any research that shows the 5 year success rate for men vs. women in the business. For example, if you followed 100 men hired into the car sales industry and you compared it to 100 women would you see a different percentage of men still in the business than women after 5 years?

My wife works with me in the dealership and we discussed this as well and we feel that the schedule is also the biggest turnoff for women with kids. Families have a hard time when mom is at work until 9:30pm and gone most Saturdays as well. I believe that if there was a way that dealers or salespeople could figure out how to make the living they want working less hours then they would have done that already.