When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, the slow march by some dealerships to conduct more business digitally suddenly turned into a full-on sprint. Up to that point, the retail “disruptors” had driven speculation that showroom visits and face-to-face conversations would soon be replaced with keyboard clicks.
Those disrupters offer new choices for consumers and challenge the century-old traditional dealership model. While they may be successful at selling their digital process to many customers, they haven’t erased the simple need by many buyers to seek real answers from real people. There’s room for both approaches, but traditional dealers must rethink their operations to accommodate customers’ changing expectations.
BUILDING THE RIGHT TEAM
It’s extremely rare for any car buyer to “kick the tires” at several dealerships. Most car buyers start shopping online. When customers enter the showroom, the opportunity is to guide them through the buying process with information that helps confirm their choices will meet their needs.
For too long, the industry placed a premium on raw selling skills. That’s no longer sufficient or effective. It’s time to reexamine how we recruit, hire, onboard and train new staff.
Dealers must be aggressive in communicating that successful salespeople require a broad set of skills ranging from customer service, product expertise, marketing basics, social media and video production. A prime spot for dealers to advertise themselves to potential talent is where they begin selling their vehicles: on their websites.
For your existing team, today’s technology provides vastly improved efficiency for staff training. Instead of sending small groups of employees to multi-day off-site sessions throughout the year, classes can be held virtually. It’s now possible — and more cost cost-effective — to train entire teams, across multiple departments, in a matter of days.
At Ally, we thrive on creating custom solutions and training programs to assist dealers and their teams as they adapt to new technologies and sales processes.
GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE
Change isn’t easy. According to a Wards Intelligence/Ally Financial survey of new and used vehicle dealers, senior dealership managers were more than twice as likely as their sales and service staff to say their stores need to move faster in adopting a digital model. This discrepancy suggests staff working the front lines fear their bosses’ desire for a quick shift to digital could negatively impact their jobs.
This insight reinforces critical training and transparency as your team adapts to changing customer expectations and the increasingly virtual sales process. Some of your best problem-solvers may be those working in the trenches. It’s critical to involve all layers of the organization as you tackle new challenges.
When it’s done right, technology can help you stay better connected to employees and customers, building long-term loyalty and satisfaction with the people who matter most.
