Jeff Cowan's Blog

October 7th, 2009

Selling From My Perspective

By Jeff Cowan

"A Few Benefits of Training Your Fixed Operations Staff"

Automotive Dealerships search for months for the perfect location investing thousands to millions of dollars for the best piece of real estate. That is followed up with millions of dollars in construction and building costs to ensure the perfect customer friendly facility. The new state-of-the-art facility is then inventoried with millions of dollars of product including automobiles, parts and accessories. The products are then advertised at even more costs that exceed thousands of dollars a month to lure customers in the front door. And now that they are here, are you prepared for the opportunity that has been created? Even more important, is your staff fully ready to handle the opportunity?

Unless you included in your annual operating budget a column for ongoing training, training that includes the personnel in your Fixed Operations Department, then the answer is NO. Some Dealerships may make an occasional investment in training, usually for their variable operations staff, but very few make the training commitment it takes to truly stand out and operate a flourishing Fixed Operations Department. But for those who do, the return on investment has many rewards. The following is a sample of what I have witnessed in the field:

1. You attract a higher quality employee. Bruce Benson, the Fixed Operations Director for the highly successful Earnhardt’s Automotive, a family owned group of 11 stores in Phoenix Arizona states: “When I started in the business I was a Technician. One of the things I loved most about the position was the continuing training I was offered to help keep me on top of all of the latest techniques, tools and developments in regards to repairing vehicles. When I made the decision to go into management, one of the things I pursued was training - not only for me, but for my entire staff. We started out with just a small training program for a few key employees that have blossomed into a 10 month training process for all of our Fixed Operation employees. The payoff has been tremendous. Now when we place an ad looking for new employees, we no longer attract people looking for a job, we attract people looking for careers. We attract the best of the best. Once we show employee candidates our training process and beliefs, it is easy to get them to not only join our team, but to remain on the team as well.”

2. Your business philosophies and plans are executed not the employees. By establishing what you want accomplished, how you want it accomplished, training your staff to execute what you want accomplished and then holding them accountable to your plan is the only true way to guarantee your business philosophies and practices are being followed. If not trained to know what it is you want and how to do it, then your employees will develop their own business plan and philosophies executing them the way that best fits themselves. Their plan will never match yours.

3. You do not waste opportunity. “Coming from the sales side of the business, I knew how important training was for our sales staff” stated Mickey Pong, the General Manager of Santa Margarita Ford in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. We diligently worked to ensure that when a customer came in to purchase a vehicle that their purchasing experience was second to none. We made sure that our sales staff, sales managers, business office and support staff were trained to handle every whim of the customer. But until it was brought to my attention through our customer satisfaction surveys that the customer experience was not being followed through on when the customer returned for service in our Service Department, did I realize the huge need for training in our Fixed Operations Department. Since instituting training we now offer, we have witnessed our customers being much easier to handle and much more willing to buy additional product. And even more astonishing to me, is the fact that our employees seem to be most thankful for the reduction in stress levels they now encounter. Since they are now trained and prepared to handle nearly any situation, good or bad, there is a new confidence in the department. You would think they would be most excited about the steady increases in production and income we have both experienced as a company and as employees over the past several years due in part to the training. But it seems to be the other. As a company and employer, I sleep easier at night knowing that every opportunity we get with a customer or employee is not wasted. As a business we have to train to meet every opportunity we are given, whether it is an opportunity to keep a customer, or a great employee. Training ensures we will do both.”

In closing, it should be noted that deciding to train your staff is only the first step. Simply supplying training is not going to get the results you seek. You have many questions that you have to answer to be successful:

· What results do you want to gain from the results?

· Who on your staff is going to be responsible for managing the training once installed?

· How is your staff going to be held accountable for the results you expect?

· Who is going to provide the training? The Manufacturer, a Vender, a Professional Training Company or all three?

The fixed operations side of the business is evolving and will continue to evolve over the next several years. What used to be a business that was heavily based on warranty work is increasingly becoming a business based on retaining customers through superior customer service and expanded new product lines. The Dealerships that realize this and become proactive by training and preparing their Fixed Operations staff for this change will also realize tremendous growth and security as the Dealerships have that are represented in this article. The time is now to change our attitudes on training in this department. It is no longer just a good idea or a novelty; it is a necessary tool to ensure growth. Change is inescapable, but growth is optional.

If you would like more information on training your fixed operations staff please contact us at 800-248-2931. We will be glad to answer all of your questions.