Recently had a long conversation with a Dealer, about why he wasn’t retaining new staff. It seemed to him that they weren’t becoming proficient in presenting the product. There were multiple complaints about his Sales Consultants being “wet behind the ears”.
So how can we get our new inexperienced staff ready to effectively talk about our product? The answer is not only easy, but it is in place and just not being utilized.
The Manufacturer’s Video Certification Program can handle all of this. Everyone is going to say I make them watch those videos until their eyeballs are falling out of their heads. Doesn’t help at all. I propose using them in a better way.
Usually there will be at least two videos per model. One a walk-a-round of the most pertinent information on the car, and the second a competitive comparison of other vehicles clients may shop. Have the Sales Consultant scheduled to use the first three hours of the day on certification. In this time they should watch the videos that correspond to one model. While that is happening they should have a worksheet built with boxes to correspond with a walk-a-round. Every time there is an interesting piece of information in the video it should get documented on the worksheet.
Once this worksheet is created, the Sales Consultant, creates personal stories to explain real world uses for any features they wrote down. As a new worksheet is created they should be copies and placed in a book for the Dealership by model, so everyone can benefit from a new take on the car.
Next the Sales Consultant gets keys and a plate and drives the car, touching every single thing they plan to show to the clients that are visiting your store. There is no excuse for not knowing how to properly use a piece of equipment prior to showing a client. When they return from the drive, the Sales Consultant performs a full presentation for the Management.
By the time the full selection of videos are finished (within about 2 weeks), you a Sales Consultant ready to demonstrate every product on your lot.
Look for my next blog post on prospecting while you train.