Hi Vaughn it is really great to have you here with us! You have been in the automotive industry for a long time, you know the ins and outs of how it works. I’d like us to start at the beginning if we can, how did you get into the automotive industry?
It was in 2003 and I was a District Manager with Kohl's Department Stores based in Nashville TN. I'll never forget this day because as fate and the universe works, this day was very special for me. I had a pretty bad relationship with my boss at Kohl's and had just had a really unpleasant conversation with him.
In fact he was always unpleasant. After the conversation with him I left my office to cool off and went to lunch up the street at Friday’s. As I was waiting on my meal to arrive and I was stewing about how much I hated my boss when a phone call came through my Motorola Flip Phone from a number I did not recognize.
Rarely do I answer these, especially at lunch. That’s a bit of rule of mine. We don’t use our phones during meals. However something told me to take the call and I’m so glad I did.
The person calling was a recruiter who had been hired by CarMax to find talent to come on board with them to grow their fairly young company. This recruiter could not have called at a more opportune time. As he described the company and what CarMax was looking for, the position he described checked a lot of my own boxes regarding the type of position I was looking for.
So, I replied that I was interested in learning more and we set up an interview. Not in a million years when I woke up that morning would I have thought I’d be on a new journey in a new industry that very day. A month later I was making a career change and joining CarMax. Best decision I ever made. From my very first day I fell in love with the car business and can never imagine not being involved in it in some way for the rest of my career. Thank you fate!
I began in their 18 month long training program in May 2003. I thought they were a bit crazy having a year and a half long training program. Who does that? Then once I was immersed in the complexity and all the moving parts of the car business I realized why CarMax invested so heavily in this up front training.
During the program I had to sell cars, be a sales manager, work in operations where we cleaned cars, understand parts and repair, do inventory acquisition and pricing, and all of the financing and compliance requirements that are mandatory in the car business. I loved it all.
In August of 2005 I was made the Location General Manager of the CarMax location in Orlando Fl. This was also part of the training to become a Regional Vice President for them. I ran the Orlando location for about a year and then did some troubleshooting in a couple of other locations until March of 2005 when CarMax decided to expand it’s reach to the West Coast.
They offered me the position of Regional Vice President General Manager of the Los Angeles Region and charged me with the he responsibility of building the team that would grow the west coast region for the company.
And how has this developed, how are you involved in the industry now?
After taking early retirement from CarMax in January 2014 I decided to pursue my true passion as a business coach. Developing, improving and turning around businesses has always been a strength of mine. As part of the formula I developed over the years I knew that the better the head of a business was, the better the business was.
I became a Business Coach and also started a Leadership and Management Development Company for the improvement of the individuals who supported the CEO or owner of businesses. My deep understanding and knowledge of the auto industry has allowed me to stay involved through my clients and their teams. Unintentionally I also became a consultant in the industry.
I’ve worked with international and domestic dealership groups, start ups, and advise the investment community on the auto industry especially the used car business.
What would you say is the single biggest problem for auto salespeople?
Lack of true sales training.
Salespeople are often trained on products and tactics. Not very often are they trained to be great sales consultants. In today’s age of information the consumer usually has all the product information they could ever want.
Salespeople are often trained on products and tactics..... In today’s age of information the consumer usually has all the product information they could ever want.
Including the fair pricing of a car. However the sales people they meet in the showroom are not equipped to build a relationship through asking questions and understanding the customer's true needs.
Often they are drilled with how to take the most out of a customer's pocket and put it into the dealers pocket. However that is not a long term reputation builder.
I look at the astronomical turnover rate of sales people in the industry, along with the very low average annual commission rate and I get it. However, if the behaviors of the sales team members were altered to build trust and mutual respect with the customer, they would find out the true needs of the customer, and in turn go do what is mutually best for the dealer and the customer how does that not create a win?
Yes there are a small handful of dealers who take this approach but they are very rare.
Train the proper behaviors and in the long run you will get the desired results.
What is one thing they can do to solve this problem?
Dealers must discipline themselves to take a longer term view of their sales teams. Most dealers have the attitude that salespeople are born and not made. They hire a bunch of them and the strong will survive. The environment and working conditions are generally tough. The leadership in many dealerships don’t account for that.
Creating a nurturing and inspiring environment where sales teams are trained and motivated to develop best practices in their sales technique would do wonders for not only the dealers business but the income of the salesperson.
Salespeople can be developed to be successful, but that takes patience and a pay plan that allows for that time to become successful.
Salespeople can be developed to be successful, but that takes patience and a pay plan that allows for that time to become successful. It all comes down to the prevailing attitude towards treating sales team members as a commodity and not a valued asset. When that changes everything changes.
How might auto sales people use the online world stand out against competitors?
Sales people can build their own Facebook or Twitter Accounts. Grow their network of followers and referrals through the terrific customer experience they are providing.
Top performing salespeople see themselves as the CEO of their own company.
The success of their company is dependent on how they stand out in a positive light from anyone else who does what they do. Salespeople can easily build a “Unique Value Proposition” around themselves that will create buzz. The more they can build awareness around themselves as a private brand that others love to do business with the better their sales will be.
People hate to be “Sold” but they love to “Buy”
People hate to be “Sold” but they love to “Buy” however, they only love to buy from a friend. That’s where social media plays such a huge valuable role in building great relationships that are grounded in the trust built during the transaction.
With the transparency we have through social media it would be very easy to stand out with the right approach. Heck dealerships could create this process for everyone on their dealership.
Is there anything auto dealers should avoid when selling to their clients?
Car Salespeople have the least trusted reputation of any profession. That’s sad. It does not have to be that way and could be quickly overcome with alteration of business practices. Cars have been sold the same way for over 70 years. Many of today’s dealers are slow to make changes based on today’s consumer demands.
Consumers have a strong dislike for going into a dealership. They spend over 40 hours of their time conducting online research as part of their buying process.
All, in their words, to avoid being taken advantage of when they have to go go in to a dealers location to transact a purchase. Dealers today are driven to force the customer into their dealership due to current prevailing business practices.
Customers on the other hand want to avoid going in at all costs. We have conflicting motivations. The customer will always win in the long run.
The dealers who are forward thinking enough to change their sales process to one that puts more control into the consumer's hands. To allow the customer to get as deep into the process as they can before having to come in and sign paperwork and take delivery of their new vehicle will be huge winners. They will grab market share in a commodity business very quickly. Yet very few are doing so.
Thanks so much for your time! Where can readers get hold of you to find out more?
Visit my website Vsigmon.com to find out about business leadership development and business executive coaching. You can also buy my book which is coming out very soon; Leadership in the Dealership and will teach you How to transform your dealership into one that is relevant to today’s consumer.