A Winning Training Program________________________________Vol. 1 | Issue 8 | October 2005
The success of your dealership lies in four areas. We call these the 4P’s-Products, People, Process & Promotions. These are the four building blocks of not only your business but every business in the world today.
You need to have a balance of two types of training, orientation and continuing education. Orientation is the initial training for a new hire or the training you receive for a new product or service. Continuing education is the ongoing training of staff and reinforcement training for products and services.
In order to have a comprehensive training plan you need to make sure that each 4P quadrant is addressed. Your dealership training program should be a mix of orientation and continuing education. Here is what a strong training program should include:
Products
You need to make sure that your product training includes more than just how to use the product. You need to understand how to set the product up properly and how to maintain it. You need to think beyond the initial training to the long term.
How are you going to train other employees to utilize the product? How will you utilize the different features in the product as your business grows? What sort of reinforcement training is necessary in order for you to get the most for your investment?
People
There are two immediate goals when training people. The first is to make sure that they have the right skills to accomplish their job. The second is to make them successful to the point that they stay with your organization. This means that any training you do has clear and measurable goals that your staff will understand and see value in.
Process
There are two types of process training. The first is training on how things get done, the sales, F&I and delivery process. The second type of training is more skill related.
You need soft skill training like the communication process, how to handle objections and rebuttals, and negotiations. This training is very important to the success of your employees and is just as important as product knowledge. There are real opportunities for growth in your employee’s earnings and your sales here!
Promotions
Too often sales people do not understand how a promotion is designed to work and why it was created. When a particular ad vehicle is already sold or a promotional prize is given away they don’t get the prospect interested in another unit.
You should take the time to review the weekly ad with your staff. Give them each a copy and send them on the lot to look at the vehicle. Provide them with alternatives to the unit in the ad. Make the most of your advertising by getting everyone involved in the process.
Training is the key to making the most of the money you are already spending, money on products and services to make your dealership more successful. Your people need to be in control of the interactions with clients at your dealership. They need to have the knowledge to overcome objections and provide the prospect with features and benefits that influence them to buy. Everyone at the dealership needs to know the processes and procedures that ensure a trouble free engagement with client. Finally, you need to make sure that you get the most from every advertising dollar you spend. Training can be as short as 15 minutes a day, and hour a week or 3 days a month. The important thing is to train often and completely on every aspect of your dealership and the 4P’s.
Dealer Synergy can assist your dealership in maximizing the 4 P’s. We have created a thorough training solution for all areas of your dealership. Internet sales, business development, sales, fixed ops, or special finance. For a FREE needs analysis and strategy session please email info@dealersynergy.com or call 856-264-0564 Or visit us at NADA booth 4342 for some free training.