Education

The last few days have been spent in the seminar room getting some top-notch training on how to provide better and better customer service from the car lot.  Randy Moeller of Fusion / AutoMotivators put on several days of really helpful work on the process of selecting a vehicle and making a purchase.  It helps us greatly to revisit the fundamentals regularly in order to make sure we're not falling into the trap of the professional:  taking for granted the things that are common to us, but new to every customer we interact with.

There were many things that I found helpful during the training, but one of the overarching themes was the importance for everyone of consistently following a straightforward, professional process.  Car buying (and selling) suffers when we wing it.  Decisions are poorer, interactions rely on chance and less understanding of customer needs results.  We can't achieve the kind of long-term relationships with people we want, and they can't have a serene and enjoyable process ending in a wise purchase without effective communication and trust.  A process-- clearly presented in black and white on paper, followed for every customer with only minor variations-- is an important step towards demonstrating industry professionalism and a commitment to respectful, upright dealing.