A Gentleman's Viewpoint - Why every dealership should focus more on attracting women

As much as I love the car business I have to admit it would probably be much more enjoyable if more women were involved at all levels.  As a dealer’s kid who was raised around a dealership I noticed that women customers seemed more comfortable during their visits when the saw women working in each department than when they came in and got ogled by the sales or service staff.

When visiting a retail business I think it is uncomfortable when one sex dominates the staff and you happen to be the opposite sex.  Think about a man visiting a women’s clothing store by himself and how out of place he appears perusing the inventory.  From my own experience, I tend to quickly browse and leave when I feel out of place.  I would guess that there are retail statistics that support the fact that men will buy more at a women’s clothing store when they are accompanied by a woman than they will when they are alone. It is all about comfort and when people feel secure they tend to be more trusting and open minded. 

If this assumption is correct and women would be more inclined to purchase a vehicle if they felt more comfortable and secure in a dealership how can you go about improving the experience.  Obviously hiring more women to work in the dealership is necessary but may not be easy to enact right off the bat.  I’ll talk about some approaches to hiring in a moment but I would suggest that a good first step would be in teaching your male staff to be “gentlemen” to both men and women.  Being a gentleman is perhaps not in sync with today’s carefree environment in the workplace but it is still respected by both genders.  Behaving like a gentleman is not about how one dresses it is as simple as being polite and respectful.  Both male and female customers appreciate these traits and yet you seldom see them expressed in dealerships today. 

Dealerships are typically friendly but not always polite and respectful.  I still like the phrase used by the Ritz Carlton “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen."  However politically incorrect it may sound it is still music to a great deal of customer’s ears.  If the actions are sincere and genuine then they are greatly appreciated. 

The big snafu’s are easy to cure such as statements made by salespeople – “is your husband going to be involved?” the more difficult changes are to the subtle items such as eye contact and body language.  This will take involvement and oversight by managers as they walk around and observe their employees in action. 

Recruiting women to work in your dealership should be a short-term ambition and a long-term commitment.  You should be ambitious to recruit using job fairs and orientation days that allow you to be in the consideration pool for women candidates.  During recruitment I often hear that women candidates are warned that the dealership is a male dominated environment and they should be prepared to deal with some salty language and locker room behavior.  An about face would be to warn your staff that the old man’s world environment will not be tolerated in order to make your dealership more conducive to hiring women and enjoying the benefits of female buyers.  It’s a long-term commitment and in many cases will take a great deal of time to cause change that is durable over the long haul but the return is well worth it. 

I have seen the positive effects of this long-term commitment in many dealerships and one in particular is a used vehicle dealership that is one of the largest volume used vehicle operations in Colorado.  This dealership has 22 people on their sales team of which 17 are women.  The old adage that men will feel more comfortable only buying from men is not the case at this operation where women work the deals from start to finish.  Their long-term commitment to creating an environment that is friendly to men and women has paid off in consistently high sales and profits.  You can enjoy the same results but it will take the commitment from the top of the house.


Repectfully submitted,

David Kain
President
KainAutomotive.com
david@kainautomotive.com
1-866-546-3438
www.kainautomotive.com

KainAutomotive.com is an automotive training and consulting firm that specializes in Internet marketing and sales training. 

Comments

[no1fleetguy]

Early on in my sales career (my gosh, about 19 years ago now!) I attended a seminar/forum on selling to women in the retail automobile business. Part of this workshop involved watching a female hosted survey group that had 25 women in it that had recntly purchased a new vehicle. Most of it was what I expected until almost at the end a woman who was very harsh and almost rude stood up and loudly pronounced that the thing she hated most about buying a car was that 'every sales person' she encountered had hit on her. In my youth I must admit that I quietly laughed to myself and thought, "who would possibly hit on this woman?" Later that night my wife was the one that made it clear to me that the truth is very often less important than the perception. I have carried that with me always when working with women buyers, I do my very best to show all the respect, answer all the questions and spend all the time needed. In the last few years especially, its been my female clientle that has provided me with the most referal business and been the greatest part on my success!

[Gayle Clark]

Dear David,

After reading your article, I must say it really touched my heart. I applaud you and appreciate your position. You are a true gentleman, and a smart businessman.

Honestly, it has always seem to me, as if so many car salespeople are just focused on the commission [the cha-ching factor] rather than the customer [male or female]. You can feel it in the air when you enter into most dealerships.

We all understand the inner workings of this industry, and I am sure we all agree, the money is important too - we all have bills to pay, but the profit can not be more important to you than the person your selling a car too.

Being friendly, and a good listener, considerate, sincere, patient and understanding, treating people with kindness, and respect...going back to the basic's - being human and treating people like you want to be treated, male or female - no matter what your selling - you will sell even more.

You can be a good sales person, or a great one. It's not a male "vs" female issue. It's just about being real and having the ability to put yourself in another persons shoes.

No matter what your title may be...remain human.

Gayle Clark

[Candie]

Hello David-

My name is Candie White- I have my book - The Green Pea - posted on AskPatty.com and often do guest articles....

I read yours today and wanted to thank you for your thoughtful and understanding comments about women in the auto industry.

I wrote my book, which is a fictional and funny/philosophical story in which God ( aka Tom- an out of work CEO ) gets a job as a car salesman- to shed new light on the sales industry from a general perspective- not just a female pov. I always try to be supportive of men as well because selling cars can be brutal for men as well- and my ten years of sales and sales mgmt experience has shown me that men want some female energy just as well as women.

It's just nice to hear someone else, especially a man, state the obvious.

So, thank you... for your support and the article.

Best Wishes

Candie