Pub. 8 2019-2020 Issue 1

SUMMER 2019 21 Some sales people think too much about their own agenda instead of the customer’s agenda. How do dealerships benefit from this course? I have been primarily in management most of my career. The retail business is fast-paced, and there are all kinds of distractions. Managers get so engaged in their many responsibilities that they’re not able to do any kind of concentrated training with employees. Even the managers who want to train find that they can’t. They get pulled in too many different directions because of their different responsibilities. Weputpeopleinaclassforfourdaysandgivethemagood foundation.Oncetheyhavethefoundation,theycanbuild on that foundation and continue to train themselves by going to YouTube, social media, and books. The tools are there to help people keep themselves sharp. There’s a lot to be said about self-motivation and having the initiative tobe thebest. But first, youneedabasicunderstandingof howtobemore successful byunderstandingwhat is really important in sales: giving people the kind of experience you would like to have. Once they understand that part of it, you can encourage them to work on their skills and improve, andalsoencourage themnot tobe complacent. Being complacent is when they get into trouble. Based on your background with the CSTA, what are your best three pieces of advice to someone enter- ing this industry as a career? 1. Become a student of the business. Understand that it is a career, not just a job. 2. Learn discipline. You need to discipline yourself and learn how to focus and use your time wisely. It’s not just the hours you work; it’s what you do with the hours. 3. Think of yourself as a business within a business. You are an employee but you have the opportunity to build you own business. That understanding changes how you approach things. It motivates you to continually learn and improve. What trends do you see happening in the auto industry in the next five years? How will industry training help? Industry training is going to continue to be helpful because the basics of the business are not going away. People still buy frompeople. Even thoughwe have social media and many different ways of communicating, peoplewill still drive farther for a great sales experience. I don’t see that model changing for the foreseeable future. Providing a great sales experience will continue to be important. Yes, you can buy a car online without stepping into a dealership and have it delivered to your home, but people like personal interactions. They want to see, smell, and sit in the car they’regoing tobuy. MICHAEL LEE Michael Lee, a former CSTA student, is now a finance director for Lexus San Diego. How did you get into the auto industry? I spent almost 25 years in the restaurant business, which is another customer service business. When I got out of the restaurant service business, however, I still wanted to be in an industry that focused on customer service. A friend suggested the auto industry to me because it had better hours, better pay, and I would still be able to interact with customers. The biggest impact that my background in the restaurant business had on me was the hospitality part. I would greet custom- ers warmly, and I treated people like they wanted to be treated. Some people told me I was a breath of fresh air because of the honesty and warmth. This business is not known for that. What do you like about it? What makes this a career choice? This is absolutely a career for me. Once I go into a field, I am committed to it. That’s just me. I like the hours and the interaction with customers, and the pay is good. Who suggested the CSTA to you? It was a requirement when I went to work at Hoehn Motors. Was there an “aha” moment about a topic, or learning something new, that you didn’t know before? I was new to the industry, so everything was new to me. Would you recommend the CSTA? Why? Absolutely. The class gives you a lot of insight and teaches a lot of fundamentals, such as terminology and learning basic one-on-one automobile sales. It gives you information that you wouldn’t get at a dealership right away, although youmight learn it over time. The class accelerates your training. How has this training impacted your career? It helpedme in thebeginningbecause it gave me a foundation to start from. I learned the basics: how to do an interview, walk through, test drive, and all that. It helpedme become a good sales person. Once I was working, I had a mentor who taught me, which is how I got into finance.