WHY WOMEN ARE PLAYING AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN AUTO RETAILING, NOT ONLY AS CUSTOMERS BUT AS DEALERSHIP STAFF MEMBERS
“It’s a man’s world but it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman.” So wrote Betty Jean Newsome for James Brown’s famous chant, recorded back in 1966. Times have a changed a lot since then and so has the car business. No longer is it the era reflected in TV shows like Mad Men and yet it seems the industry is still struggling to attract and keep good, qualified women despite a growing number of female success stories.
Additionally, we hear that despite women exerting an ever greater influence on vehicle purchases, many stores are still struggling when it comes to successfully engaging and retaining female customers. Often, there can be a difference between perception and reality but it’s the ability to alter the first that often has the biggest impact on the latter.
At Canadian auto dealer, we’re naturally curious about any and all aspects related to the auto industry so we decided to investigate “the female factor” and see if these perceptions are in fact true and if so, what can be done to change them.
An open view
Laura Moon, founder of wholesale auto exchange network Stock Auto (stockauto.ca) and a veteran in the auto retail business, got her start selling cars at an Acura Dealership in Downtown Toronto back in 1993. She always liked the idea of connecting with people and having something to sell. It might not have seemed like a logical choice for most young women at the time but Moon is the first to admit that since getting into the car business, she’s never looked back.
“I’m not really afraid of anything,” she says. “I did have a few tricks played on me in the beginning but the guys thought I was a good sport.” Moon refers to one incident where a sales manager asked her to go downstairs and explain to a customer they needed to take a car that was missing a door and that the dealership would have the door delivered to their house the following week. “When I said I would, he pulled me aside and said “kid, you’re going to be just fine in this business.”
Sonia Drolet, President at Vaudreuil Hyundai
Sonia Drolet, President at Vaudreuil Hyundai in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., says she’s not what you’d call a typical “car girl.” I didn’t know the first thing about the car business,” she says, “but I did know that human resources and customer service were two essential elements for achieving growth in any business.” Drolet actually looked at the food and restaurant industries before choosing to make her career in the car business. Taking a bit of a gamble, she left her job after 15 years and enrolled at Automotive Training Centre Quebec. Her trainer, Steve Michel, ignited her passion for the business and off she went. She started selling cars and now runs the very same dealership where it all began.
Laura Moon, who besides working the sales floor, has also been a sales manager, a service advisor, collision centre manager and general sales manager, says that often, it can be fear that gets in the way of realizing your full potential. “One thing I learned, because I was in the minority, was to be vocal. I would go to dealer group meetings and often I’d be one of perhaps two women in the room. I felt it was very important to voice my opinion from a female perspective on issues affecting the business, whether it was processes being implemented, training or changes in the dealership environment.”
Greater flexibility
Moon says that in the last two decades she’s seen a significant shift in the business. There are more women who want to do it as a career and having trained others, Moon says the more progressive dealers are starting to understand that. She says that often, a big barrier for many women concerns the hours (especially on the sales side) and also the pay structure which tends to be heavily weighted towards commission.
“I think we really need to understand that it’s about the quality of time versus the quantity of time served.” She says that an emphasis on more flexible working hours and different types of pay structure, with salaries or bonuses or a combination, are just some of the factors that might sway people to take a look at automotive retail as a career opportunity. Moon says women are often drawn to careers such as real estate, simply because the flexible hours gives many a chance to spend quality time with their families while still having the potential to earn a good living.
Yet, she says, the car business offers opportunities that real estate in most cases, doesn’t. “In our industry you can sell 20 vehicles over the course of a lifetime, not only to just one family but to their parents, their children, their aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and work associates. You’ll develop a far stronger relationship with that family and their network than you ever likely would selling them a house.”
Courtesy dealer principal Stacey Polyschuk
Skill development
Other factors that make the auto retail business stand apart from many other careers, relate to the sheer variety of skills that can be developed, given that dealership operations are by their nature complex affairs.
Stacey Polyschuk, dealer principal at Courtesy Chevrolet, in Etobicoke, Ont., says she became acutely aware of that having found herself thrust into the driver’s chair during the recession of 2008-09.
She says the challenges the business faced back then “made me a better dealer,” and allowed her to further enhance the skills she’d already developed since graduating from Georgian College and working full time in auto retailing.
Polyschuk says she was blessed with having a wonderful mentor in her father Don but also an incredibly dedicated team at the dealership. “We all just stuck together, knuckled down and pushed forward. We’re here today because of it.”
Courtesy Chevrolet has a relatively high percentage of female staff members compared to some dealerships, though Polyschuk says this is down to who is simply most qualified for the job. An added benefit is that the store has been very effective in strengthening existing customer relationships and fostering new ones — both male and female. It’s also been reflected in a spike in CSI and online reviews on sites like DealerRater.
“We believe our staff are very well equipped to ensure we deliver the same service, regardless of gender,” says Diane Parsons, Courtesy’s general sales manager.
Parsons, who’s been in the industry since 1985, says she’s seen a growing trend of women not only influencing vehicle purchases but making them on their own. “They might do the whole process by themselves or bring a friend into the store as support but they are empowering themselves to do it.”
Courtesy GSM Diane Parsons
Matching personalities
Parsons says it’s important for dealers to really understand the needs of their customers, whether female or male and be able to meet them effectively. She says taking a long term view, engaging with customers and encouraging them to share their experiences is ultimately, a win-win for everyone. She says an effective approach is to match personalities between staff and the dealership’s customers, whether male or female. “We all have different personalities and ways in which we conduct business,” she says “and so do our customers. Some are more rigid, some are more relaxed.” She says finding that common ground often proves hugely beneficial and helps deliver that exceptional experience.
Sonia Drolet says that while men still tend to be more interested in cars than women and many dealerships are still heavily biased towards male staff members, things are changing. She says that as more women make their own decisions regarding vehicle purchasing and servicing, more of them are also looking for a dealership that employs female staff to better help them with their needs.
Diane Parsons notes that as more women enter the business, the notion of auto retailing being essentially “male dominated” really doesn’t ring true any more. “When I look around and I see the number of successful people, both male or female, it really isn’t a gender based business.”
Connecting through clinics
Courtesy Chevrolet has also found a successful way to interact and build trust with consumers is via workshops. Stacey Polyschuk, says that for female customers, the dealership is seeing a lot of success with its Women at the Wheel clinics.
“We’ve done this in the past with previous brands but we’ve started up again this year. It’s a great evening. There’s a lot to take in when you’ve purchased a new car or truck so this gives us the chance to show our female customers what features it has, learn about maintenance and other considerations. but in a comfortable, fun setting. It’s a great way to engage people.”
SERVICE BENEFITS Courtesy Chevrolet service advisor Janice Morgadinho While buying the vehicle begins the customer relationship, we all know that service retention is the part that strengthens it. Traditionally, the viewpoint has always been that many dealerships don’t do a particular good job when it comes to female customers on the fixed ops side. And that’s an important consideration. According to Samantha Cunningham, Vice-President of Account Services at Potratz, 9 out of 10 single women are responsible for their own vehicle maintenance, so it’s important for dealers to really understand how to effectively communicate with their female service customers.One approach has been to employ more female service advisors to improve rapport and foster a sense of trust. There are also an increasing number of women who enjoy working on the fixed ops side. Janice Morgadinho, a service advisor at Courtesy Chevrolet says it is really important to make the customer feel at ease. “Some may have a good deal of mechanical knowledge, some may not but it’s important that you make them feel comfortable. If you do your best to make the customer feel welcome with both you and your establishment, then no matter their gender, you are going to have that customer for a long time.” |
