The automotive industry has itself to thank for making it this far this year. With the ability to think fast on your feet and bring a full, digital retail experience to your customers—in record time—your dealership is surviving a “banner” year. Now, as the automotive industry reports modest, but not great, improvement in July, you may be wondering when or if you and your team can stop and catch your breath. It turns out that a clear return to “normal” is probably a long way off. With 2020 bringing low inventory to dealers and high unemployment across the nation, all of the digital adaptations your dealership made this summer are likely here to stay. The question, now, is whether or not you have the right team ready to manage your customer expectations.
Changing Buyer Habits Require a Different Sales Approach
The tide may be turning against the pandemic in our country, yet shoppers are still less likely to visit your dealership. As late as July 2020, 69% of those surveyed in a COVID-19 Consumer & Dealer Sentiment survey were still extremely concerned about in-person shopping at dealerships. And those numbers are actually up from earlier this year! The shifting buying habits of consumers has always impacted the way your sales team interacts with buyers. But now, these habits are impacting how you manage, hire, and train your sales team.
Rehire, Reboard, Rethink Your Dealership Staffing Strategy
At the start of the economic shutdown many dealers were forced to make unfortunate cutbacks, furlough workers, and reduce their sales staff. But, that doesn’t mean there’s less work to do. With a reimagined sales model, revamped digital marketing strategy, and an influx of service appointments, your dealership may be facing a backlog of opportunity. Before you bring everyone back to their old stations, however, consider the opportunity you have to rethink the structure of your sales team. Millennials, which represent about 50% of the buying force in the U.S., want a personalized, best-in-class, digital shopping experience without the traditional, clunky hand-offs that have plagued the auto buying experience of the past. Researchers were predicting that a digital, personalized operating sales model would revolutionize the automotive industry just over a year ago. Is this your chance to hire a team of employees at your dealership that caters to a digital audience?
Hiring for New Tech Skills Presents Challenges and Opportunities
With a new digital retailing sales model, your dealership looks very different than this time last year. Many service departments are offering Service Pick Up and Delivery (SPUD) and Touchless Service Centers. According to a 2020 Cox Automotive COVID-19 Consumer & Dealer Impact Study, 72% of buyers surveyed would choose one dealer over another based on the availability of these options. But, this means you have to find new ways to entice smart, tech-savvy employees to consider a career within your dealership. Attracting and retaining job candidates with this background is going to take a new approach. Hireology, a recruitment CRM platform empowers multi-location, decentralized enterprises and independently owned businesses to build their best teams with confidence. You can schedule a demo here to see what Hireology can do for your organization.
YOUR DEALERSHIP HAS MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS AND OVERCOME GREAT ODDS THIS YEAR. NOW, TAKE THE NEXT STEP AND BUILD A WINNING TEAM WITH TIPS FROM THIS GUIDE CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HIREOLOGY, GETTING BACK TO BASICS AT YOUR DEALERSHIP: BEST PRACTICES TO STAFF YOUR TEAM FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS.
