Career Spotlight | 5 questions to Fred Wang

Fred Wang | Dealer Operation Manager, Nissan

1)??How did you find your way to where you are today? Share a little about your professional journey.

?At first, the sporting industry was my ultimate career goal as I am very passionate about sports. Instead Nissan came into my life in 1991 and I’ve never looked back. My passion will always be sports but Nissan has opened my eyes to the automotive industry. My pre-Nissan experience was in sales and that easily transitioned my career to Nissan’s customer service dept. I have worked in many departments during my tenure at Nissan and Infiniti. I have been a part of many teams such as Customer Service, ASP, NCF, Warranty, F1 (Fix right first time), then worked as a Field Operations Manager, Dealer Operations Manager, Fleet Manager and back to Dealer Operations Manager in that order. My career at Nissan has taken me across Canada and I’ve been very fortunate to work in BC (Infiniti DOM), Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba (Fleet), Ontario (DOM and FOM), Quebec (DOM and Fleet) and the Martimes (FOM and Fleet).

This is my second tour in the field, and I like to say I am back where I belong because I truly love this job. Out of all the departments, the field is a great fit for me and where I am happiest for 3 main reasons. First, I enjoy working with the dealerships, coming up with strategies and being able to make a positive impact on their business. I thrive in making them more successful and in doing so making Nissan Canada a successful brand. Secondly, I wanted to be a pillar of stability and resource for the region. The field team is a great training ground and often sees new faces so I am more than happy to share my knowledge and mentor new coworkers. I listen to their challenges and together find solutions. I enjoy helping them navigate any knowledge gaps they may be encountering and connecting them to the right people, departments, or resources. Lastly, many people consider dealers as our partners, which they are, but I like to think of them as our customers. Dealers appreciate my support and commitment to them and therefore building a strong manufacturer/dealer relationship.

Out of the 31 years at Nissan, I have been on the road for approximately 23 years, years of shaking hands and making connections and talking about Nissan to the community. ?

?2)??What would your advice be to someone who wants to develop more relationships and be a driving force for Nissan?

?My advice would apply to relationships both internally and externally. Most of my career involves building relationships and it has been successful because I focus on listening, to both coworkers and dealers. I believe no matter what level of experience you have or someone else has you can always learn something new about the business. Another key to my success has been working as a team and being an empathetic leader towards not only head office staff but also my dealers and ultimately the final customers. Those who know me I am a very open and friendly individual, with a good sense of humor, which sometimes is reserved for my close group unless you make jokes about my HABS! This makes me easy to talk to and helps create that open an honest dialogue needed to strengthen relationships.

Lastly being available when someone is looking for help or guidance. I always make myself available when a dealer is calling, one of my field team members or another employee from the company needs my help or advice. Being available and willing to help others solve problems really helps solidify your brand and network. I believe I have built my reputation in the company based off all these factors.

3)??You are part of a very dynamic team, what would help new field staff get started in their role? First day in, what would you tell them? Any advice for employees interested in the field?

?Once you get to the field, welcome to the best job in the company! I can tell you there are no other options than to jump right in and lean heavily on your coworkers and not be afraid to ask questions. The best way to learn is to trust the experience of others, to remember that every dealership is different so you can learn from others, take their advice and then make the best judgment for each of your dealers.

?I can’t stress this enough but you need to prioritize your tasks and dealership goals. There are so many priorities for the field staff that you need to prioritize what you will focus on first. Remember that no dealership is perfect and it may be easy to tell dealers that they have to fix 10 items, but you will need to pick and chose the most impactful or more attainable goals for the dealership to work on and then help them get there. Once you have a few wins under your belt with a dealer, you will gain their trust and respect. This will build and strengthen your relationship and show the dealer that you are in it for their successes and not your just own. This is where your role really reaps all the benefits.

?Some new field staff mentioned they felt a little intimidating speaking to Principal Owners or ?General Managers and other very experienced individuals who seemed to have more experience in the business. To this, I say trust your training, trust your instincts that brought you to the field in the first place and again trust your team. Don’t be afraid to talk to other field staff, most have been in your shoes or had similar situations so talking openly and honestly can help not only increase your confidence but also set you up for success with next steps

?Finally, you have to be very passionate with your ideas and goals so that the dealership buys into your plan. This is sales 101. When you work together with dealerships and treat it as a partnership and are passionate about what you are doing, the changes and ideas will flow easily and the challenges will resolve collaboratively. Bottom line is you are a sales person and are selling your ideas and Nissans ideas for the benefit of the dealership. Their success is your success and that is ultimately Nissan’s success.

?4)??How do you approach new opportunities? How do you balance what is considered in your lane vs making a positive impact where you see the chance to do so?

?Key to myself having a long career at Nissan has certainly been the flexibility. I had the flexibility of being able to choose where I want to go. Then I had the support of the company as well as feedback of where they saw me going. I put a lot of trust in my managers in guiding me (through my CDP) by understanding what I wanted as my next steps. They listened, and helped set me up for success.

?When I was looking for new opportunities, I made sure I showed interest in other departments, this meant spending time learning, shadowing, asking questions, networking, interacting through processes and asking more questions! Joining committees also helped promote myself internally, and build those important connections and network with the management team and my peers. The most important aspect of this is putting yourself out there and not being afraid to try.

?Bottom line, your job description is only a guideline. You can take that and build it into something more! Gather the knowledge you’ve learned from other departments and other experiences and put it into play in your other roles as they are all linked together – especially in this business. Developing transferable skills is critical. I have seen field staff getting unique dealer feedback after transferring from CMM for example. They were able to review their previous tasks like creating the VPOGs from the dealers’ perspective, now incorporating new knowledge and feedback from the field and improving processes for everyone involved. Continue building your knowledge base and learning to apply that new knowledge in different and unique ways in every role you have.

?Something I noticed over the years is that I worked best with departments who were aligned on our common vision because we are all chasing the same goal (Nissan Way). Any department or individuals who sometimes lost sight of the larger picture can create roadblocks. Have those conversations if you feel one person or department or dealer is not engaged in the process. Remember your passion will have an impact on them so sometimes reminding others of the shared vision is beneficial for all. One more example I will share is getting information that is accurate and timely, from other departments, has helped me repeatedly service our customers and dealers. Remembering that your work can have a huge impact on someone else even if you think the task is small. The power comes from inside.

?5)??What is the Nissan Way principle that speaks to you the most and which you keep top of mind every day?

?Starting in sales and customer service, I can truly say that I always think about the customer. Doing what is right for the customer and making sure they are happy, not to mention fix right the first time but also that we can exceed their expectations gives me the most pride at work.

?Customer satisfaction always starts from within from our colleagues, coworkers and other departments and then dealers, in that order. Having great internal processes and being satisfied with your work then translates to the customers. If you take care of people internally they will be able to take care of dealers who will in turn be able to take care of the customers. This effort take everyone and develops from inside the company and essentially helps grow overall opinion and customers’ satisfaction in Nissan as a brand.

?In order to achieve that I have never said no to those who asked me for help because I know that any help I give no matter how small, helps internally, then helps with sales and ultimately benefits customer satisfaction!