Core Values Have to Be More Than Just Words

For some people core values don't have much meaning. There are many dealerships who don't have them at all. Guess what? Regardless if you document or display them around your store... make no mistake... you have them. Defining your core values might be one of the most important things you can do for your business because they explain to your employees and customers why you exist.

Core values drive your dealership’s culture and ultimately, how you do business. When they are more than just words... your team, stores... your entire brand, lives and breathes them and it becomes evident in your company’s interactions with customers. They help you make decisions with hiring, recognizing, rewarding, celebrating, and occasionally moving on from people based on whether they live your core values or not.

Defining your business’s core values is vital for its growth, expansion and success. Your company’s shape, vision and culture are all contingent upon rock-solid values, as is its overall architecture.

“People don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek

This is not something you just sit down in a meeting one day and say... "What do we want our core values to be?" It's not what you want them to be... your core values already exist. You just have to define them. Your core values are who you are as an organization when you are at your best.

When establishing core values, I wouldn't recommend doing it by committee... however, you don't want to do it in a vacuum either. Involve key employees... the type of employees that if you could multiply them by ten... you could accomplish anything.

Any easy way to begin the process is to ask questions...

What does your dealership stand for?

What’s important? Or, as Simon Sinek said, “what do you believe?”

For example, innovation is a core value for J&L Marketing. We believe that every client deserves to work with a marketing vendor that continuously looks for advanced and groundbreaking strategies.

We are driven to discover and develop ideas to create radical new value. This has lead J&L to some of the most cutting edge, forward thinking marketing solutions in the automotive industry such as Virtual Sales Events. For most car buyers, the dealership has moved online. By reimagining traditional marketing techniques to better align with how car buyers shop for cars, dealers can now influence consumers BEFORE they sell themselves online.

The belief as a marketing agency in how dealers need to be able to differentiate themselves with unique offers and better customer experiences is a huge driver to J&L's success.

From a marketing and business perspective, your core values can help differentiate you and attract people to your dealership.

What do your employees value most?

Your most valuable employees don’t just want to come to work everyday – they want to work at a place that aligns with their values. They want to work at a place that gives them a purpose. When you do this, you attract better people and the good people stay longer.

Ask your employees about their personal values and see if there are any common themes.

J&L's core value of Honesty and Integrity is fueled heavily by what our employees value. We do the right thing because it is who we are as individuals and as company.

What are you most proud of?

One of the ways you can help define your core values is by looking at things you are most proud of.

What do you want to focus on? What are the challenges or concerns that keep your customers up at night? How can your dealership address them? Answering these questions can help you define why you exist and what you want to be known for as a company.

For instance, J&L exists to Deliver Results for clients. We take great pride in honoring commitments and exceeding expectations. There is no better example of the J&L team delivering results more than the Digital Defend and Attack Strategy. If you ask most dealers what their honest opinion about digital marketing is... most will say feel they have to do it but they are not convinced it moves the needle in a significant way, or that they don't get the support they deserve or that their campaigns are not optimized on a regular basis.

The J&L team takes delivering results seriously. These are not just words to them. They push back when they feel a suggestion may not produce a better result. They take pride in providing incredible support and campaign management. Every employee at the agency always thinks "how will this impact results?" ... and it’s evident through the testimonials and reviews. Almost every client talks about how great the results and service are, and how important it was to know they could count on the support.

What are your dealership's underlying philosophies?

Your dealership’s underlying philosophies define your motivational “fuel source”. At the end of the day, much of your expanding store's goodwill stems from a strong dedication to outstanding customer service and a great customer shopping experience.

At J&L, the core value of Passion is our motivational fuel source. We exhibit a strong dedication to, and enthusiasm for our work, company and customers.

The core value of Can Do Attitude allows us to embrace challenges with enthusiasm and a "yes" mentality. This exists with teams of people who are problem solvers and not afraid to fail. They encourage each other. They are helpful, proactive and we have fun!

Core values are virtues - they can't be taught!

They are either a part of someone or they are not. I go to work each day knowing I am lucky to be surrounded by people who have these virtues.

This isn’t an easy process, but it’s a highly valuable one that can make a huge impact on your dealership. 

Does your dealership or organization have core values? What are other examples of core values you would add here? Don't be shy... let me know what you think.

If you would like to see an example of how we communicated or introduced J&L's core values to our employees you can watch the video here.

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Scott Joseph is an automotive dealer and CEO of J&L Marketing. With nearly 3 decades of automotive sales, marketing and leadership experience, he helps automotive clients grow sales with his engineered proven marketing process.