Be the Solution your customer needs.

For me, I have always been a problem solver. I find I can not help myself when someone says "I need help" or "I don't understand". I want to help them find resolution, and I want to help them find understanding.

Prior to jumping into the eCommerce side of Dealership Operations I spent 18 years in the front lines. A year into the business I was offered a Sales Manager position and have since served in every area of Variable operations. At the time I made the switch I was working to grow the Commercial side of our business. It had never really been a priority to the Store but it did give us a few extra units, I had zero experience in this other than sales but I saw it as a way to really increase our new car business and overall gross. I had spent some time in the field talking to Business owners and Government agencies and learned what they wanted was to simplify the overall transaction. I met with a County Fleet Manager and just spent some time building rapport. I asked him about his business, what it needed and asked how I can help. It took three meetings, mostly casual, before he gave me some real insight.

He told me when he purchased vehicles it was a huge time investment. He had to plan what he needed, get the truck and then spend days running around to pick up all of the pieces like a deranged scavenger hunt. He said he wished that someone could just deliver a vehicle that was work-ready with D.O.T. inspections complete, Vinyl lettering or wraps installed, tool boxes or bins installed and everything set-up so they could toss the keys to a driver and send them out to work. I told him I could.

This instantly changed my approach. The "Why Buys" wrote itself. I did not have to struggle any longer on Dealer differentials because he told me what we needed to be in order to appeal to him. I went back to the office and created a one-pager to leave that centered around the message "We Work For You". I illustrated the options they could select and communicated that we would do the running around at no cost to the Business.

What resulted was businesses that I had not reached out to, were now calling me to do business. I also found that while a customer would scrutinize the cost of a vehicle they would not question the cost of the up-fits. They would often speak to me more honestly about where they were at in their overall budget and I partnered with them to find the best overall solution. Truly it was beneficial for both Businesses. They saw the value in my calls so they answered the phone. They saw the value in me so they called me when there was a concern or need for another vehicle. When they needed service on their truck, I made sure they had a loaner truck waiting on their arrival, checked the vehicle in for them so all they had to do was change keys and be back on the road. My local customers knew they could just call me and I would drive out to their business and trade keys and would be back when the work was done. (It gave me more opportunities to get to know them)

I encourage you in your business to be a solution to a problem your customer is facing.