Why car dealers need a versatile staff to meet the demands of modern retailing – David Kain

Many car dealers are doing more with fewer people in today’s market. This is leading to day-to-day roles in the dealership combining like never before. Today on CBT News, guest David Kain discusses new efficiencies for car dealers and the importance of versatility. Kain is the President of Kain Automotive and host of the CBT original show Kain & Co. 

Dealership employees are now being asked to do more than their traditional responsibilities. In 2020, car dealers let go of several team members because of the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. However, the industry as a whole was able to recover quickly, and many car dealers experienced record-breaking profits. Car dealers are now taking elements of 2020 and piecing them into current strategies.

One of the adopted strategies from last year was digital retailing. Kain says that car dealers and salespeople must be properly acquainted with the online car-buying experience. Studies have shown that less than 5% of customers come into the dealership without any prior online research. 

Kain says he and his team have seen more car dealers taking their salespeople on “digital field trips”. These are educational sessions in which salespeople gain a better understanding of buyer behavior on digital platforms. In the past customers have been willing to fill out online forms. However, modern buyers are more aware of soliciting and choose not to complete the online forms. Instead, customers collect data online that they can leverage at the dealership to lower the price of vehicles or negotiate the trade-in value of their vehicles. 

To meet the demands of customers who have conducted online research, Kain says that salespeople must educate themselves on the same data customers collect. Then they are able to offer the next steps in the process once the customer walks into the dealership. 

Kain concludes the conversation by talking about the importance of quality relationships. When customers buy a vehicle, they often remember the experience they had with the salesperson, regardless if it was a good or bad experience. Customers are less likely to feel connected to a specific dealership if the salesperson they trust is no longer employed by the dealership. Car dealers must be willing to improve employee retention if they want to see improvements in customer retention.

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