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Technology Specialist: Your Next Hire

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#11
We are a smaller store and I don't have room for full time "tech specialist", so, we expect all our sales consultants to be up to date product specialist. Easier said than done at times. But this year I am pushing for each of them to become certified tech experts with the GM training, not just 1 person that covers the requirement for the entire sales department.

Manufactures could be a little ahead of themselves with technology that the average driver has to interact with, in my opinion. Ford has taken heat over the Ford Sync system. We see some of this with the Cadillac CUE system. This is a great system, but went from simple navigation, buttons, dials, etc. to a touch screen and panel, and an incredible amount of options.

The Chevrolet MyLink system is very cool as well, connecting you with everything. But both systems are a lot to learn for the average driver. Not everyone is tech savy, not everyone wants to be. More and more I think OEM's have take a few leaps forward in positive progression of technology, and rightfully so to stay ahead of each other. But I don't think the average consumer is as far ahead as we all may think in wanting this in their car.

Feb 9th I am traveling to Las Vegas to go to the Corvette Dealer Academy, can't wait to drive and learn more about the new C7. It is very tech advanced and our one C7 customer so far is overwhelmed, and this is his 8th or 9th vette.
 
#14
JessicaRuth said:
I'm still not sold that you can successfully sell a car without knowing all about it - including the technology inside. I'm not saying feed me a line of BS so I get all excited about it, but hearing I need to wait until someone else can help me doesn't sound appealing.
Click to expand...

I don't always buy things after I know everything about them, as a matter of fact that is his I got married!
 
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#15
salespeople really need to master their product. there is a lot of learned helplessness at dealerships. I was a master of tech systems and gave the customer the option to go over navi in detail or come back, since the delivery process on a lux vehicle was already well over an hour. we also worked as a team when someone who came in with a tech issue
 
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#16
Mixed feelings on this. A Sales Consultant should know all of the technology, but there is so much to it these days, it takes a big demand on time spent with the customer during the delivery. I almost see a hybrid approach, where a Sales Consultant goes through the basics of the system, then offers the customer the opportunity at that time, or to make a future appointment, to sit down with the technology specialist to dig deeper into the system and what it can do. The customer then has the power during the delivery. Once they have the keys we are working on their time now. The leave with the basics of the system from the consultant. At that point, some of the tech customers will learn on their own. Some will be happy with the basics, and the others have an opportunity to sit with the tech specialist to learn more about the system......kind of a menu choice for the customer. In delivering the MyFord Touch system, sometimes you can see a customers eyes glaze over 20-minutes into the system.....they have just been through finance, made a big committment, finally received their keys, and you can see the 'fog' in their eyes. Having a tech specialist is great. If the customer comes back with an issue, you can get them with the specialist, and your are still able to work you current deals while the specialist takes care of the customers issue. I really see some value of this. On a side note, someone mentioned how you can sell a car without knowing some of the features. One of the best consultants I worked with in my 20-years knew nothing about the cars he sold...was just crazy....but he built a relationship with the people at his desk, and they liked him so much, selling th ecar to them was easy. This guy would be out fishing the next day with a customer that walked in the door that day. Do not undervalue the relationship aspect in the selling process.....sometimes coming off as a know-it-all can push people away :)
 
#17
Just yesterday my daughter told me that she wants to go from her SUV into a sedan. I hooked her up with one of my friends that sells the car she wants. She specifically stated that she doesn't want the Navigation system, any more. "Those things are too complicated and I prefer to use my iphone".

If the manufacturers really wanted to provide the best for their customers, they would allow the phone manufacturers to provide a standard system that would plug into a docking station in the dash. It could be the size of an ipad mini. The car manufacturers are not going to do this because it is a huge profit center for them. They will continue to provide an inferior product that is too complicated for most people.

I watched a friend deliver a new Lexus. The customer was pretty computer savvy and interested in the technology. It took my friend, who is a technology specialist, over an hour to set this up. This is an hour on top of the rest of the delivery.
 
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#18
When I met @Cryderja (Jeff Cryder) about 3 years ago, he had already build a great Tech Team at Lebanon Ford. So great in fact, Ford wanted to use some of their materials. Even with the growth of technology in cars and our daily lives, this seems to be a point dealers are missing.
We used to host an owners clinic every quarter. We would usually invite people that had owned their car for more than 30 days to the class. This would allow people enough time to become familiar with the vehicle and implement what they remembered from delivery and have specific questions to bring to the class where we could show the group or the individual in their own vehicle. Given how much there is to learn, especially for those who haven't bought a newer car in a number of years, there is no way they could learn it all at delivery and remember it.
How could a dealership offer continuing education to customers? Some people either feel like a pain and don't ask, others may get mad at the dealer as they don't understand the car. I think integrating education about the car with sold prospect follow-up is a part of reputation management and customer service.
 
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#20
Doug, that's why we did the class on a typically slow night. The sales people that did the class were able to use it to gain referrals and build relationships during a time they would otherwise be playing games on their phone. It was like pulling nails to get salesman to do the class so we went to a bonus program and when that lost traction, we had to end the classes. Sad but true.
 
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