Professional Salespersons David P. Macias and Carlo Pacino are the first members of the sales team to complete the first round of training, assignments, and testing until they achieved 100% test scores in the new Automotive Career Training (ACT) program for dealers. By doing so, David and Carlo each earned 8 professional certifications in the disciplines of Legal Compliance, Professional Sales, Desking and Negotiations, F&I Product Sales and Administration, Special Finance, Leasing and Leadership from the College of Automotive Management.
What’s more impressive however are the “measurable results” they have achieved during the last six months since starting online Automotive Career Training (ACT) with the rest of their coworkers while continuing to work full time. Together, David and Carlo have added more than $150,000 of additional profits to the dealership above and beyond their established 90 day baseline production averages that were established prior to starting the training program. They are on pace to achieve over $300,000 of added profits this year (above their previous preCollege of Automotive Management production levels). Even though they have taken all their courses and passed their tests, they are still working to implement what they have learned to achieve the dealer’s objectives.
“I don’t think it is any coincidence that the two employees that have trained the most are making the biggest increases in production. The entire team at the dealership is making great strides in personal development and increasing their numbers. David and Carlo standout however as they are simply investing more time in the training and as a result are developing faster and acquiring more knowledge and skills faster than their peers. The training achievements and production achievements are all measurable and we are working with management to track everything daily”, reports Eric Andersen, President of the College of Automotive Management.
Seven months ago, with the concurrence of his management team and support from Executive Vice President George Saad, General Manager Mike Aziz decided to enroll the entire sales and management staff of Capistrano Ford in Automotive Career Training (ACT). Automotive Career Training (ACT) is a unique brand of skills training that is built upon the timeless principle of ‘loving other people unconditionally” and how to apply that principle to every phase of the sales, desking and F&I process at a dealership. The natural result is better sales processes, stronger personal relationships between customers and dealership staff, transparency in negotiations, a culture where ethics is elevated and that is legally compliant, higher closing ratios on existing traffic as customers find less reasons to shop, and higher profits per sale as customers are willing to pay more to be treated with love.
“The dealership has little natural walk in traffic due to our location. We began by focusing on our phone leads and seeking ways to increase the number of appointments we were setting. The solutions that would help us with our phone leads carried right on over to the rest of the sales process so we kept training and implementing what made sense. Our profits per sale increased. Our closing ratios on existing traffic increased. The number of referrals our salespeople are receiving is increasing. Our star rating on google pages is increasing. The number of customers our salespeople are willingly adding to the CRM for future intended follow up is increasing. The employees rate the training good and excellent (usually excellent!) and actually thank the Tuttle Click organization for providing this brand of career training. We have several initiatives left to achieve, but we are on the right track and everyone is on the same page as we continue to move forward”, reported Mike Aziz, General Manager of Tuttle Click Capistrano Ford.
“To measure the return on investment (ROI) we planned on making with the College we established a 90-day unit average and a 90-day gross profit per unit average for every sales department employee which set a baseline for every individual to work from. Sales Managers agreed to lead their teams in the training by training with them. Employees were encouraged to learn new skills in order to compete against their prior selves and improve their own performance. David Macias had a 28 car month just prior to starting the training and the highest 90 day baseline average of the team. Therefore, he had the highest hurdle to overcome. Despite the challenge of having the highest baseline average to work from, David has posted more than his fair share of the profit increases. Carlo achieved top salesperson and maintained that position 3 months in a row (showed great consistency) during the first six months of the program and has added more than $90,000 of additional profits to the team’s results. After our first six months with the College our profits are up significantly (the ROI with the College is higher than 27/1)” continued Mr. Aziz.
The new Automotive Career Training (ACT) program offered to dealerships requires all employees to train together online (management with salespeople) and helps galvanize a positive culture based on love, respect, ethics and compliance throughout the dealership after the management team agrees they are willing to allow the staff at the College to help them achieve storewide objectives that are in line with the objectives of the owner and general manager.
Objectives that the College can help a dealership achieve include: a culture of love and respect towards each other and towards customers, 100% documented and verified CSI before every customer leaves the dealership, full compliance with state and federal laws, target conversion rates for incoming phone or email leads, target reputation star ratings on third party review sites like Yelp or Google pages, increased profit per unit averages in the sales department or F&I department, and increased total unit sales or F&I product penetration objectives. Employee retention and the ability to attract top talent with the resources provided by the College are also natural results of letting the College work for the dealership to achieve these objectives.
Weekly or monthly accountability meetings are scheduled with a representative from the College to continually track progress towards the agreed upon objectives and every employee is provided with their own personal business coach to help set daily goals, establish positive daily routines, and provide encouragement towards the agreed upon objectives as needed.
Employees are also encouraged to achieve individual Master Level certifications by tracking their own numbers and significantly improving their own performance in the measurable areas of unit sales, profit per unit sold by providing a higher level of service to customers (earn a bigger tip!) and selling accessories with each vehicle, acquiring new referrals, selling F&I products, and achieving 100% CSI scores with all customers.
“David and Carlo are winners. They are leading their teams and have both achieved Triple Masters designations by achieving and then maintaining 3 measurable increases in production including unit sales, profits, and referrals. 60% of David’s business is now referral or repeat customers. Carlo is averaging more than 2 referrals a month now and more of his customers are going online and posting positive reviews about their experience at the dealership and naming Carlo as their friend in the car business. That’s going to be great for Carlo’s business plan to build his own business within the dealership’s business. The results from the other team members are similar and they are all making great strides in their careers. I’m especially proud of David and Carlo for their achievements and demonstrated leadership.” says Andersen
David and Carlo are excited about what they’ve learned through CAM ACT.
“The training course is excellent. This course has helped me find creative ways to create relationships in a different manner then we are all taught in the car business. I feel that this will help me in everyday life with customers and people that I meet.” commented David.
Carlo added “The training is Excellent. I implemented a ‘love your customer’ strategy even if they are unpleasant at first to win them over. All customers are potential clients of yours, even if they are not buying a car that day. Just get some contact info and follow up to see if you can make a car deal. Every day you should have a goal to try and make new friends and stay in contact.”
About The College of Automotive Management: Since 1992, The College of Automotive Management has trained 1000’s of automotive professionals who are now the leaders and influencers of the automotive industry. The College provides the industry’s foremost automotive career training solutions for all sales, F&I, desk, and sales management positions including special finance, internet, desking and loan underwriting training. For more information about the College, visit us online at https://collegeofautomotive.com.
