CONTINUING EDUCATION IS A LIFE-LONG PROCESS — AND YOU NEED IT TO STAY COMPETITIVE
In Stephen Covey’s book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” habit number seven is “Sharpen the Saw.” “Sharpening the Saw” is the analogy of keeping the mind, body, soul, and heart in balance—and keeping the mind sharp!
Not to get all philosophical on you, but over the years I’ve come to realize that when one or more of these faculties gets ignored, you risk losing your competitive edge.
This is especially important in that you need to pay attention to trends and changes in the marketplace or risk falling victim to your “sharper” competitors who methodically eat away at your market share.
In the last five years, the industry has changed more dramatically than ever before—and we’ve seen these changes in all departments of the dealership. Arguably, the biggest changes may be seen in the way customers shop and engage with your dealership.
These changes are inevitable, and are happening like a metamorphosis of the car buyer right before our eyes. From shopping behaviour to customer experience, you need to look at refining your approach to selling and servicing your customers.
It all starts with sharpening the saw. This may require a complete overhaul in the way things have been done in the past, but with the right tools, training, and education, you and your team will increase performance and meet the needs of today’s customer.
Staying ahead of the curve with changing processes and technology is crucial in order to ensure your dealership remains your customer’s number one choice. And with so many “industry experts” recommending many different approaches, sometimes even contradictory ones, I’m sure it’s difficult for any dealer to know which direction to take.
I’ve been to many conventions, seminars, and workshops, all recommending you climb aboard their digital magic carpet so they can take you to the virtual promised land. I guess as a vendor we probably sound the same, but I assure you—there is no magic involved.
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS
How do you find the training and education for your team that is the right balance between industry guru and professional educator? The Automotive Business School of Canada has launched a program that is precisely that—a college-based training program designed for current and future leaders in the automotive industry.
The program is built on solid adult-education principles, employing the industry’s sharpest minds to build and deliver leading-edge dealership management content. The seven-course post-graduate program focuses on current issues, trends, and technologies in automotive dealership management — components which are the keys to remaining competitive in a demanding Canadian market.
In years past, the only place to send new and aspiring leaders for dealership management was the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) -ADT Academy in Virginia.
Now we have a program right here in Canada.
It takes into account work/life balance issues and offers both in-class and online components.
The program consists of the following seven courses:
- Dealership Management
- Customer Experience
- Parts/Accessories Management
- New and Used Sales Management
- Financial Management
- Service Management
- Growth and Opportunity Capstone
The overall goal of the program is to give students a broad perspective across all departments in the dealership, strategically marrying the merits of management theory with practical, hands-on learning—and yours truly has enrolled. That’s right—just like Rodney Dangerfield, I’ve gone back to school!
If you’ve been at any event in the past year, you’ve most likely heard “customer experience” pop up in keynote presentations. The term even has its own fancy acronym—CX.
The objective of the Customer Experience course, taught by SCI’s Manager of Dealer Performance and ABSC Alumni, Jeremy Wyant, is to dig deep and define what the industry means by “customer experience.”
As consumers’ shopping behaviour transforms with “one-click-buy” and the “express-everything” mentality, our industry must make that transition as well.
With almost everyone now doing their research (and in some cases buying vehicles) online, it’s crucial that you have your team prepared to provide a customer experience that is Amazon-like online and Disney-esque when customers arrive at your dealership.
KNOWLEDGE PROVIDES THE EDGE
Preparing your people, revamping processes and upgrading your technology to provide the winning customer experience requires a whole host of knowledgeable experts to help get it done.
The Automotive Dealership Management Program offered at the Automotive Business School of Canada is designed to do exactly that.
This program is three years in the making and is the culmination of efforts from many experts in the Dealership Management profession—including some professors, and some trainers, but all top-notch professionals in the automotive retail space.
For example, Chuck Seguin, President of Seguin Advisory Services, is an industry expert with over 25 years of experience in automotive retail advisory and audit services. Carol Meissner is a current Professor at ABSC whose teachings will focus on the financial management of a dealership.
All of the faculty members bring a wealth of automotive industry experience and knowledge to the classroom, with the ultimate goal of significantly enhancing the management and entrepreneurial skills of the students.
So, it only made sense that as a “30 year veteran” who preaches the virtues of “sharpening the saw,” I too spend the time learning from the pros. In fact, my colleague Matt Gielow is also joining me as we both feel it’s imperative that we “walk the talk” when it comes to learning.
So for the next 16 months, we will be making our way to Barrie, Ont. for a deep dive into Dealership Management. This was a big decision for me—going back to college to face homework and the challenges of exams is a bit daunting.
Moreover, this represents a great time commitment, and that’s time away from a busy office and family. I’m certain, however, that the outcome will be exactly what I’m planning on—a much sharper edge.
For dealers who want to expand their knowledge, the idea of being away from the office for any amount of time may be enough to drag the application form to the recycle bin before even thinking about filling it out.
Let me ask you this though: when’s the last time you invested in your profession? I always thought it was strange that 95 per cent of my formal learning came before I knew what industry I wanted to spend my career in.
This program allows me to change that and apply my experience with a state-of-the-art education program.
There is a great group of students in this course from different roles in the industry, including OEMs, dealers, and even, associations. I’m looking forward to the in-class dialogues with this group—much more than I’m looking forward to the four or more hours of homework each day!
BRINGING IT HOME
I expect us all to walk out of this program with a renewed perspective (and an Ontario College Graduate Certificate in Automotive Dealership Management).
The course content is relevant to the day-to-day operations of a dealership, and this practical and current knowledge will help all of us better understand how to meet the needs of our clients to raise the bar in the industry.
