I love infographics – they consolidate points into a nice, concise picture. This one by elearning Infographics is no exception.
Dealership Sales Training
During my tenure at Ford, one of the primary requesters of mobile learning was dealer sales people.
They need learning that they can take in short snatches of time such as between customers. They need something they can carry around and use when they are in the showroom, the parking lot, the service lane – wherever they have a few moments of time.
They need the multiple device support as each dealership purchases it’s own hardware and software, as well as the phone choices from individual sales people.
The training has to be engaging – capture their attention quickly, convey the information succinctly, and be done with it.
What Training Do Salespeople Need?
I’ve gotten asked this question a few times. What training do sales people need?
The most obvious is new models and option packages. When you go into a dealership, you like to have a sales person that can quote this stuff without having to look up every last detail. Now, personally, I don’t mind if they have to look up a particular small point. They should have the gist of the thing and the frequently asked portions memorized, in my opinion. Since new models are launched all year now, this is an ongoing task.
One you may not have thought of is training on the financing and insurance options. Even though the sales people are not necessarily the ones that make these sales, knowing the differences between packages and various financing options keeps the conversation going. It tells the customer their entire experience matters, not just the car sale. Finance and insurance items can be changed at any point in the year, requiring training or retraining at any point in the year.
Then there is the mandatory training from the main franchising company. Generally this is legal compliance training of various sorts: anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, etc. There is no specific timing for this training either, with the caveat that much of it is yearly to maintain legal compliance.
Conclusion
Most training designers realize that conveying the information is only one part of the picture when developing training. Making it engaging and accessible is just as important. Mobile learning is one answer.
Unfortunately, that message does not alway rise to the higher levels of management. Too often we hear “just do it the way we’ve always done it.”
Listening to that broken record is the way to failure as a training department and possibly as a training organization.
Dealers are independent entities. They can get most of their training where they wish. Making training worthwhile for their employees is the only way to keep their business.
