In automobile and truck sales, it’s what you don’t know that will sink you. Some folks turn to colleagues within the industry, college classes, or even try to reinvent the wheel themselves, but there’s an even better way to get the information you need.
Automotive consulting firms can be a lifesaver when it comes to insider strategies. Of course, any expert will be an investment for your business, but will the returns make it worth it?
Chosen carefully, absolutely! Depending on your goals, finding a consultant who specializes in that area can help get your business moving in the right direction and provide valuable coaching and tips. Of course, the scope of automotive consulting services and strategy should be carefully considered when choosing a partner, as the right mix of attributes is key to maximizing your investment.
Extensive Experience
While many consultants boast impressive university diplomas or client lists, neither of those things guarantees they know anything about automotive consulting services and strategy… or, for that matter, anything about the automotive industry at all!
A general consulting firm may be able to help businesses sell simple products in relatively uncomplicated markets by offering universal advice. However, cars are extremely complex pieces of technology that require a deep knowledge—and passion—about the industry. As a result, it’s a very rare dealership that needs surface-level guidance about connecting with its customers.
To get the granular analysis and advice you need to edge out your competition, you’ll need more than someone with years of consulting experience. While it’s helpful, an ideal consultant will also have had a career working in automotive sales. After all, becoming an expert car salesperson isn’t something you learn in school—it takes time and dedication on the floor and on the phone to understand the art of helping customers and closing deals.
When choosing people or agencies specializing in automotive consulting, look for long and wide-ranging success in a sales career.
A Blend of Services and Strategy
When you’ve made the decision to invest in an auto consultant, you’ll need to know exactly what you want to achieve and then shop around for the perfect fit. If you bring in people who deliver a package of services that don’t matter to get a few that do, you’ll struggle to get the most out of your investment.
Also, make sure the consultant you use can help implement and develop strategies. That means being a trainer as well as a brain. For instance, if a consultant creates a phone script protocol, their materials won’t translate to dollar signs if they don’t help your sales team deliver them properly.
An automotive consultant worth their salt should be able to deliver an end-to-end plan for putting their strategy into action. Dealerships should seriously consider agencies that tick the following boxes:
- They take the time to actually get to know you, your business, and your team so they can tailor their advice to leverage your strengths and build up areas of needed improvement.
- Hire educators: they need to take ownership of training and coaching your employees and bring solid teaching programs to bear.
- Make sure they are in it for the long haul! One-and-done training sessions are just not enough. Research shows it takes at least 20 hours to get the hang of a skill and longer still to master it. Make sure your consultants will train your people over time.
- Look for one-on-one coaching models. Everyone learns at their own pace and in different ways, so the most efficient coaching system is really composed of just two people: coach and learner.
Teaching and Workplace Materials Provided
To get the best results from your automotive consulting services and strategy partner, they need to create and distribute training materials that your employees can take home, study, and use in subsequent one-on-one coaching sessions.
Any materials needed to implement their recommendations and training (sales scripts, literature, etc.) in the workplace should be provided too, and they should be tailored and streamlined to fit your business’s unique goals and needs. A consultant who is handing you pre-packaged materials and content is most likely a generalist who won’t be able to do much for your dealership. Run away!
A Plan for Compliance
The only way to know if your team is using any training properly is to check it in the real world. This is best done with mystery shoppers. These people pose as customers while secretly evaluating employee performance and testing their skills. It’s not a gotcha thing—it’s simply the best way to find out what’s really going on under the hood with your sales team!
Of course, it’s entirely reasonable to expect the consulting agency to conduct its own mystery shops. After all, it’s their teaching; they should know best when it’s being used effectively. The best automotive consulting services and strategy companies will go one step further and continue training shopped employees until all team members are nailing it.
A Well Rounded Partner
With so many people offering automotive consulting services and strategy advice, finding an industry pro who also understands how to turn strategy into success can seem daunting.
That’s why we started Phone Ninjas. Our founders have over half a century of combined expertise in automotive sales, so we know what works. We’ve made it our business to help dealerships understand common problems, develop tactics for their particular market environment, and unlock new ways of maximizing profits and outperforming their competitors.
We’ve also developed the perfect coaching model: we host a large group initial session (in person or remote) to deliver the fundamentals, then our team of first-rate coaches follows up with individual employees during weekly and monthly sessions to make sure everyone learns as efficiently, thoroughly, and quickly as possible.
Finally, everything we do is backed up with solid analysis, data, and real-world testing to make sure our strategies aren’t just understood—they’re implemented. Best of all, we don’t bother management with the nitty-gritty details. We take care of everything, and we only come to you if there’s a serious problem.
We’re so sure we can boost your appointment rates by 300%, even 400%+, our automotive consulting services and strategy are offered on a month-to-month basis. How long we serve you is entirely your choice.
Contact us today so we can start flooding your showroom with new customers ASAP!
As the COO | Partner of Phone Ninjas, Chris delivers leadership, coaching, and mentorship to 55 team members providing software sales and phone skills coaching. He fosters powerful partnerships and collaborations with leaders across various business sectors, establishing expectations, communicating vision, and escalating performance to maximize productivity and effectiveness.
Chris is an innovation-driven business executive with over 25 years of experience delivering leadership to teams of up to 75 overseeing development, launch, and sale of website lead acquisition, reconditioning process software systems, and technology that support automotive dealerships across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
