Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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frequency? as the ceo of DealerPro Training solutions in Gahanna, ohio, Don reed equates dealership training to other disciplines that require constant practice. "it must be ongoing, just like professional sports, the military and every successful company in any industry. To become a top performer, you must consistently train." carl Bennett, director of the Dayton, ohio-based reynolds consulting Group, says training must be undertaken "at least once a quarter" to maximize the beneft. "When you work in a dealership you begin to get blinders and not see opportunities. … having a consultant come in keeps your processes sharp and also brings new ideas into the store." Bennett points out that periodic training is especially important in the highturnover auto retail segment. "Dealers change personnel, for the most part, quite frequently," he says. "The process that was put in place a year ago may not be what is being utilized today, and the dealer may not even know it." David Kain, president of Lexington, ky.-based kainautomotive.com, combines regularly scheduled sessions with constant availability. "We typically provide launch training followed up with monthly or quarterly performance acceleration training," he says, "and then we support that with monthly remote web conferences as well as 24/7 'on the fy' guidance." at automotive compliance consultants in crystal lake, ill., President Terry Dortch says ongoing training can actually help slow the revolving door for staff members. "a dealer should realize that the employees can never have too much training on how to do their jobs. The more informed and better trained an employee is, the more value they provide, and there will be less turnover." Whenever something changes "The most obvious times to seek training are at setup, right after getting new features, and when you have new staff," says Michelle randall, client implementation specialist at Dominion Dealer solutions in Norfolk, va. referring to the company's inventorymanagement software, Randall explains that "i really want people to be engaged and getting the most value out of their software. … user feedback and research helps us determine areas where changes can make the software even better. Future training or just a quick checkup can help you make sure you are getting the most out of it." as ceo of osprey, Fla.-based used car university, veteran trainer Greg Goebel has run countless sessions on special fnance for dealers who are new to the segment. "Dealers should seek training when trying to engage in something they have not done before, and special fnance is a good example," Goebel says. "Past that, they should learn how to train their own teams and conduct it daily, in my opinion. should you lose the person who does the in-dealership training, it is time to engage an outside trainer to bring the next person up to speed." When it's effective other trainers, including Dave anderson, designer of the agoura hills, calif.-based learnTolead program, offer a dissenting view. anderson agrees that frequency is important, but effectiveness is more so. a desire or an idea; (2) reproduction, when a student can recite a process and repeat word-tracks; and (3) mastery, the point at which a student takes and idea and internalizes it. at Protective asset Protection in st. louis, Mo., Director of sales Training rich Moore helps dealership staff become masters by planning his curriculum far in advance. "Dealers should create an annual training plan," he says. "That way, their team is used to going, and they also know the dealer places an emphasis on being well-trained." Moore also preaches a universal approach to training, "not just F&i; training for F&i; managers, and sales training for the sales force, but cross-training, so the whole organization is trained to the same level and on the same page." "some dealerships are better than others in sustaining the changes and improvements made after the implementation process," says Dave Vaden, executive vice president of M5 Management services inc. in Pelham, ala. "in some cases we are physically in stores on a monthly basis, and some on a less-frequent basis. Many times our staff exchanges e-mails and phone calls … to ensure that sustainment of implemented improvements are still in place." "i've seen dealerships train every day and accomplish little because training objectives aren't narrowly enough focused, attendees are disengaged and there's no accountability for using what one has learned," anderson says. as president of Greenwood village, colo.-based automotive Warranty Network inc., lisa reinicke agrees that establishing benchmark processes and frequent check-ins are key. But she reminds dealers that manufacturers constantly change policies, procedures, submission requirements and more. David lewis of David lewis & associates in Melbourne, Fla., prescribes a full day of training once every four to six weeks. he believes that there are three levels of learning: (1) recognition, in which the student understands a need, "it is almost a full-time job, keeping up with changes," reinicke says. "if you are seeking a trainer, then try to fnd one who offers some kind of subscription regular updating and monitoring of process systems." n 11