Man or woman, respect is hallmark of successful salesmanship

Central Penn Business Journal, Aug 29, 2008 by Corcoran, Brett

GUEST COLUMN

No company that expects to stay in business can ignore the economic power of the purse.

The Central Penn Business Journal's Aug. 1 article "Web site gives control, respect to female automobile buyers" presented an interesting perspective on car dealerships' treatment of female customers. As a sales manager in the industry for the past 23 years, I have an insider's view.

Does the automotive industry - or more important, do dealerships - see women as a minority in the carbuying market? Not if we want to sell vehicles. Half of all car buyers today are women. And at no time in the history of transportation has it been more critical for Ford Motor Co. to sell cars and trucks and to sustain a loyal customer base.

Now marketing to four generations - from the Millennials to the GI generation - the automotive industry has to be innovative with product quality, safety, fuel efficiency and in-car connectivity. The foreign competition is too fierce for us to survive misconceptions on who's influencing purchasing decisions and what they need in a vehicle.

As one of the largest Ford retailers in the Harrisburg area since 1940, LB Smith Ford Lincoln Mercury has sold and serviced vehicles through recessions, oil embargoes, world wars, civil disobedience and the business-altering advent of the Internet. Our sales team of 12 Ford-certified sales associates is required to take courses onethics, gender and customer demands to prevent any customers from feeling disserved or disrespected.

To ignore the women's market, or any potential customer, is business suicide. With more than 120 employees in our dealership and S12 million worth of inventory on our Lemoyne property, that's significant incentive to treat every person with respect and to ensure that clients leave our 300-vehicle campus with a referral-worthy buying experience.

Our national research supports what we already know: that women buy 60 percent of all new cars and 53 percent of used cars. They spend $300 billion annually on used-car sales, maintenance, repairs and service. Cognizant of that tremendous buying power, our company's chief executive officer, Richard E. Jordan II, has captured an opportunity to focus on the women's market by sponsoring our region's Business Women's Forum for the past three years. "I sought personal feedback on our sales and service capabilities. Spending a day with over 1,000 potential female customers is the consummate focus group. No marketing effort trumps a personal conversation about your product."

Do dealerships sell differently to women? We aren't gender-focused; we're sales-focused. We sell the features of each brand, and we know that women are buying for different reasons than men. There are hot buttons for genders as well as generations. Some women are more concerned with safety and design - the Focus has a five-star crash rating and front and side-curtain air bags. Some are more concerned with convenience and details-the new Ford Flex has a refrigerated console that holds juice boxes. Statistically, the Shelby attracts more male buyers who desire speed and performance over cabin refinements.

Do dealerships assume that women are uninformed about the car-buying process? Absolutely not. The Internet provides a spate of information on every vehicle, which tips the negotiation scales in favor of the savvy consumer. Armed with safety information, fuel-efficiency expectations and price comparisons, women are certainly some of our most-informed consumers.

One day last month, we had three generations of women in the showroom purchasing a Ford Focus: a grandmother who was contributing to the down payment, a mother who was making sure her daughter didn't consent to budget-blowing car payments and a 22-year-old who was buying her first car. Each person had concerns and questions; and we treated each one like an individual customer. The family left with a brand-new Focus, and we hope to gain triple the referrals.

Ford's new Drive One campaign features employees as the brand ambassadors but focuses on customers' needs and issues that especially resonate with women: Drive quality. Drive green. Drive safe. Drive smart. The reality is these cars are engineered with women drivers in mind - the air-bag positioning, the cup holders, the colors, the convenience and the sleek lines. We may need to adapt our sales techniques to more clearly communicate who they're building cars for.

Courteousness, respect and genuine concern are hallmarks of successful salesmanship - they should not be gender-specific. The days of intimating that a female customer should return to the showroom with her husband or father are long gone. Jen Delaye, owner of JDK Group and JDK Catering, agrees. A business and family customer for 20 years, she says, "I expect LB Smith to pay attention to me and my vehicle needs. With a fleet of 15 trucks, I would never invest my time or money in a dealership that didn't put me first."

Brett Corcoran is general sales manager of LB Smith Ford Lincoln Mercury Inc., based in Lemoyne. Nationally ranked in the top 10 percent for sales and customer service, he previously held positions with Ford dealerships in New York, Atlanta and Philadelphia. He can be reached at bcorcoran@lbsmith.org.