In the highly competitive automotive business, major dealers are striving to find advanced strategies to enhance profitability and stay ahead of the competition. One of these strategies gaining momentum is adopting cross-training for employees associated with sales and insurance & finance or I&F departments.
Since in sales proceeds, sales and (I&F) go in concert, by making employees of these departments collaborative, automotive dealership businesses can gain more efficiency, agility, and customer satisfaction that eventually translates to profitability. Contextually, Jeffrey Lupient, the interim GM of his money-losing automobile family business Infiniti Stores, successfully implemented cross-training between sales and the I&F team making the company productive and profitable. Those who are wondering how cross-training of sales and the I&F team can help maximize profitability, keep reading
Streamlining Operations
To make an automotive business profitable, the efficiency of team members and their collaboration work as the key to streamlining the whole operation. Rather than making departments work soiled or independently, make sure to cross-train staff and let them collaborate more efficiently across their functions. This collaborative work environment leads to better transitions between sales, insurance, and financing processes while reducing delays and bringing agility to the process.
For example, when a salesperson gets knowledge about the insurance process and finance options can prepare the necessary paperwork while finalizing a sales deal, curtailing the time spent by customers waiting for preparation and approval of the paperwork.
Enhancing Customer Experience
Cross-training teams related to sales and I&F facilitates them to deliver a smooth and enhanced customer experience. Simply put, when customers enter an auto dealership showroom, they expect to meet well-trained staff to help them navigate through the steps of the buying process. By having salespersons who are adequately knowledgeable in insurance and finance, customers are likely to receive flawless information regarding price options, insurance, and funding solutions comprehensively.
Moreover, a better understanding of I&F empowers salespersons to address customer concerns in a much better way. Regardless, it’s about explaining the special features of the newest models or exemplifying the financing option terms, cross-training employees can make it faster to care for customers’ personalized queries and thereby foster loyalty in the brand.
Maximizing Sales Deals
One of the major benefits of cross-training is that it empowers employees (Sales and I&F) to ascertain the appealing selling points while speaking to the customers, says Jeffrey Lupient. As they become knowledgeable about sales as well as financing options available, they can leverage the upselling opportunities, helping customers to align their budget and preferences of models or features – which increases the likelihood of sales.
Moreover, cross-trained employees can be in a better position to leverage their enhanced knowledge to prevail over common customer objections and equally address their concerns more convincingly.
Reduced Training Costs
Considering cross-training programs in the automotive business can be a great cost-saving approach. Rather than employing experienced staff for sales of (I&F) departments, upskilling existing employees can help meet the need for a specialist. This not only reduces the cost of recruitment and on-boarding but also helps enhance employee retention rate because of provides scopes for career advancement earning special incentives and more within the establishment.
Conclusion
In the competitive automotive industry, the profitability of a business depends on its ability to streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and an upsurge in sales minimizing overhead costs. By cross-trained employees sales and I&F department is a unique approach to accomplish all these objectives seamlessly and make a company profitable.
