Consumer mobility behavior continues to change as we witness technological breakthroughs as well as tightening regulations in the automotive sector.
But the underlying goal for every sales rep remains the same: increase deal closing ratio and increase gross profit.
So as we witness this fundamental shift in individual mobility behavior, how can car dealerships make sure their sales reps are prepared to win their clients over, and ultimately achieve these fundamental goals?
This is where the need for continuous, standardized, and scalable automotive sales training comes in. Particularly as the automotive industry is predicted to increase to $6.7 trillion by 2030, driven by new mobility offerings and connectivity services, the opportunities for the automotive sector are only growing.
This means that the success of automotive dealerships will depend heavily on how well their sales reps are trained, and how well they can scale their training programs. At the end of the day, sales records and how well an auto sales rep can close a deal is up to how well the car dealership polishes the skills of its best asset - its people.
So how can dealerships globally improve their sales training models? Is it possible to create a training model that is not just effective, but also scalable across dealerships?
What’s in this post?
- What is automotive sales training?
- What are the benefits of automotive sales training?
- The key to successful automotive sales training
- Making automotive sales training scalable
What is automotive sales training?
Just like employee training in other industries, automotive sales training focuses on up-skilling its most valuable asset, its human capital. In a world where we are witnessing constant changes, new developments, and technologies, even the most qualified experts in the field need ongoing training in order to keep up with the new trends and advancements – and that's why sales training programs are so necessary.
This is no exception in the automotive industry, as we witness drastically changing consumer habits and preferences, catalyzed by new, groundbreaking technologies.
Take, for instance, the growth of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in HEVs (PHEVs), and battery-electric vehicles (BEVs); car sales reps can't use the same tactics to win their clients as they did for regular vehicles. Instead, they need to learn what motivates their clients today, and in turn, practice leading these new conversations so they can carry them out effectively.
To learn more about improving a sales training program for any industry, read our article here.
What are the benefits of automotive sales training?
So what are the benefits of automotive sales training? Is it worth the investment from dealerships?
When automotive sales reps are equipped with consistent and effective training, not only are their vital soft skills polished in order to hold better conversations; automotive sales training also helps sales reps to:
- Navigate difficult (but very common) situations in working with clients.
- Sell more cars, increase profit, and create satisfied and loyal clients.
- Improve sales reps' soft skills.
- Truly understand the importance of the sales process and what it can do for them.
The key to successful automotive sales training
The key to establishing a successful automotive sales training program is all about putting the customer in the driver's seat. In fact, customer experience has replaced hardware engineering expertise as carmakers’ critical battleground.
This means that polishing soft skills is more important than ever. In fact, in a post-pandemic world where social and emotional skills are high in demand, it’s more important than ever for dealerships to address empathy and interpersonal skills in their sales force.
Click here to read our article on the top 5 most important soft skills for sales reps.
Making automotive sales training scalable with online training methods
Despite the challenges it can pose to a growing business, scaling training and development courses is absolutely vital.
This is exactly why companies are turning to online training methods - in a business environment that is changing constantly, it’s crucial for car dealerships to transition to training programs that are not only scalable but provide on-demand, personalized feedback, wherever they are.
In fact, online learning has been on the rise in recent years, mostly due to the flexibility, cost, and accessibility of online platforms that they offer compared to traditional in-person learning - research suggests that the global eLearning market is expected to reach $325 billion by 2025.
Take, for instance, Retorio. Retorio's AI training program has been gaining a lot of attention in the remote employee training scene, particularly for training vital soft skills for sales representatives. Retorio's AI platform combines video analysis with role-plays of client simulations to offer interactive training solutions for customer-facing roles, such as automotive sales, etc.
Despite the pitfalls of many e-learning platforms in the learning landscape today, such as lack of interactivity and personalized feedback, platforms such as Retorio use artificial intelligence which is built with the goal of creating interactive learning environments that are scalable for global companies.
| Traditional/Online Sales Training | AI-powered Sales Training |
| > Measured by modules completed/access times | > Provides an objective, systematic method for behavioral data capture |
| > Lack of personalization | > Training modules can be tailored to the trainee's specific focus |
| > Passive training that is easy to forget | > Engaging simulation technology |
Want to learn more about how Retorio's AI training platform can change the game in soft skill training in your team, and create a solution for scalable training globally across dealerships? Click the button below!
FAQs
1. How does Retorio's AI work?
Retorio works with a video-based Artificial Intelligence system that supports human intuition. Our technology is based on one of the most well-researched personality taxonomies, the so-called Big5 (or OCEAN) model, which has been validated as a reliable predictor of personality and job performance.
Our AI quantifies the behavior that participants of Retorio's assessment show in short video recordings; their facial expressions, gesture, language, and voice in order to derive a perceived personality prediction, meaning that our AI predicts how your candidates and their behavior would be perceived by a representative set of people.
2. How does the training platform work?
In the training overview, you’ll find all information necessary.
Firstly, you have a short introduction to the training, which gives you the underlying concepts of things you will learn in this training. Further, you will find the reason why this training will help you in your everyday work life.
The “What you’ll learn” section precisely shows you actions that are important in dealing with the client scenarios. Those are actions that you will be able to apply after you successfully finished the scenarios.
Lastly, you have the list of training scenarios. Choose from the virtual clients and “Start” interacting with them. If you already finished a scenario, the “See results” button will lead you to your prior results. If you want to improve your score, click on the “Do again” button to start another try. No worries, old results will still be visible to you even if you redo a scenario!
