The Top Ten Excuses and Myths of Dealership Training Programs

Number 10.

“We’ll do it ourselves.” The Truth is very different than the Reality. Most of the time Managers find it hard to devote 5 minutes to a vendor or the factory Rep let alone the hours of training required to make a change in an Advisors behavior.

Number 9.

“It’s too expensive.” We have a saying at DealerPro… “Never let money stand in the way of training.” No, Mr. or Ms. Dealer, it’s too expensive to do nothing. Every day you wait, you are losing Gross Profit. Those days of Lost Opportunity add up to months and then years of money flowing out of your Service Department. Let us help you achieve your Goals for 2011.

Number 8.

“It’s not the right time.” When is it ever the right time? Every day there are new challenges. People quit, the computer system crashes, the parking lot is being repaved…there is no right time. In fact, waiting for the right time is the exact opposite of the right time. It is always the wrong time to wait and it is costing you money Mr. or Ms. Dealer.

Number 7.

“I’m in the middle of hiring new people.” What a perfect time to get them trained properly. What benefit is there to waiting for training? None, there is no benefit. Every successful organization on the planet has a training program for new hires that gets them started on the right foot. You want them to be properly trained and started off on the right foot don’t you?

Number 6.

“We do things differently around here. Your program won’t work.” In the 11 year history of DealerPro that refrain has been heard hundreds if not thousands of times. We have proven that our system does work without regard to location or region. It works because it’s based on people and processes.

Number 5.

“My people won’t like it.” That may be true. If they are underachieving, they won’t like our program or any other program. When you start making changes people who have been comfortable get…uncomfortable. Why? If you want to succeed, you have to do things differently.

And comfortable people just want to stay comfortable, don’t they?

Number 4.

“We are too busy to do training.” Mr. or Ms. Dealer, this is exactly why you need to do training. If your level of “busy” matched your level of profits, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. There are busy Dealerships and then there are Dealerships that appear to be busy. In the latter, we find that there is a lot of wasted opportunity.

Number 3.

“What if I don’t like the Trainer?” We are a Performance Based company Mr. or Ms. Dealer, and as such, everyone is measured all of the time. If there is a Performance issue, chances are we already know and will be talking with you and your Trainer to identify the problem.

Number 2.

“I have a friend/consultant/the factory with a similar program and we want to use them.” While we support Training and certainly respect anyone who can provide a program, the differences between DealerPro and the “other guy” is tremendous. Here are a few items to consider.

1.Will the friend/consultant/the factory return every month for 13 months for 3-5 days of training in the service drive?
2.Do they have any “skin in the game”? In other words, are they fee based or performance based?
3.Do they have an Automotive Retail background? Our average Trainer has 20 Years experience as a Service Manager or Service and Parts Director.
If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you really need to consider DealerPro as your first choice.

Number 1.

“I’m not really sure about all of this. Isn’t this what I am paying my Service Manager for?” Mr. or Ms. Dealer, we find that most Service Managers and Service and Parts Directors are good at doing lots of things.

We are the best at one thing, Training Service Personnel.

And because we are the best our Dealers enjoy an average 35-40% increase in Gross Profit.

Bottom Line, there really is no reason not to start Training.



Let us help you get the Profits you deserve from your Fixed Operations.

Contact me at rheywood@dealerprotraining.com