Cadillac dealers were disproportionately targeted by GM’s bailout-era dealer cull, with some 900 cut before GM reinstated many of them after enduring a downturn in Cadillac sales. The problem, as we noted in a meditation on “Detroit’s Small Town Luxury Lament,” is one of identity:
Is Cadillac a European-grade maker of world-class, dynamically-focused and fashion-forward driving machines, or the small-town America symbol symbol of petty-bourgeois success, with an emphasis on the old-school American values of wide seats, big power, and a cosseting ride? The brand’s product line displays this identity crisis (compare CTS and DTS) as much as the dealer network does.
The answer: yes. GM is keeping a lot of small-time Cadillac dealers on the roster, and is asking them to upgrade their facilities to a new design created by San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler. GM talks up the new look’s “contemporary architecture and premium materials” in its presser, but it too seems to try to bridge the yawning gap between a fashion-forward, Euro-inspired look and a more traditional, conservative look aimed at a more “traditional” customer (see image above?). But does it work? Does the new look communicate “Cadillac values” to you, or does it strike you (as it does me) as a bit of a compromise?
It is a bit of a compromise from the photo but it is possible to have a clean, tidy and upscale appearance (flatscreen TV, nice chairs, clean, nice coffee maker etc) without being too Euro-trendy or too conservative. Will it make any difference is the key question – that all depends on product (and sales support).
Will it make any difference? That depends on just what kind of customer they want to attract. Earlier today I was talking to a friend in his early seventies who still drives a Sedan de Ville. He’s ready to buy a new sedan, but he isn’t all that fired up about Cadillac, and he is at a real loss as to what he should buy. His main complaint about what Cadillac offers is that none of it appeals to him. He wants comfort like his old Sedan de Ville provides, in a newer package and Cadillac is clearly aiming to attract affluent yuppies with a need for speed with the likes of the CTS. The picture above is deceiving – Cadillac craves the younger buyers and they have only compromises for older, more established customers. I’m at a loss to recommend anything since there is no suitable replacement for the old Sedan de Ville except maybe a new Bentley or a Rolls. If anyone can think about a suitable replacement, feel free to chime in. The Cadillac dealerships he has visited have not been of any help.
Equus.
Thanks ajla. I never thought of that one. Might just work. Just got through emailing your suggestion to him.
The redesign is really working. Look at all the young customers! No wait….. that’s the staff receptionist and a guy from the parts department. Caddy and Buick are still competing for the same retirees.
Bail out money got thrown at Gensler – et Voila!
Having in a former life worked for a dealer chain, I was the “owners representative” dealing with building new facilities for then-brand new Lexus and Infiniti (we’d acquired both franchises). So I know well both the mandatory original Lexus look, not to mention the more esoteric Infiniti attempt with “contemplation areas” and a big vase in the middle.
While I understand the manufacturers legitimate desire for some uniformity in appearance, they too often jump on a new look every 5-10 years and demand that dealers expend big money for new fascias, signage, etc. (one suspects that there’s a profit built-in for the manufacturers).
There has to be a happy middle ground — professional look with continuity.
That said, it’s hard to say from a few photos, but the Caddy look appears to be rather generic-professional. That’s not a criticism per se, I just don’t see anything that would distinguish it as a Cadillac store.
BTW, it’s “petit bourgeois” or “petit bourgeoisie,” which was Karl Marx’s derogatory phrase for the middle class.
What an interesting line of work! I wouldn’t mind reading about it.
Sorry, it wasn’t my “line of work” so to speak. It was essentially a project and it was thrown into my lap. It was interesting dealing with construction and contractors and the franchises / factories, but it was a “one off” project, not an occupation. That said, I did get to go out to the Lexus intro at Pebble Beach and drive them around Laguna Seca, so that was very cool.
dealers are forced to buy extremely overpriced naterials from GM sourced suppliers. there are still rats in the glovebox folks. the money being wasted remodeling perfectly acceptable facilities to meet some screwball’s standards is foolhardy. customers make their purchase because of the product and the service, not the color of the carpet or style of chairs.
GM just doesn’t get it. remember they would save over $1,000,000 for each dealer they closed? yeah, where’s the rationale and accounting for that whizbang MBA whacko program?
GM is not the first nor the last to get dealers to change their facilities – you will recall Ford doing the same recently with Lincoln. At least Cadillac has some product worth buying!
I have been in Lexus dealerships and always thought the look and money spent was pointless because you are there for a few hours tops to buy a car – what matters is the service department and of course the car itself. So as long as the facilities are professional (generic or otherwise) and clean most people are not going to complain on a <$100K purchase (Hyundai and the Equus is an example of this). The rules may well be different above that price point.
If the look of facilities didn’t matter, movie stars would be buying full price designer clothes at Wal-Mart and your favorite upscale steak house would have decor like the local McDonald’s. Luxury customers expect an immersive experience encompassing product, service and facilities. The building and decor may not matter to you, but it matters to most people spending their money on ego gratification. The stores on Rodeo Drive are fancy for a reason.
GM spends billions developing vehicles and I think its fair for GM (or any manufacturer) to insist that dealers keep facilities that support a brand’s market message, especially for upscale products.
Although your analogies seem to make perfect sense based on 30 years of experience mostly in the luxury car business you’re wrong.
I’m not saying dealers shouldn’t have up to date facilities but a complete makeover to a new corporate standard of appearance will not sell one single vehicle. Buyers do not buy Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac or any other luxury brand because of the facilities. They buy them because of the vehicle first and service second. I’m sure there are documented studies that give the reasons people gave for buying the luxury vehicle they bought and guaranteed the facility isn’t even on their radar.
If the look of facilities didn’t matter, movie stars would be buying full price designer clothes at Wal-Mart…
I don’t disagree with you, but many of today’s purchasers of upscale goods (obviously NOT movie stars) have a different expectation of the retail environment.
Check out the vehicles and take a look at the clientele of an upscale outlet mall, or better yet, check out the profile of a typical buyer on Zappos.
@ mtymsi
So what you are saying is that, since facilities don’t matter at all, dealers can close their showrooms and set up some card tables at Wal-Mart?
Your statement is not in line with studies that track customer perception. Cheap wine served by a knowledgeable sommelier in a fancy setting is always perceived better than the exact same wine served without ceremony in a no-frills environment. Contrary to what you believe, people are not buying the vehicle, they are buying “the brand”, which encompasses the vehicle and its marketing, their friends perception of the brand, the service experience, the vehichle’s reputation for reliability, the dealer facilities and all the other touch points that inform a buying decision.
If customers were “buying the vehicle first” as you claim, the VW Phaeton would have sold much better. It was a great car let down by lack of marketing, lack of upscale perception, poor dealer service, etc. (If people were really were just “buying the vehicle first” hardly anyone would be driving big ol’ trucks, Hummers, S-Classes and other cars that clearly weren’t bought purely based on some rational, logical decision process.)
Most product purchases, especially luxury product purchases, are ego driven, not logic driven. Asserting otherwise demonstrates a fundamental failure to understand how consumers make buying decisions. If the product was all that mattered to buyers, advertising would not be effective and people would never talk about bad customer service.
@ BuzzDog
The customer decision process for buying an easily returnable $500 pair of shoes from Zappos is not the same as it is for buying a $50,000 (or $150,000) car that is sold via written, signed contract.
I’ve seen the cars there and they seem to say “the middle class shops here.” I’ve yet to see any Bentleys, Ferraris, Aston Martins etc. at an outlet mall, but I see scores of that type of car parked on the streets or in the parking lots behind the stores on Melrose or down in Beverly Hills.
I’ve yet to see any Bentleys, Ferraris, Aston Martins etc. at an outlet mall…
But we’re not talking about Bentleys, Ferraris and Aston Martins. We’re talking about Cadillacs.
As for the “they’ll never buy something that expensive online” argument, I keep thinking about a spate of other products for which that has been claimed, yet they’re now routinely sold online. For example, I’ve been involved in several transactions involving medical equipment (MRIs and laser equipment) in which the transaction was initiated online. It’s just a matter of time before it happens, regardless of all the laws that protect dealerships.
Cadillac is in a somewhat unique marketing position in that they have an owner base of both the euro styled CTS and the traditional American luxury DTS. IMO if they’re smart they will continue to attract both segments of buyers with the upcoming XTS (i.e. it should be a replacement for the DTS owners). The fact of the matter is despite the derogatory references to their generic owners those owners are well heeled and the largest segment of population is the baby boomers who as we know are starting to enter retirement. I think it would be foolish on Cadillacs part to ignore their DTS owners. Cadillac owns that market and it is large enough to continue to cater to it. A very good example of what happens when you abandon your current owners is Lincoln.
As far as their facilities, no doubt some of the smaller rural stores need updating but the idea of making all the stores upgrade to a new corporate standard won’t sell a single car. As Buickman said people buy cars for the product itself and the service, never the facility.
Considering that most well-heeled buyers prefer to purchase products online – and then have rare and short-lived visits to a brick-and-mortar facility to service them – this doesn’t do much to enhance the brand image.
The Cadillac store that is next to us is very outdated and needs a remodel badly. I still think they are the more profitable half, because I see them go through way more cars then us at MB. Remodeling the outdated facility can only help.
The look and feel of the design seems upscale, but it’s not very inviting or welcoming. The parts that should be spacious are cramped. The parts that should be personal and sheltering are wide open.
The sales offices and what I assume is the service advisor area look cramped. Nothing says low status, entry level management more than a small office. If I perceive myself as a big shot buying a Cadillac, I don’t want to do the transaction in a space barely worthy of a junior associate (even if I am only a junior associate). The SUV in the Service Advisor area just makes that area look comically undersized. Cramped spaces are the opposite of an upscale experience.
The “lounge” and waiting area are wide open and provide no sense of shelter or relaxation. The TV lounge is backed by a counter loaded with equipment that looks like it would be most at home in a cafeteria style restaurant. Push button espresso machines and paper cups aren’t what I associate with the finer things in life. It’s not my first choice to “relax” and watch some TV sitting at what is basically a kitchen table. They seem to have based the showroom customer areas on modern office building lobbies when they should have looked to high end hotels for inspiration. It’s as if they don’t really want people to hang around.
Gentsler seems to have spent too much time picking out pretty finishes and not enough time thinking about how the size and arrangement of spaces affect customer’s perception of comfort and welcome. I give Cadillac credit for wanting to move forward, but Gentsler has blown it on fundamental levels. So yeah, the furniture and materials are nice, but they’re fighting a losing battle with a thoughtless, uncomfortable space.
I will have to strongly disagree with the anti-dealer renovation bent.
People definitely do buy on the ambience of their environmnet AND a service level that reflects high standards. When a fellow steps into a Carmax and sees the vehicles strobed underneath bright lights that exemplify cleanliness, multi-colored layouts that accentuate the advantages of buying a ‘Carmax’ vehicle, and computerized displays that let consumers pick and choose through Carmax’s inventory… it becomes an easier sell.
I believe this is one area where Hyundai has completely failed as it relates to the Genesis launch. The few dealerships I have seen are ‘nice’. But they are not upscale. There is no sense that ‘you arrived’ and are about to reward yourself for all the good work that you do. It’s a stunning departure from Lexus dealerships where prestige seems to be imbued into every step of the presentation.
The hard part is to spend money on a brand when it’s painfully obvious that the quality of the product won’t measure up.
Poor dealers. One of the chairs alone (Barcelona, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929) costs around $5,000 a piece. Unless one of the many illegal knock-offs is bought.
This is uninspired design. On the other hand, it won’t get outdated. Bauhaus never goes out of style. But then why does the outside of the store look like a Spanish hazienda?
I was wondering the same thing, if dealers actually shelled out for authentic Herman Miller and Knoll pieces.
Since the Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group chairs are knock-offs, I’m going to say the Barcelona chairs and Knoll Tulip tables are definitely knock-offs. While the average person won’t be able to tell the difference (or even know the designers) I don’t think it will matter, but for someone in the know, it just comes across as cheap. If the dealer is willing to buy knock-off furniture, where else are they willing to cut corners and cost?
Funny, Lowe9, I was also thinking the same thing.
Most “Barcelona chairs” I’ve sat in while in public waiting rooms are knockoffs…and after sitting in them for a while, you CAN tell the difference. Not to mention how they look in a few years…
I can buy any car and model I want to. When I go to a dealership, i find pretentious surroundings a distraction, but if the salesman knows at least as much as me about his product, I am fine. This is pretty rare, as the salespeople are usually about pretention, rather than substance, in these types of places.
I usually end up buying a car from a third party, someone who has owned it for a year or 2, knows it inside and out before he bought it, and better after a year or 2 of ownership. He usually has had some custom additions or add ons installed. We typically meet at their driveway or garage, and make the deal there. Sometimes we will sit on the patio, around the pool, or the front porch.
People at a dealership that really know cars, or the product they are selling, are almost a thing of the past, even in upscale dealerships. They tend to be annoying, after to leave to consult others, and still the answers are either wrong, or incomplete. The lamps are sometimes nice, and the carpets plush, but so what?
@silvy_nonsense
1) I specifically said dealers need to have updated facilities. There is a big difference between updated facilities and a massive makeover to conform with a new corporate appearance dictate. How did you get closing the dealership and setting up a card table at Wal-Mart out of what I said?
2) I never said luxury purchases were based on rational decisions. What I said is people buy the car first and that means their perception of what that encompasses. Again, Cadillac will not sell one single car because of their revamped dealerships. People will buy Cadillacs or not owing to the cars themselves.
3) The Phaeton analogy is irrelevant. VW is not considered to be a luxury brand. What the Phateon proved was you can’t sell $80,000 VW’s.
Luxury vehicle purchases are based on what the buyer perceives others will think when driving the vehicle. There is zero thought of the dealership factored into the purchase process. As I previously stated, I’m sure there are some Cadillac dealerships that need updating but for the most part Cadillac stores are acceptable. No one walked out of a Cadillac dealership to buy a Lexus because they thought the Lexus dealership was nicer. The car perhaps but not the dealership.
I have personally sold thousands of luxury cars many to very wealthy people in the small “jr associate” office that you seem to think isn’t viable. What I’m telling you is based on actual experience not what I think is the case. Any sales professional knows no matter what product is being sold you can’t sell anything if you haven’t sold yourself first and the difference between the typical Cadillac dealership and any other luxury brand’s can’t do that.
amen my brother.
The customer’s state of mind and comfort level are big factors in any car purchase.
There are certainly customers who do a lot of research online first, work out the whole deal before they even set foot in the dealership, and just come in to sign papers and drive out. These people are a tiny minority of the overall customer base.
Other customers come in with no plans, no idea of which model they want, no ideas on pricing, no idea what their trade is worth. These people are also a pretty small minority.
Most customers fall in between the extremes. Yes, the car itself is a big factor, but the sales experience is a large factor as well. A technically inferior car can be made to seem more desirable than a superior model if it is presented and demonstrated in a superior way. The dealership facilities play into that presentation. There is a ton of money invested by grocery stores, casinos, shopping malls, etc, in designing the space so that customers will spend more money; car dealerships are no different.
I can’t tell you how many customers I’ve had who have told me that they had absolutely no intention of buying a car that day as they were about to drive off in their new purchase. The majority of the time the customer is going to buy at the last place they visit. Having a higher class facility, offering the customer a cup of good coffee or other beverage as they arrive, sitting them down in comfortable seats, having the appropriate music playing in the background, having the cars in the showroom lit in an attractive way, presenting one’s self in a professional and attentive way, and generally selling the ownership experience can be as important as selling the car itself.
Contrary to the popular wisdom most people don’t buy primarily on price, but rather on value. A well appointed dealership, a polished sales process and a thorough but individually tailored demonstration of the vehicle all add value, whether the customer cognizant of it or not. For most buyers there is a strong emotional element to buying a new car, so setting the scene correctly is absolutely important.
Agree. When I went to Saturn dealership first time, just for curiosity – I was nearby in different dealership in downtown and had no intention of buying any Saturn, I had to suppress internal urge to commit transaction with very nice young man in suit and glasses who looked like having PhD degree and serving as salesman just for fun in his spare time, and because the whole experience was very relaxing and disarming. I had to force myself to leave dealership and return back to imperfect and cruel world.
@Inside Looking Out: So true. The Saturn dealership was the best experience I ever had. Nice sales guy, pizza parties, no pressure… then I drove the car. Sorry Saturn, no deal.
I’m a little surprised at how many are coming out as against this. Every single one of their competitors (Lexus/BMW/MB/Audi/Infiniti) have something like this. Dealerships are a large part of the ownership experience for the vast majority of luxury car buyers.
It may not appeal to the B&B, but the glass partitions, leather couches, workstations, WiFi, flatscreens, and free beverages of my local Lexus dealer certainly appeal to almost every RX/ES/LS owner I know (there’s a lot of them, I work close to Newport Beach). My coworker loves her E-class lease because “the dealer takes care of [her] and the loaners are so nice.” Guess she missed out on the PT Cruiser years. She mentions her dealership by name almost every time she brings up her car. A friend swears she’ll never get another Mercedes because of how the dealer treated her. Cadillac needs positive word of mouth, and doing this is just playing catch up.
don’t forget Cadillac has a “No Wait Rental” policy, so how important is a customer lounge really? it’s a car lot, not an airport where people are going to have to wait.
today more and more dealers are offering home delivery for new purchases. I’ve been doing it since the early 80’s and now more than 3/4 of my sales happen without the client even coming to the store period.
all these goofy and expensive programs are simply more fluff for the unknowing MBAs to justify their over paid existence. they wouldn’t know effective marketing if it was handed to them.
Buickman –
Are you in car sales, or are you selling a different product?
While occasionally I’ll have a customer so certain in what they want that they insist on just showing up to pick up the car, or even having the car delivered to their home, the majority of people want to see it in person or drive it first.
In fact, we have a policy that customers must drive the car before working numbers. The reasoning is that no matter how well the customer thinks they know the car, there always seems to be some feature or detail that they forget about that doesn’t come up until they’re behind the wheel. It’s a lot better for everyone involved to just take a test drive first and to root out any potential issues than to go through the whole paperwork process, have the car detailed, and have the customer discover that they don’t like the feel of the driver’s seat, that they can’t reach the pedals comfortably, or that they thought the car had some minor feature that happens to be very important to them right as they are about to take it home, and then have to unravel the whole deal and start from scratch.
still slinging sleds, work from home. only been to the dealership a couple times all year. do business by phone and computer. anybody can sell cars in a showroom, try and do it without ever seeing the car or the customer. I have an assistant in the store to prepare paperwork etc… she’s my Angel, I’m Charlie. :)
Interesting. So do you mainly work with repeat customers, or is it new leads through the internet, etc? I’m surprised you have so many customers who are not only willing, but want to buy without seeing or driving the car first. Then again, our fleet department has customers who do that, and I suppose Ebay motors is proof that some people are willing to take the jump without getting behind the wheel. It just seems so foreign to me, as even with internet sales when the customer already has pricing the mantra is always ‘the customer must test drive the car before they but it’.
repeat and referral. after 5 years on the floor I stopped taking “ups”. the home delivery was a necessity actually at first for me as I hired in at Blain Buick on Clio Rd in the north end of Flint. hardly anyone wanted to come there so I began taking the units to the client, it grew from there. today I actually get customers who call me specifically for the service. people really dislike coming to the dealerships and are overjoyed to save the time and hassle.
making a client test drive to get a price is archaic but if it’s your dealer’s policy then you have no choice. there are advantages when you’re working walk-ins. good luck!
The test drive thing may be a bit old school, but it’s one policy I do agree with. We will discuss pricing beforehand, although obviously we try to limit how in depth we go depending on the situation with the customer at hand. Just speaking with the customer while walking through the inventory on the lot it’s not hard to get a good idea about where they want to be on either price or payment, and to steer the selection a bit in the right direction for something that they’ll like and that will fit within those parameters.
Yes, having the customer drive first does have some benefits to the dealer, as it establishes an emotional attachment and allows a more in depth presentation of some of the vehicle features. Without that step you’re just selling on price, which leads to a skinny deal in the best case, and losing out by someone down the street undercutting your numbers in the worst case.
There are some real benefits to the customer though, which is why I like the policy. Most people wouldn’t buy a $100 pair of shoes without trying them on first, so why would someone want to spend 20 to 30 times that much on a car they’ve never been behind the wheel of? I’ve had customers who have picked out a car from the online inventory, e-mailed in and received the best price, and then come in to finalize the deal only to realize they don’t like the color seeing it in person, or that they see something else on the lot while driving in that they like better. I’ve had plenty of people tell me they really want a 4 cylinder to save on fuel costs, only to move to a V6 because they find out they prefer the stronger acceleration or quieter engine sounds after a drive (and vice versa), or those who tell me they only want certain options, then bump themselves to a different model or trim when they see something that has features they didn’t even know they could get.
There are the customers that frequent the forums, know every detail on the car as well as any of the salespeople, and come in with exactly what they want, and that’s fine. I find that most people benefit from a little bit of exploration around what’s available though, and that their research beforehand either wasn’t incredibly thorough, or was spread across so many models that they forget what feature goes with what car. In the even that someone buys something that they’re unhappy with without driving it first and getting the chance to find that out before the car is legally theirs, they never think of it as their fault for failing to do the proper research or for trying to rush the process, they think of it as the dealers fault for making them buy something that doesn’t suit their needs.
Cars are the second most expensive thing most people will ever buy, but many aren’t willing to put 1/10th of the time and effort into one as they will buying a home, which may only cost 2x-5x as much (well, that depends where you live, there are some pretty nice houses around here for less than the cost of a loaded Navigator). We won’t lose someone’s business over them flat out refusing to drive a car, but test driving first is really a win-win – it makes the salesperson’s job easier, and it allows the customer the chance to find the perfect car to meet their needs.
Buickman, I have an MBA and I believe I have been an effective advisor to my brothers who are in the new car retailing business. They’ve managed to be successful in a down economy largely due to, I believe, my advise of knowing when to hold’m, and knowing when to fold’m. And that applies to sales positions as well as the floor plan, or the financing thereof. Sometimes it is better to make a little profit and turn your inventory quickly than to wait for the big spender to come in to give you a large profit. FIFO doesn’t always work when you have to finance your floor plan. One thing I have learned and that is, unlike other businesses, the profit margin required depends on the efficiency of each dealership. That’s why there is a price for everyone when shopping for the same car. It depends on how much of a margin the dealership needs to make to stay in business or how greedy they are with a hot new product.
From what I can see in the photographs, the decor looks like dated moderne, a kind of cross between Bauhaus and Ikea. Maybe that is effective with the clientele; maybe it makes little difference. What does make a difference is that sales reps should be polite, under-bearing, and actually know in detail about the products they are selling.
I know that I am the exception in saying that what really would sell me is a salesman who is a “car guy.” But I know that being an enthusiast makes me a minority, but let me illustrate my point this way.
I love my local Buick/GMC dealer and there’s a salesman there (Ryan) who happens to be a member of the owners family. He’s a great guy and he’s got every quality a salesman should have save ONE, knowing your product.
I know he doesn’t know which V6 comes in which year of Buick Lucerne, he doesn’t know how many speeds are in the automatic transmission of the GMC Terrain, he doesn’t know the difference between the 3800V6 and 3.6 VVT V6 in the used Lacrosse’s on the lot. He couldn’t tell you the hp and torque ratings of the V8s in the GM trucks on the lot. He doesn’t know how old the basic architecture of the 4.3V6 in the few stripped GMC Sierra’s sitting across the street from his office.
He’s a great guy but something about that bothers me. Just doesn’t seem right.
If Cadillac wants to sell cars combine a nice showroom with people who know the product inside and out.
Product knowledge is certainly important, at least to a certain degree.
Not knowing the basic engine specs, transmission gears, construction, and hp/torque numbers is just being lazy. Ditto with knowing which basic features come with which model on which trim, and which options are available on which car as part of which package.
On the other hand, there is far too much data available on all the cars on the lot to know every detail offhand. I could tell you the horsepower, torque, and fuel economy figures for the EcoBoost V6 in a 2wd F-150 off the top of my head, as well as the wheelbase for various cab style and bed length combinations, the approximate tow ratings for various engine and rear axle ratio combinations, and which interior/exterior trims and colors are available with each model. If you wanted to know approach angles, payload limits, exact curb weights, or width of the truck with the mirrors extended, I’d have to consult the books. It’s worth knowing the answers to questions that are asked with any kind of regularity, which is why I know axle ratios on F-Series trucks and Mustangs – customers car about those things on those cars. If you asked me the axle ratio on a Taurus, I’d have no clue, but thankfully, no one has ever asked me.
The better salespeople will admit if they don’t know something and look it up for you. The less than scrupulous ones will make something up. I’d be wary of someone who seemed to know every single detail of every car on the lot, because half of it would likely be BS.
The other major trick is knowing when to shut up. It’s easy to talk your way out of a sale by going into detailed explanations of features that a customer might not care about. Most people are too polite to say they don’t care about the suspension architecture of a Focus, or they don’t want to appear dumb by asking questions about something when they have absolutely no clue what anything you’re saying means. Once they zone out and just start waiting for you to stop talking, the chances of making the sale plummet. On a similar note some customers want to show off how much they know about a car, and the key to earning their business is letting them feel like an expert and ooh-ing and aah-ing at the appropriate moments, but at the same time finding ways to make sure they have the correct information about things that matter when they are wrong, while doing it in a way that don’t realize they are being corrected.
Selling a car is as much about reading body language, listening to the inflection in the customer’s voice for signs of tension, getting past the boilerplate BS walls people set up and to what the real motivators and/or objections are, and finding a way to help someone find an emotional connection and an urgent desire to own a particular vehicle as it is about knowing the details of the vehicle, or even the particular qualities of the vehicle itself. Great products certainly help, and the reputation of the dealer, the brand, and the particular model do a lot to get the customer in the door in the first place. Past that, it’s about selling yourself and the experience of owning the car as much as it is about selling the actual car.
you make excellent points and I am in agreement. your dealer is lucky to have a professional like you on board. keep up the good work and please don’t misunderstand me about the working from home/off site sales bit. that’s just me at this stage in my life…I choose to be with my kids while they’re young so I make it work. the point I was making was about how the facility isn’t important as long as it’s clean and orderly. GM’s EBE program is a waste of resources and has the appearance of being corrupt. that is all.
Buickman –
Thank you, you sound like a pretty class act yourself. Believe me, if there was a way for me to do what I do that didn’t involve running around acres of hot asphalt in the middle of FL summers I’d be very tempted.
I also agree with many of your points about GM’s system regarding these remodels. I do think that a dealership needs to be clean and well presented, and that it needs to reflect the qualities of the brand. While companies like Wal-Mart and Best Buy may spend a lot of money making sure every store has the same layout and feel, I do feel that this is less important in a dealership. Ideally (from the dealers perspective at least) the same customer shouldn’t be shopping at two different Cadillac dealerships during the same timeframe, so I’m not sure that each dealer needs to be set up in exactly the same way. It might even be more effective to allow dealers some room for variation depending on the region and particulars of their situation. What says luxury to a typical buyer in South Florida may be very different than for a buyer in NYC or in Portland, OR.
There does need to be some quality control, as a poorly finished showroom may evoke negative feelings about the brand in potential customers. From GM’s perspective it’s probably easier to say ‘Your showroom must look like this’ than to pay for inspectors to certify thousands of various designs and layouts. If this particular design has been researched well and has a measured capacity to increase sales, it could end up being a more economical option for some dealers than hiring an architect and doing it themselves, but there are likely plenty of Cadillac dealerships that, while not sharing this aesthetic, are already doing a fine job of showing the cars in a positive light.
Maybe just a set of guidelines stating basic amenities and design elements a dealership must have would be a more fair method of accomplishing the same goal.
On a similar note some customers want to show off how much they know about a car, and the key to earning their business is letting them feel like an expert and ooh-ing and aah-ing at the appropriate moments…
I am an expert dammit!
Do you have many customers who custom order vehicles from the factory or do most choose to buy whatever happens to be on the lot on a given day? It seems to me that many domestic vehicles, specifically trucks, have a myriad of different drive trains, options, trim levels but only a few specific combination can ever be found on dealer lots.
The few times I’ve asked about custom ordering I’ve been told that it takes an effort equivalent to the moon landing to make it happen…which is too bad considering I’d pay a premium for this privilege.
I happen to like the new design, but I am biased. I am typing this while sitting in a Herman Miller aluminum chair similar to the ones pictured. :)
After I retired from the Army I sold Fords in Kingston ON while waiting for my green card to join my wife in DC. I loved the experience and the hours…and I found that I was very good at sales. When we moved to Tampa I thought I would go back to sales…until I saw the store hours..8-8 M-F, 8-7 Sat and 11-6 on Sunday. In Kingston our hours were 9-8 M-T, 9-6 F, 9-4 Sat in winter, closed Sat-Sun in summer. Closed all major holidays. I hear dealers bemoaning the lack of professionals wanting sales jobs but with those hours how can you balance work and family?