Highlighting the Last Mile – How Nelson Automotive Group and Thomas Auto Group future-proof their operations.
Single Point of Contact selling is not for everyone, but neither is the traditional sales model in automotive dealerships. In this context, A2Z was featured on CBT news to discuss dealership experience. Natalia Giner, CEO of A2Z Sync provided a framework of who A2Z is and was joined by two of our favorite clients to give the audience real-world testimonies of going to a single point of contact sales model.
When we unpack the conversation, three main themes emerged.
Dealers have seen an emphasis on the online experience, but we have not committed to improving what happens in the showroom.
The dealer groups that are attracted to the A2Z model have kept their eye on the most important aspect of their operation – optimizing the last mile of the dealership experience. Yes, the online experience became more and more important during Covid but an unfortunate byproduct that many dealerships faced was the disconnected transition to the in-store experience.
Patti Tremonti of Nelson Automotive Group explained that the fear of not changing was greater than the fear of staying the same. Their group has always had an incredible focus on guest experience and after the decision was made to modernize – they went through the diligent approach to see the single point of contact selling model for themselves. The transition to a single point of contact saw a reduction in turnover and an increase in market share and profitability. Developing the skillset through training empowered a single person in the store to guide a guest through the vehicle buying process and F&I Process. Through partnership in training and a commitment to continual training – Nelson Automotive is one of our favorite success stories.
Dealership Experience is not exclusive to luxury or major metro groups
Stephanie Martz, President of Thomas Auto Group classified her stores to be in rural areas where relationships are premium. Stephanie is thankful for the Thomas Culture that is thinking about its operations with a five years-out mentality and staying ahead of the curve.
Hearing Stephanie’s insights highlights that relationships and people transcend. Store size, market area, and type of vehicles being offered to the market all require the right people and the right commitment. The Thomas Auto Group wanted the experience to be transparent, and less threatening for their guests and turned to the single point of contact sales model to facilitate their vision. Improving the customer experience future-proof the Thomas Auto Group brand.
The mindset is best if you are looking to do it right, not just to be different
The Nelson Automotive group sees intensifying and committing to training around the single point of contact model as the catalyst to empowering their team to deliver an excellent guest experience. Their mission was to ensure the last mile of the transaction was done right, with the right people. The Nelson team was comfortable knowing that not everyone is going to be on board with the change. They were also comfortable knowing that they are committed to training the right people to be empowered to do the right thing. The right thing for Nelson Auto Group is to deliver a transparent, easy, and efficient process for their guests.
