Starting Position
Selling 140 new and used cars every month (2019)
- Successful OEM Gold Cup winning store
- Traditional negotiating multiple-person sales process and F&I department
- Values driven, not satisfied with their in-store customer experience
The Spark
In need of a customer centric experience
- Brandon Murphy, Managing Partner, was in search of a more efficient and customer-centric buying experience
- Looking to grow market share and bottom line
- Brandon’s search led him to A2Z, where he was introduced to the One Person℠ Sales Model
The Goals
Create a best-in-class customer experience
- To provide the best possible customer experience
- Enhance the role of the salesperson
- Retain as many people as possible
- Create new operating efficiencies
- Grow market share
The Approach
A commitment to making change
- Expect a short-term dip in profits
- Improved performance would lead to higher overall profits in the future
- An established vision expressed the need for a full commitment by the dealership
- Initial focus was put on the process change, not on financial results
- Nelson dismantled their BDC and F&I departments with most existing staff reassigned to new roles
Keys to Success
Total dealership transformation at every level
- Leadership – “An absolutely unyielding adherence to the process of change.”
- Intense focus on training, F&I boot camps, role-playing, and launch of Nelson University
- Created new team leader roles to train, coach, and mentor salespeople
- Changed compensation plan to reward participation in the new sales process
- Immediate sales results with comp guarantees during the transition
- Close coordination with A2Z on technology integration and training
The Learnings
A transformation that requires full buy-in
- It’s okay to lose sales and F&I staff who don’t support the change
- Stay committed to the training process, this can’t be rushed
- It’s important to set high expectations for hiring salespeople – it’s now a very proactive job
The Results
Plan ahead for early adversity
Insights from the leadership team.
“For the first time, we saw with our own eyes the ideal sales model that we had been looking for and dreaming about. The way Schomp was implementing the One Person℠ Sales Model very closely matched our core values of wanting to do the best thing for our customers and employees, and it also produced really strong financial results, which was very exciting for us to see.”
-Brandon Murphy, Managing Partner at Nelson Automotive Group
