Digital Dealer - August 2017 - 13

LET US NOT FORGET THE MANY FAILURES OF
PEOPLE LIKE THOMAS EDISON OR MARIE CURIE
WHOSE PERSISTENCE AND PURSUIT OF THEIR
IDEAS ENDED UP CHANGING THE WORLD. "
business enhancement
in every area of the store!
I was having this very
conversation last week
with Barry Moore who is
General Manager of Haley Automotive Group's
Buick/GMC in Richmond
Virginia. Barry is a 35year automobile veteran
and a well-respected
visionary leader in his
dealership, his State
Association and General
Motors Corporation. I so
respect Barry's perspective that I asked him if he
would consider putting
his responses to our conversation in writing with
permission to use in this
month's article.
The following is Barry's
take on our industry's
current status:
Circuit City, Blockbuster, Montgomery
Ward, Borders and Paine
Weber are just a few
names we all know but
are no longer in business.
These once thriving and
very successful businesses have been replaced
by industry leaders who
were more forward thinking; entrepreneurs who
could "see" and anticipated changes taking place.
The automobile franchise
system as we know it will
need to change or we too
will be a part of the above
list. It is this writer's

opinion we are stuck in
a rut, we continue doing
business the same way.
A lot of dealer advertising is slap stick and
unprofessional, we don't
encourage our employees to be more professional, pay plans remain
unchanged and the hours
worked are unforgiving.
Finding young motivated
employees who want our
industry as a career has
become near impossible.
We continue to
advertise in a way that
sometimes can be con-

employees. We need to
adjust to what potential
employees of today are
looking for; competitive
perhaps salaried pay
plans and hours attractive
to today's families and of
course benefits.
We are all aware of
the divorce rate, drug
use, and sometimes even
dishonesty within our
workforce. It is vital to understand what is important to today's workforce
in order for our industry to
stay competitive. These
changes cannot and will

WE NEED TO
PROTECT OURSELVES;
WE NEED TO BE SMART,
FORWARD THINKERS."
sidered underhanded.
We continue to do the
same old things but our
customers have gotten
smarter, our customers
are more educated, our
customers want a system
that is quicker, easier and
not as convoluted. That
is why our customers are
turning to the Internet
and could be why we feel
threatened by companies
like Tesla. Not only do we
need to change the way
we deal with our customers we need to attract
and retain professional

not work on an individual dealership basis;
they must be sweeping
changes industry-wide,
a cooperative effort. We
cannot depend on the
factories to help us; in
fact they have their own
self- interests; to stay
afloat themselves. They
may want to discontinue
doing business with us
the way it is presently
done.
We need to protect
ourselves; we need to be
smart, forward thinkers.
We need to revolutionize

the way the car industry does business. It is
imperative we take the
needs of our customers
seriously, that we change
with the times. We all
need to listen together
to what the employee
and customer is asking
for. We must seek out
new ideas, try different
techniques and believe
it is the customer who
knows best. Take their
lead; understand how
they want to buy a new
car. What do they want
when they come in for
service? Does anyone
walk in asking for the best
gimmick or what does the
fine print say? We need
to ask our employees
how their lives can be
improved and then try to
figure out a way to incorporate reasonable ideas
into our businesses.
Of course change is
slow, at least change
that is worth something,
change that will last. By
cooperating, trying new
ideas, bantering back
and forth, initializing new
ideas through beta sites,
exchange of information,
trying and failing and then
trying again, a new way, a
better way, a progressive
way of doing business
will emerge. Let us not
forget the many failures

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

Continued on pg. 14
AUGUST 2017

13
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - August 2017
