I'm constantly asked by sales associates for one great way to better engage with their customers. I seem to always go back to open-ended questions as the solution. If you can get your customer to open up, it will make every aspect of the transaction better. Most importantly, you will be better prepared to help the customer find their perfect vehicle. So what's the difference between open and closed-ended questions?

The primary difference between open-ended and closed-ended questions lies in the type and depth of responses they elicit. Closed-ended questions are designed to produce specific, typically short, answers such as "yes" or "no," "true" or "false," or a choice among a limited set of pre-determined options. For example, "Do you like this car?" is a closed-ended question because the answer can be a simple "yes" or "no."

On the contrary, open-ended questions are crafted to invite a more extensive, descriptive answer, encouraging conversation and enabling deeper understanding. These questions often start with "why," "how," "what," "describe," or "tell me about..." They create room for the respondent to express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas more fully.

For instance, if a sales team member is facing objections to a sale, asking open-ended questions can help uncover the root of the client's hesitation and guide the conversation towards resolution. More importantly, it helps the customer see that you care what's best for them and not just about getting the sale. Here are some examples:

1. "Can you tell me more about what you're looking for in a vehicle?" This invites the customer to share their specific needs and preferences, which the salesperson can then address.
2. "What factors are most important to you when choosing a car?" Understanding the customer's priorities can help the salesperson emphasize relevant features of the vehicle.
3. "How do you feel about the financing options we've discussed?" This can bring out concerns about affordability or value, which the salesperson can then help alleviate.
4. "Could you describe your ideal car-buying experience?" This may reveal issues with the sales process itself, enabling improvements in service.
5. "Why do you think this might not be the right car for you?" A direct approach can sometimes be best, giving the customer an open invitation to express their concerns.

Sales associates significantly boost their customer engagement by utilizing open-ended questions. These questions encourage customers to offer in-depth insights, helping salespeople cater more effectively to the customers' specific needs and preferences. Open-ended questions promote rich conversations, resolve objections, and underscore the salesperson's genuine interest in the customer's well-being. In essence, open-ended questioning is a powerful tool that fosters a more successful, customer-centric sales environment and aids in matching the customer with their perfect vehicle.

If you would like more help, feel free to reach out to me anytime.

The Most Valuable Insight competition highlights some of the powerful takeaways leveraging data from progressive vendor partners. Check out the entire competition to uncover actionable insights you can apply at your dealerships.

Dealers face many challenges today with the pre-owned marketplace – from rising inventory costs and interest rates to declining consumer confidence.

We discuss these challenges and provide insight into what dealers can do today to overcome challenges and capitalize on inventory acquisition, reconditioning, and merchandising opportunities – all while bolstering dealership and consumer relations.



Andragogy. It’s probably not what you think. The term was popularized by Malcolm Knowles in the late sixties. Malcolm Knowles used this word when defining his six assumptions related to adult learning.

Adults learn differently than children. Children can be instructed in a linear, structured manner. This is why schools can exist. Children can all be put through a similar curriculum, and chances are they will come out of it with a decent education.

But adults don’t work like that, and it’s important that dealerships learn how adults learn. If you can build a training program that leverages these adult learning principles, you can better ensure the learning will stick.

Let’s discuss each of Knowles’ principles and how important coaching is in this training process.

1. Adults need to know. Because adults have a wealth of experience, they want to know why the training is important. You need to explain why the training is necessary and how it can help them improve.
2. Foundation: This wealth of experience also means that your training needs to build on their foundational knowledge.
3. Self-concept: Or put another say, self-guided. Adults must be responsible for how they learn. If the training is self-guided, they will see it as “their choice”, not something that was shoved down their throat. You can get away with a structured learning track when “certifying” someone on a process, but once the employee has a basic understanding of this process, they need to be responsible for their education.
4. Readiness: Adults learn best when they need the instruction. If a training topic is relevant to something they are working on or that they need to improve in order to be more successful, they will be more apt to listen and apply the training.
5. Orientation: Adults learn when the training is problem-related. As stated above, adults have a wealth of experience and their training needs to solve a problem. If they can uncover an area to improve on, they will seek out training.
6. Motivation: Internal motivators are more powerful than external motivators. Adults want to lean when they are motivated, not when they are forced.

Think about the last time you wanted to learn how to do something. Maybe you wanted to cook a brisket, replace a fuel pump, or create a clipping mask in Illustrator. Chances are you searched the topic online and watched some how-to videos on Youtube. There is a reason “how to” begins so many search phrases.

This is how we learn. We decided we wanted to learn something. We found content that was relevant and contextual, and we watched it or read it. We then applied our training in the real world to solve a problem.

What does this have to do with dealership training? Here are some tips to help you better leverage your training.

• Establish job performance quotas. Take the time to define success. For example, if a BDC agent should set 50% appointments on inbound phone calls, you can use this as one of your quotas. Find five to seven quotas in each job role and assign metrics to them like we just did for appointment set percentage.
• Ask the employee for their actual numbers in your quotas. At the beginning of each month, compare actual metrics vs. established criteria in key areas. For example, compare their actual number against the appointment set percentage benchmark. Complete this exercise for all of the quotas you established above. You’ll see some trends develop.
• Celebrate a win. Discover a quota the employee is performing very well on and comment on it. If the service advisor is crushing their hours per RO, high-five them. It’s important to celebrate successes.
• Ask the employee what they want to work on. For example, let’s say your salespeople have demo percentage as one of their quotas. You have decided you want them to demo 80% of their customers, and the salesperson demoed 67% in the previous month. The salesperson could see that increasing their demo percentage would help them sell more cars. You could ask questions to help uncover why the demo percentage was low and ask the employee how they want to improve it. A note here: “try harder” is not a plan. Get them to give you some concrete actions they can try.
• Assign training. Now you have an employee who knows what they want to work on! They have decided what they need to learn. You can assign them some courses to watch and give them some activities they can complete to apply their training. You’ll see performance improve, and your employees will be more engaged in their development. After a few months they will come to you with specific items they want to improve on.

Our time is valuable. We need to make the most of it. As the market normalizes, we will need to reinforce the fundamentals of each process employees execute. Following this model is a great way to make sure your training efforts aren’t wasted. Apply the principles of adult learning and make your training more impactful.

We’ve all been traveling and hopped in the back of an Uber or Lyft. We carry on a conversation, jump on our phones, or maybe look around at the scenery. If we were tasked with getting from our destination back to our hotel, we wouldn’t be able to do it? Why? We weren’t driving. We didn’t need to be accountable for navigating. We could just be a passenger.

This passenger thinking runs rampant in dealerships. I frequently hear sales managers say they are just “glorified babysitters”. This indicates they have a team of passengers.

Ask yourself, “Am I a passenger or a driver?”. Are you accountable for your destination or are you just along for the ride?

Who do you work for?

If you want to be a driver and improve your self-accountability, here are some tips.

Know what success looks like.

Regardless of your position inside the dealership, do you know what success looks like? It’s more than how many cars you sell or service you write. Those are the outcome. Do you know what it takes to get there? Success is the result of process execution. Are you familiar with the process metrics that lead to those results?

A driver understands what success looks like and how to get there.

Track your performance daily

It’s easy to get off track. Passengers look at their results on the 15, realize they are way behind, and give up.

Missing a day can have a dramatic impact on your total month. You need to track your key metrics that lead to success daily. Break your monthly numbers down into daily objectives and then achieve them daily. If you miss a day, that’s ok. Make it up on the next day. Don’t let your month get away from you and track your performance daily.

Analyze how to impact your key metrics

Do you know how your metrics improve your performance? A driver can analyze the processes and activities that lead to success and identify opportunities to improve.

For example, if one of your key metrics is appointments set, do you know what you can do to improve performance in that metric? If you need to improve your additional service revenue, do you know how?

If you can analyze your key metrics and understand the drivers that determine success you are in the best position to get better. You are no longer dependent on outside forces to control your success.

Actively contribute in coaching sessions

When you get one on one time with a manager, make the most of it. Your managers have been where you are, and chances are they were very successful (that’s why they’re a manager). One thing your manager cannot do, however, is read your mind. You have to actively participate in the conversation.

When you get valuable time with your managers, share what your weaknesses are and how you want to improve. Listen and apply the insights they give you. Solicit feedback if your managers aren’t giving it. They can help if you let them.

To be successful in a dealership, you need to drive. It’s your career and your income, so own it. Don’t let outside forces dictate your success. Take the wheel!

The automotive market is transitioning faster than we’ve seen in the last 25+ years.

Despite all odds, the most successful dealers are taking advantage of the current economic climate to double down on their business and gain more market share.

The Lotlinx Data Lab has aggregated data from dealerships, national brands, major advertising platforms, and proprietary shopper technology to better understand this trend.

Join us as we dive into the trends and best practices dealers are building their inventory strategies around in 2023.



There are several factors contributing to the roller-coaster ride of the automotive marketplace. Macro-economic conditions are slowing demand and moderating prices at the same time as production and inventory levels are rebounding off their pandemic related lows. Meanwhile, dealers are operating leaner than before while trying to keep up with evolving consumer behavior in a highly competitive landscape.

Given these factors, how can dealerships employ a more effective sales strategy to overcome these challenges and thrive in a more competitive marketplace? With defection data that are specific, timely, and deep.

The way people shop has changed—and the automotive industry is no exception. Now more than ever before, they browse, research, and compare car options extensively before showing up at a dealership.

So how do dealers manage this big shift? 

Industry experts Matt Howitt and Aksana Campbell dive into how you can appeal to today’s consumers, and what it takes to create an end-to-end modern car buying experience.



Managers: you are the linchpin of employee development.

In fact, I’ll go a step further and say that management is the key to all process implementation and operational success.

Ask any vendor. Ask your OEM rep. Without management buy-in and active participation, nothing happens. Your GM becomes frustrated that they can’t get “buy-in”, and the store doesn’t progress.

Managers drive employee development. They create your customer experience. They mentor and grow your team. The performance of your organization depends on the caliber of your managers.

So why are you so often left out? Ask yourself, do you receive as much training as the Salespeople, BDC agents, Service Advisors, etc. that you manage? Do you know how to coach your employees to success or are you a “glorified babysitter?

Here are four things you can do to become a better manager and leader:

Focus on Important as well as urgent

Too often I hear that managers don’t have enough time to do their job. You do have enough time, but you must prioritize and let go of activities that aren’t important.

There is no getting around upset customers. You can’t pause the service drive so you can spend some time mentoring your service advisors. There isn’t a calendar schedule that you can use to manage car sales. These items are urgent.

But there needs to be time allotted for important. Frequently, important takes a backseat to everything else. Think about how you can clear the clutter out of your day. Find time to deal with important.

Make a personal connection

We’ve all heard the saying, “people buy from people”. It’s true, but people also work for people. A key to motivating and coaching your employees is to build an emotional bond and personal connection.

That doesn’t mean you have to become best friends. It means you know why your employees are working at your dealership. It means you know what they want to achieve in their career. They need to have the confidence that you are working to help them achieve their goals.

Do you know why your employees work at your store? Do you know what truly motivates them to succeed? Do you know where they want to be in 2 years? Find out.

Create scorecards that measure success

If you want me to work for you, I must know what success looks like. That doesn’t just mean how many cars is a good number to sell, or how many appointments your top BDC agent sets.

Employees need to understand the activities they need to execute to achieve success. Activities lead to results. You’ll get the outcomes you want if you are able to show your employees that if they complete activities on a daily basis, they’ll be successful.

These activities should be different for a new hire than a grizzled veteran that’s been with you for 12 years. Make sure your scorecards include levels based on experience. You can always “promote” an employee from one scorecard to another as they progress.

Growth mindset

Earlier in this post I asked if you are receiving as much training as your employees. If not, that’s on you. There are almost an infinite number of resources you can tap into to improve your management skills.

Youtube, LinkedIn Learning, leadership books, DrivingSales HCM and community, are just a few platforms that can help you develop better coaching and mentoring. Take the time to use them.

Having a growth mindset means you believe you always have more to learn. You aren’t sitting back and using your experience to manage your team. You need to constantly be looking for opportunities to grow and develop.

Execute

Duh.

None of the above activities mean anything if you don’t execute. The road is paved with good intentions. What separates true leaders from babysitters is their execution.

Just about anyone can desk a deal. That’s not where your value lies. The real reason you’re in the position you are is to develop your employees. Remember, you are the difference between dealership failure and success.

The ability to offer options to your customers is a luxury that not a lot of dealers can offer right now. And...it can give you a massive unfair advantage over the competition.

Find out how a small town dealer in Graham, NC routinely sources 80-100 new cars per month from across the Southeast.  

Uncover:

• The steps County Ford took to become a sourcing juggernaut
• Lessons learned from their multi-year journey (and mistakes to avoid)
• Industry trends that will keep sourcing from consumers a go-to strategy through 2023