Australian Car Industry Jobs & Careers

Some of the more astute managers of dealerships that we work with have been keen to employ more women in their sales teams in recent years.   We have also noticed an increase in the number of women who are applying for sales roles in the retail motor industry.

Many women we have spoken with have been frustrated when they recently bought a car and at some dealerships found not only the sales process and customer service to be wanting, but specifically they encountered stupid, sexist attitudes from some salesmen.  Naturally, they realised that they were capable of doing a far superior job and if they managed to put some sexist idiot out of a job – well, that was just a bonus!

Women who are considering a role in car sales for the first time may doubt their ability, especially when it comes  to their knowledge of cars.   Sean Morahan of automotive sales training company Auto Pty Ltd, suggests that “Any woman who has bought a car and can identify what she likes and dislikes about the car has got plenty of knowledge to get started in the industry!  Very few customers are interested in technical specifics of cars other than what is important to them.  An ability to ask good questions and work with the answers is far more important than a fanatical knowledge of cars, which many customers find alienating.”

Women are usually naturally better at listening, asking questions and empathising and these three things are crucial to sales success and good customer service.  Even though men can learn or practise these skills, most women have a natural advantage in these areas.

Women considering a career in car sales should be mindful that they are able to add some significant business advantages to a car sales team:

• Saleswomen are usually more effective at putting customers at ease quickly. A customer at ease is more likely to stay longer in the dealership,  is more likely to return multiple times, and of course, buy.

• Saleswomen tend to be better at empathising, i.e., seeing things from the client’s point of view, which means that they have a head start in understanding and meeting the client’s needs.

• Saleswomen have the benefit of contrast in the industry: in a vehicle sales showroom with ten salesmen, a saleswoman has an instant and obvious advantage in being noticed and remembered by clients.  This means that saleswomen can personally “brand” themselves more  effectively in their dealership.

• Saleswomen have a tendency to draw greater repeat and referral sales.  As a result of this, they contribute to faster team results in many areas of team performance.

• With all contemporary research proving that women make or influence the majority  of car buying decisions, it’s more than highly likely to improve the retail motor industry to engage more women in the selling of cars as well as the buying.

• Saleswomen add vital and diverse qualities to a male-dominated sales team’s viewpoints in sales meetings and sales training, which help the entire sales team to become more aware and learn faster.

• Saleswomen usually set higher benchmarks than salesmen for several sales activities in the team, which contributes to an overall team improvement.

• Saleswomen are usually better at asking questions in a natural and fluid way to investigate and identify the client’s  needs and listen attentively to the client’s answers.

• Saleswomen usually have a better developed sense of style, which can be a notable benefit for giving clients advice regarding colour choice, vehicle options and accessories.

• Customer satisfaction surveys reveal that saleswomen are often perceived by customers as more honest than their male counterparts.

• Saleswomen have better natural ability to create a positive car-buying ‘experience’ for their clients.  Some examples of this include thoughtful gestures such as gifts or a bunch of flowers at delivery and taking a photograph of the clients with their new car on delivery, remembering and using the clients’ children’s names, client birthday cards, etc.

• Saleswomen are often superior at multi-tasking, which gives them another advantage in the project management of the tasks needed to sell, prepare and deliver a vehicle and to manage the client follow-up contact to maintain client satisfaction.

• Saleswomen make and see to completion many opportunities for sales that their male counterparts may have had not even have had the opportunity to complete.

There are fantastic opportunities for new saleswomen  in a car sales career.

Ask about women’s car sales careers!

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