Archives for the Month of October 2006 on Alan Valenti: Budding Auto Exec
The Importance of Training
When reflecting on our classroom discussion about training, I realized that I was exposed to extensive training while working as a Volkswagen sales consultant. The first type of training was internal. I received advice from my manager at the dealership. He gave me several helpful tips that he had acquired during his twenty years in the car business. Additionally, Volkswagen corporate and the car dealership had to orient me as well as the other new sales employees to it goals and views. Volkswagen required employees to attend training seminars at local hotels. They also had a training website with flash presentations to introduce sales personnel to new products. Volkswagen also provided live televised courses that included employee participation over the phone. The last type of training I received came from external sources. I listened to third party training tapes that were supplied by the dealership. Training was a very important part of my job and helped contribute to my success. Training should be considered important to the success of any business.
Inefficiency and Mismanagement
For a car dealership to succeed, mismanagement must be kept to a minimum. I remember one situation that could have been prevented with more proactive management. In this situation, there was a car with a puncture in the door which required the replacement of the whole door. The car was not repaired promptly, and it remained parked with this damage until it was sold. Waiting until the last minute to find a solution resulted in compromising company efficiency and resources. The service department was forced to swap the door from a similar car. This solved the problem only temporarily because I soon sold the new car with the damaged door. Again, there was an inefficient use of company resources, and the customer left the dealership with a negative impression. One way to solve this problem would be to have better communication between management and employees. The manager may have thought that the employee who sold the first car had put in the work order for a door replacement. However, no one ended up doing this. Better communication between the manager and the employee could have easily solved this situation.
The Rewards of a Happy Customer
For the learning plan, I interviewed one of the sales manager that I worked with this summer. One of the things he enjoyed most about his job was making customers happy. I realized that I also found this aspect of selling cars extremely rewarding. During the summer, I helped a woman who could not make up her mind. She had her mind set on a Passat wagon; however, she was not willing to spend over thirty thousand dollars. I met her in the beginning of the summer and kept her updated about other options and deals over the next two months. She did not come back until closing time on my last day of work. I was so happy to see her that I stayed past closing time to help her. I was determined not to lose this customer after all the work that I had put into the deal. I informed her of factory incentives that would make the cash purchase of a Passat sedan ten thousand dollars less than the price of a wagon. She was so excited about the sedan that I collected a deposit in the dark parking lot of the closed dealership.
Being Yourself
Does it really pay off to be yourself? Normally, I am a quiet and reserved individual. However, in certain circumstances, I am able to reach beyond my comfort zone. During my job interview with Rockwell Automation, I noticed some aspects of my character that are not present in my everyday life. I felt as if I was not my normal self. People often say, “Just be yourself.” In certain situations, this may be good advice. However, somehow I do not think being quiet and reserved is the best strategy in an interview. Instead, it is better for the interviewee to be more professional and aggressive. Stepping outside of your comfort zone and doing things that may not necessarily be part of your character are essential for a successful interview and career.