Wanted: Product presenters, not salespeople

This article is included in Part 4 of “Redesigning the Industry,” a 5-part Automotive News series exploring the future of a business in the throes of change. Part 4 focuses on the turns auto retailing might take in the age of mobility. Part 5 will appear in our Dec. 4 issue and focus on what the industry’s power structure might look like by 2030.

The year is 2030, and the 10,000-square-foot showrooms of the past are relics. So are many of the staffers who once worked in those showrooms. Those who remain need new skills to mirror the new realities of automotive retailing.

Now, a few models of autonomous vehicles sit in the center of a tidy, tasteful and tiny showroom, available for purchase or subscription ride-hailing services. The vehicles are framed by just four desks where the transportation consultants — formerly called salespeople — work.

A service center sits to the side of the showroom. At some dealerships, service and parts are at another site entirely, as is the acreage where hundreds of vehicles in the dealership's fleets, as well as the drones that many dealerships now service, sit.

"The car salesman, unfortunately, goes away. The whole stigma of the car salesman is gone" as well, predicted one car dealer. "There will be a minimal need for sales managers. Service managers and technicians will still be needed, but on a limited basis because the battery life on the electric cars will keep getting better and the service intervals will be less. F&I? I see that department completely going away."

Whether a customer buys an autonomous vehicle, or signs up for a subscription ride-hailing service, most transactions happen digitally, including virtual in-home test drives.

On rare occasions, some customers visit the micro dealerships to touch the cars and work with a transportation consultant on a personalized subscription plan.

Overall, "You need far less people working, and their job description is more of product presenters" rather than salespeople, the dealer said.

The product presenters or transportation consultants understand the car, present its features online, arrange financing or payments, and deliver it if needed — tasks that go beyond today's "Genius" staffers at BMW dealerships.

"There are two different faces to this: the digital fulfillment, which are the kind of people hired in the business development centers" of the past, said Bill Cariss, chief strategy officer for Holman Automotive Group Inc. in Mount Laurel, N.J. "Then, there is the whole fleet management team that takes care of any vendors and the vehicles themselves."

Holman, with an affiliated company that is one of the largest fleet managers in the U.S., was an early embracer of subscription services, going into partnership with Cox Automotive in 2017 on Flexdrive, which it hoped to take nationwide in partnership with dealership groups in other parts of the country.

Along with having fewer employees, dealers in 2030 spend less on compensation than they did previously.

Pay plans changed when vehicle pricing became non-negotiable, making commissions obsolete. In subscription plans, the profits are based on miles driven or hours of use per day.

"The only pay plans that make sense are base pay," said Adam Robinson, CEO of Hireology, a Chicago hiring and retention technology provider. "These will still be good middle-class jobs."

Robinson forecasts that customer-facing jobs will continue to pay middle-class wages akin to today's $50,000 to $70,000 a year — enough to support a family.

Moreover, subscription plans give dealers "an opportunity to expand margins," said Robinson, "for the same reason that renting furniture and appliances is a higher-margin business than selling appliances is."

But dealers continue to have high costs for ongoing training to keep employees up-to-date on ever-evolving technology.

In this new world, dealers also are more discerning of their recruits. A college degree is not mandatory, but customer-facing employees need strong listening skills to guide a customer either to ownership or subscription services depending on that customer's needs. Employees also must have good communication skills, both verbal and written, with an ability to articulate the vehicle's functions and outline subscription options.

"Obviously, they need to know their way around systems and finance from the standpoint of subscription pricing," said Cariss.

Cariss looked to Enterprise Rent-A-Car as the prototype of hiring. Enterprise, he said in 2017, hires recent college grads, trains them and then puts them on the front desk working directly with customers. Like Enterprise staffers, dealership staffers in 2030 understand from hands-on experience the logistics of moving cars around, which is critical given that dealerships have become a mix of a traditional fleet management company and a rental car company.

One trait remains the same: an ability to engage with a customer. But these product presenters have autonomy and empowerment to make decisions, said Candice Crane, chief talent officer at Walser Automotive Group in Minneapolis.

Customers want a streamlined, customized transaction process, Crane said, so hiring altruistic people who "truly care about that customer experience" and are problem-solvers will deliver the best customer service.

"We need people who enjoy a fast-paced environment and are competitive and want to grow. We know that is important to the millennial generation, and it will be to Gen Z, too," as they move into dealership positions, Crane said. "It's not the person who has the hunter mentality anymore. They're more strategic and understand how the customer experience impacts the bottom line."