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TRAINING: A lesson we can all
We study great people and great companies to learn how they set themselves apart from the competition and what they do that is different from what we might do. During our visit to Lazydays, our interviews with their executives, and discussions with industry leaders, we found a common thread that ran through the entire company and every person that works for the company . . . training. Training is not a "sometime" thing at Lazydays, it is the heart and soul of the company. Every employee attends training sessions every week. Customers can attend training sessions throughout the day Monday through Friday, every week. Manufacturers and suppliers are constantly conducting training sessions for the sales and service teams. In real estate it's location, location, location. At Lazydays, it's training, training, training. Could one business discipline really be responsible for a meteoric increase in every other aspect of their business? I think their revenue answers that question quite emphatically. When an industry has one dealer that generates 100 times the revenue of the average dealer in that industry, there is very little room, or reason, to argue against their success formula. What are you doing about training in your company? It's very easy to get lost in the day-to-day responsibilities of running a dealership and you can always find an excuse to delay, postpone, or never schedule any formal training classes. Most of us would admit to being guilty of neglecting our responsibilities to provide adequate training for our employees and customers, even though we are well aware of the results. If we ever needed the motivation to change the way we think about training, I think you'll find it between the covers of this issue of RV News. Don Wallace has proven that training works. Training cannot be a part-time event. It cannot have a part-time instructor. It cannot be a part-time effort. We have all heard the popular business saying: Success is a journey, not a destination. It is a constant, always being worked on and always being improved upon. Without goals and objectives there is no success. If you don't know where you are going, then you are never going to get there. If you continue to do what you've always done, then you will always get what you've always got. Now read that same paragraph and substitute the word training for the word success. All of a sudden, it's becoming quite clear. Success means training, and training means success. What can the average RV dealer learn from the lessons that have been well documented on the success of the Lazydays training program? Quite a bit. And all of it positive -- things that will increase employee morale and revenue. Let's look at some of the ways training can play a valuable role in the success of your dealership or company. People Start by training them in the company mission and philosophy. Do you have a mission statement? Do you have company goals and objectives that are understood by every person in your organization? Do you post this information throughout the company so that they will be continually reminded of how important it is to their personal success and the company's overall success? Do you train your people on how to answer the telephone, or how to greet a customer or prospect that comes through the door? Do you train them on company policies and procedures so that they know what they can, and cannot, in the workplace. Do you train them on business ethics, manners and dress and how important they are to your company? Have they been trained in customer service techniques to assure that every customer is treated like the valuable person that they are, and what their business means to the company. Have they been trained on problem resolution and how to work as part of a team? Do you invest in outside training that will enhance internal programs? Do you encourage additional educational opportunities and industry certification programs to increase their importance to the company? Administration Are they trained on the importance of the documentation they work on, and how it flows through the company. Do they really know what the company does and where they fit in the process? Have you installed the systems and business rules required to run a successful business and then trained all the people on how to make it all work the right way? Have you invested in computer hardware and software training classes or just given them the manual? And we all know what happens when you give them the manual. Somehow, it just doesn't get read. Do you train your staff on the ergonomics of the office environment? Are they familiar with government regulations that govern your business? Are they encouraged, trained, and instructed on workplace issues that affect people and profits? Sales Do you have a continuous product knowledge training program that may use internal or external resources? Are you taking full advantage of training programs offered by suppliers and manufacturers that you expect your people to represent professionally to prospects and customers? Are your sales people encouraged to read business journals and books that relate positive success stories? Do they receive formal sales training on new and improved techniques that can enhance their performance and productivity? Have your sales people been trained in consultative selling skills and solutions selling versus the outdated product/features/benefit method that doesn't fit today's sophisticated buyers? Does your sales team really understand the selling process? Have they ever received any formal, professional, sales training? Have you spent money to make them better, which in turn will make your company better? Have you shown them how to meet the customer's expectations of what the RV lifestyle should be, and how it will directly affect the profits of your business? Do your sales people understand the three C's of selling: Candor, Concern and Competence? Service Do you send them to factory training schools so that they can learn in a formal setting and not under the pressure of learning as you go? Do you encourage and train them on personal self-development and how it can impact their personal success within the company. Are your technical people trained in sound customer service skills to deal with uncomfortable situations that can arise when the products you sell don't perform to customer expectations? Do you invite suppliers and manufacturers to conduct formal training sessions in a designated training room within your facility? Do you train your staff on parts nomenclature, warranty procedures, and availability of sources to meet service requirements? Finance and Insurance Do you encourage your vendors to conduct regular training sessions on financial developments that can impact your business? Do you invest in external training programs that will increase product knowledge and customer service skills to improve the productivity and profits of your F&I group. Do you train your F&I staff in presenting the best financing arrangements that meet your customers' ability to pay? Supplies and Accessories Store Do you train your people on the importance of a well stocked, clean, and comfortable environment for your customers to shop in? Have you trained your staff on the proper storage, use and disposal of items sold in your store? Do you work closely with your distributors to assure a constant flow of information on new products and how they fit into the RV lifestyle? Do you train your employees on the proper use of computerized order and billing systems to assure a trouble-free experience for your customers when they shop at your dealership? Customer Delivery Do you have a standardized form and procedure that the employees have been trained in to assure that everything is covered when delivering a new RV? Have the employees dealing with the final delivery been trained in appropriate customer service skills dealing with communications and conversation with the customers? Do you train your employees on how to handle problem situations that develop during a customer walk through? Do you provide a neat, clean, and inviting area to conduct the walk through? Summary Lazydays has done the industry a tremendous service by showing just how important training should be in every company. They have also shown us what can happen when you do it right. I think we can all agree that training is important. We can no longer keep it at the bottom of the "to-do" list. We know it works, and we must make it work. We know it's important and our employees must know it is important. Can you imagine how big the RV industry could be if everyone had the same results with their training programs that Don Wallace had at Lazydays? Don't think for a minute that you can't. We often talk about bringing RVs into the mainstream of consumer purchases. This was once a "hobby" industry and it is now a legitimate industry. The next step is to be a mainstream industry that delivers its goods and services across the entire demographic make-up of the country. RV News is also taking a new approach to training so that we can better serve our readers and help them grow their business. We are pleased to announce that starting next month, we will have a dedicated training article in each issue of RV News. Jim Calderbank, an experienced RV sales trainer, will be joining the staff of RV News and writing the training articles. Let me leave you with this final thought. If every dealership instituted training programs that doubled their business, just think what it would do for the RV industry. Not 100X what you are doing now, just 2X what you are doing now. The first step in the journey is a formalized training program. Good luck and good selling.
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