Love or hate them, car dealerships aren’t going anyplace within the US. The strict dealership legal guidelines and the highly effective vendor foyer behind all of them however assure that the established manufacturers will not be capable of supply direct-to-consumer gross sales anytime quickly.
In the meantime, the vendor’s job of understanding and explaining how the autos work has been getting increasingly more tough because the tech contained in the automobiles advances. Then add the truth that increasingly more various gasoline autos are displaying up on the tons within the type of battery electrical autos (BEVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), full hybrid electrical autos (FHEV), and hybrid electrical autos (HEV). You’ll be able to rapidly perceive why sellers want extra assist and coaching than ever earlier than.
Ford College on-line modules and classes
(Full Disclosure: Ford supplied flights and automotive service for my journey to Detroit to find out about Ford College)
Ford thinks it has the reply to this: utilizing know-how to show know-how. Ford College is an all-new on-line coaching platform to assist Ford sellers find out about new in-vehicle know-how, perceive electrical autos and charging, and practice to be higher communicators.
Whereas the platform is not designed particularly to show electrical car content material, it is all in there and every other product data that sellers want is simply too.
EV coaching is a key space of focus for Ford College to assist prospects make an knowledgeable selection on what kind of auto is correct for them. We’re launching 25 EV-focused coaching modules masking the basics of EVs, house and public charging, check drives, EV service, and extra. We are going to proceed so as to add EV content material as we broaden Ford College. – Abby Vietor, World Director of Seller Coaching & Productiveness / Head of Ford College
Ford College’s digital expertise is totally different from every other on-line coaching system. It is designed to appear and feel extra like a social media website—like YouTube, for example—with really helpful movies primarily based on the person’s earlier search historical past and watched content material. That is all designed to make dealership staff truly need to go to the location.
I spoke with Abby Vietor, World Director of Seller Coaching & Productiveness / Head of Ford College, about how the system leverages AI to assist enhance worker communication expertise. A technique AI is utilized is with communication coaching expertise. Workers are urged to report a brief one—to two-minute video during which they introduce themselves, clarify their position on the dealership, after which converse briefly about three totally different matters.
They’re then scored on their efficiency and given particular particulars of what they did nicely and what they will enhance on. The handful of press invited to this small occasion was all requested to make use of the system as a dealership worker would.
I scored a 78 and obtained a good quantity of suggestions (all of which I agreed with) on how my presentation may have been improved. The system additionally defined what I did nicely, which is an efficient factor as a result of all people appreciates optimistic suggestions in addition to constructive criticism.
I used to be impressed at how the AI picked out particular phrases that I used to level out that they have been efficient and prompt phrases and phrases that I may have included to enhance my rating.
There’s additionally a gamification facet to Ford College that Vietor hopes will encourage customers to have interaction extra with the system. Each worker has their very own account and earns factors for watching tutorial movies and collaborating in duties. Additionally they get to see their rating amongst staff at different dealerships. The hope is that this may spark their competitiveness and encourage them to have interaction with the system extra regularly to earn factors.
There’s a lot details about all of the totally different Ford fashions that it is unimaginable to recollect all the things with out refresher programs. Workers can log into the system anytime they need, 24/7. There’s even a cell app, so Ford College is at all times only a faucet away.
I consider the important thing to Ford College’s success would be the dealership administration and the way they set up coaching necessities. Managers may require workers to observe a sure variety of coaching movies per week or month and think about the worker’s scores in sure classes that they arrange. As an example, if Ford pushes out a brand new model of its BlueCruise, the supervisor can supply a bonus to the worker with the best BlueCruise proficiency scores, they usually may do this for the workers’s electrical car information.
Is it sufficient?
I could not poke round inside Ford College an excessive amount of, however I requested the chance to take action sooner or later, and hopefully, I will be granted that likelihood. My issues are: Is it sufficient to maneuver the needle with regard to EV schooling at Ford’s dealerships?
Normal Motors has taken a unique method to electrical car coaching for its sellers and prospects. It began a web-based EV schooling website referred to as EV Reside. EV Reside is an interactive on-line platform the place dealership staff can work together with an electrical car specialist within the EV Reside studio to find out about not solely GM’s particular EVs however EVs generally. The service can be open to the general public—and never solely GM prospects. Anybody can log in and ask their EV-related questions.
I visited the EV Reside studio final yr and witnessed first-hand how the EV Reside specialists reply questions by a dwell video feed, and I discovered it to be an efficient coaching device. Ford sellers have to up their sport with EV information as a result of it hurts F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E gross sales. This is not a simple process; I’ve first-hand expertise with EV dealership coaching and perceive the challenges. Nevertheless, Ford has to determine it out, or it’ll proceed to battle to promote electrical autos.
Ford College is taking up the vendor coaching process in its entirety, from studying modules to coaching gross sales workers on how you can speak to prospects. Is it an excessive amount of for the common gross sales advisor to need to tackle? Time will inform. I understand how busy the gross sales flooring are and the way little spare time the consumer advisors have. I hope they discover Ford College as participating as administration believes it will likely be, which is able to encourage them to log in regularly. There’s a number of helpful data in there, however main the horse to the water is the straightforward half; getting them to observe hours and hours of coaching movies is, nicely, you realize.