With the amount of information available online during a shopper’s initial search for a new vehicle, it is becoming more and more important to showcase a store’s best assets on the Web — including its salespeople.

DealerRater is debuting a new program at an industry conference this week that helps stores do just that.

The company’s new Certified Employee Program is designed to allow dealership employees to use their individual reputations to stand out from competitors when shoppers are researching stores on the DealerRater site.

The new tool is a complimentary feature of DealerRater’s Certified Dealer Program.

The program’s employee-specific pages let dealers feature personal bios, videos and customer testimonials for dealer employees.

And the Certified Employee Program “takes it one step further,” the company said, by giving individual employees the opportunity to achieve certified status to potentially earn more reviews and increase their visibility to potential customers.

“Today’s auto shoppers are looking for more than just the right dealership,” explains DealerRater chief executive officer Gary Tucker. “They are seeking the actual person they want to work with before stepping foot in the showroom. With this in mind, we’ve designed our Certified Employee Program to help consumers find the top-rated salespeople and service advisers in their area. This enhanced level of visibility into a dealer’s business offers ample opportunity for employees to better position themselves for success.”

To obtain certification, employees must finish an online training course and obtain a minimum of 10 new reviews quarterly.

Training includes lessons in best practices and how to leverage online reviews to beat competition, among other topics.  

The company explained employees who fulfill these requirements will gain priority placement on a list of top-rated certified employees featured on result pages when DealerRater users search for dealers.

 Certified employees also receive an exclusive badge for their DealerRater online profile and a certificate of achievement that can be displayed at their dealership.

Megan Barto, Internet director at Ciocca Honda, expressed her enthusiasm for the new tool, noting, "We've already seen a direct correlation between our top performers and their reviews on DealerRater, so we are truly excited for the Certified Employee program.

 “It allows those employees who take advantage of the Certified Dealer Program to gain more visibility amongst the community. It also offers us the unique opportunity to build even more reviews and drive more business for our sales and service staff through DealerRater,” she continued.