Quantum5 is a social advocacy platform that seeks to digitally transform automotive buying by shifting to a “lifetime value model” instead of the transactional model of the past.
The company uses a “social advocacy learning platform” of dealership training on people skills and behavioral tactics that it says is necessary to succeed in the digital world of today.
On Wednesday, the company released its community-building platform, called Quantum5, and said it seeks to teach those skills to help fill the void left when on-the-lot car buying went digital during the COVID pandemic.
Quantum5 president and co-founder David O’Brien said his company has heard from dealerships that building relationships has become difficult at a time when most transactions now take place over the phone and e-mail.
In a news release, O’Brien said, “Dealers are coming to us saying, ‘How do service advisors set up the 30k when the vehicle is now delivered and all their selling is done without seeing the customer?’”
Quantum5 said it develops necessary people skills and behavioral tactics to boost a dealership’s overall performance results.
The training takes place through in-person classes or virtual sessions, and after the initial training process, AI-driven analysis uses personalized delivery skills training in continuing to support and improve performance results. Community managers who know automotive are available to lead and support the team.
“Quantum5 takes artificial intelligence and uses it to drive individual motivations, real performance results and healthy competition for sales and service teams,” Quantum5 co-founder and chief operating officer Ken Herfurth said.
Herfurth continued, “Imagine building a community where your top sales performers go head to head in training to win big prizes. It’s a win-win situation. Your employees are enjoying the training, your customers are benefitting from the best-in-class skills taught, and your store is building lifetime value and profits.”
More information is available on how Quantum5 help digitally transform sales and service teams through training.
JM&A Group’s in-house educational and training facility, the Performance Development Center, has expanded its offerings for dealers throughout the industry.
JM&A Group said it was doing that after the successful launch of its initial free virtual training courses.
Describing the response to its online, live training courses as “overwhelmingly positive,” JM&A created four new sessions, which will be available through the end of May.
Sales, F&I, service and leadership are the session topics, and the limited-time offering ends June 1.
Performance Development Center director Chris May said more than 2,500 people have registered for courses in the areas of leadership, service, sales and F&I within the first month of the new virtual learning service rollout.
“Early acceptance being what it was, we are confident that the demand for additional topics will also be high,” May said in a news release.
May continued, “We are pleased to provide this valuable service, allowing dealership teams across the country to gain new perspectives, enhanced skills and knowledge, and tools to help serve customers even better than before.”
Trainers will provide 60 minutes of personal attention to participants, who will also receive collaborative group learning, hands-on workshops, and individualized support.
Class sizes will range from 10 to 12 participants.
The company is adding new courses to the existing cache:
— Sales: Opportunity to do business
To convert a prospect into a customer in today’s business climate, dealers must maximize every opportunity. With the course, dealers can learn to shift their mindset and approach through industry best practices for priority management and digital communications. Participants will also learn how to use rapport-building tactics to create trust.
— F&I: Overcoming objections
As we shift to our virtual-world new normal, the ability to overcome objections is the key to successful performance. Dealers must know their customer to do that, as well as how to use the power of the interview and how to use those interview insights toward overcoming objections within the menu presentation.
— Service: Virtual 12-step write-up process
For success in service, the write-up remains an important process and path. What specifically can be done in a virtual world to complete the 12 steps? Quick-to-implement tactics can put a twist on the classic approach to satisfy today’s customer.
— Leadership: Microlearning drives performance
Keep the lines of communication open to help your team stay connected and focused on performance. Participants will learn how to elevate their messaging by applying microlearning principles through in-person and virtual delivery channels. They will learn tips they can put to immediate use to improve communications with their team.
A complete list of courses is available, as well.
JM&A Group said more than 500 dealers are learning its process, and the company continues to partner with dealers who want to bring their F&I into the digital world. More information is available on implementing the company’s Virtual F&I playbook.
Participants of a new certification program from automotive industry software company DealerSocket will have the opportunity to become certified on one or all of the company’s products, including CRM with its customer-retention tool RevenueRadar.
The program will begin at DealerSocket’s User Summit, which will take place Aug. 21 to 23 in Anaheim, Calif.
For the first part of DealerSocket’s three-part certified program series, users will attend three sessions for beginner-level certification. Six intermediate-level sessions will follow.
In addition to CRM/RevenueRadar, certifications will be available for DealerSocket’s DealerFire websites and digital marketing, DMS products such as iDMS and AutoStar and Inventory+, which is DealerSocket’s inventory management product.
Multiple certification options will be available for each product track. CRM certification will be available for all aspects of CRM marketing and achieving increased sales, and a sales manager-specific certification program will also be available.
DealerSocket will also offer certification for its digital marketing track, including DealerFire’s Ignite tool and digital marketing. DMS certification topics include buy-here, pay-here and retail functionality for AutoStar and iDMS.
Areas of certification for Inventory+ will focus on acquisitions, appraisals and overall inventory management.
After the first two steps at the User Summit, the final stage in the program will take place for users who would like to become a DealerSocket Certified Expert at one of the company’s four U.S. offices.
DealerSocket said its certification classes have been designed with extensive input from top-performing dealership owners/managers. Dealers and DealerSocket employees who are experts in each product will be the class presenters.
“Becoming a DealerSocket certified expert will make each user of DealerSocket’s products a valuable member of any dealership’s team,” DealerSocket’s vice president of professional services and certification program leader Amber Skvarca said in a news release. “DealerSocket certified experts will learn all aspects of DealerSocket’s products, which will help them effectively utilize our best-in-class functionality to grow their dealership’s business, as well as help users develop their careers within the automotive industry.”
A partnership between a hiring and talent management company and an automotive marketing services company could be a big step to helping solve what is said to be an automotive industry-wide problem: employee retention.
Hiring and talent management platform Hireology has partnered with automotive marketing services company Maritz to help dealers identify the best candidates for important dealership positions, hire top talent with greater speed and confidence, and manage onboarding through the use of training, communications, incentives, recognition and other performance improvement tools.
The companies announced the partnership at the Future of Automotive Retail summit, presented by Maritz, in Naples, Fla.
Hireology recently released a new recruitment CRM platform for the automotive industry. The company says it powers recruitment marketing and hiring for one in six U.S. dealers. Dealers who tap into a multi-channel recruitment marketing strategy drive 10 times more quality applicants than job boards alone, according to Hireology data.
“Through this partnership, we are excited to help dealers overcome the challenges of today’s competitive hiring market, attract top talent across roles, follow a proven hiring process and manage employees post-hire,” Hireology co-founder and chief executive officer Adam Robinson said in a news release. “Maritz is in the people business and has partnered with automotive manufacturers and dealers for more than 65 years to motivate, educate and engage teams to higher levels of performance. Our partnership brings together two retail automotive industry leaders to help transform the people side of the business.”
Maritz Automotive vice president of sales Terry Erwin said the partnership allows the companies to turn the employee-retention problem into a competitive edge for dealers struggling to attract, engage and retain employees.
"It fits really well with our belief that, even with all of the disruption facing the auto industry, managing human capital — getting the most out your employees — will be the difference between success and failure," Erwin said.
