It’s now past Labor Day weekend. Much of the year already has passed, and the holiday season will be arriving soon enough.

For dealerships that began 2019 with the intention of increasing in-store training, GWC Warranty compiled strategy to help managers overcome four primary obstacles they might have encountered delaying those educational improvements.

“Sure, your main goal is to sell cars. That goes without question,” GWC Warranty said in a company blog post. “Without finding ways to keep things fresh and to continue to evolve, however, you stand to risk falling behind the competition.

“You probably already understand this and therefore see the value in dealership training, but it’s easy to watch the busy days, weeks and months fly by without pursuing the training your dealership needs,” the company continued.

So, without further delay, here’s how GWC Warranty suggested overcoming those training delays.

Not enough time

GWC Warranty acknowledged this is the easiest excuse when it comes to avoiding a training program, but the company said it’s also the easiest to overcome.

“There are countless options for online training that you can complete on your own time,” GWC Warranty stated. “Convenience is just the first step though. Setting deadlines is on you.

“Give you and your team goals to complete certain coursework and you can begin holding each other accountable to chip away at the training iceberg,” the company continued.

Not enough money

GWC Warranty also recognized training can be expensive. But the company also insisted that it doesn’t have to be.

“Looking in unexpected places for on-demand training (like your vehicle service contract provider) might be your ticket to affordable — or even free — training resources,” GWC Warranty said.

“A quality VSC provider will value your loyalty and be able to provide training for your entire dealership that will be able to help you be more successful and efficient in every aspect of your business,” the company added.

Not enough people

Many independent and buy-here, pay-here dealers have a small team. Perhaps, the store is literally a one-man band with the operator doing every part of the store operations singlehandedly.

“You think training would be a waste of your time, right? Wrong,” GWC Warranty said. “Small teams need training that can maximize success and efficiency more than any others.

“If you’re running a small shop, you need to maximize on all your resources,” the company continued. “Learning best practices, pro tips and processes that diversify your skills could actually be the best use of your time.”

Not enough opportunity

Finally, GWC Warranty accepted the situation that some operators might strictly evaluate strategies based on figures, and they’ve historically had trouble quantifying the opportunity training holds.

GWC Warranty proposed, “When overcoming this objection, think about if you had two more upsells in the F&I office each month. Or if you sold five more cars. Or if you learned about a new product that could double F&I revenue.

“Unless you train on the processes and methods you can employ to achieve these goals, you’ll have no path to get there,” the company went on to say. “There is always opportunity and room for improvement in your dealership, and training is the road to get there.”