Autoblog

GM may have just half the market share it had 30 years ago, but the Detroit-based automaker still seems to have as many dealers as McDonald's has drive-thrus. The General has slashed more than 2,000 dealerships over the past 12 years, but the company will accelerate closings in order to right-size its sales outlets. GM closed 260 stores in 2007 and another 23 in January of this year, but according to Automotive News, the automaker still has a sizable 6,753 member dealer body. That number seems even higher when considering that US number two automaker Toyota makes do with only 1,445 retail locations.

Sales VP Mark LeNeve told Automotive News that GM has a lot of work ahead regarding dealer closings, and that the General will speed its efforts. While fewer dealers will likely mean that you'll have to drive a few miles further to get that Chevy or Cadillac you want, the remaining stores will make more money. (Or that's the general idea, at least.) Additional profits should enable dealers to spend more on advertising and facility upgrades to try and attract more customers.

[Source: Auto News (subs. req'd)]

It's not a new topic in the automotive industry -- women influence and even directly account for around 80 percent of automotive buying decisions, yet dealers still reportedly look over the woman's shoulders for a husband or father. Despite the industry's best efforts to recruit women salespeople to increase the odds of good communication, almost half of the auto dealerships in the country have no women on staff, and women only make up 8 percent of the sales force, according to the NADA. Dealers have also tried to make showrooms more female-friendly, including installing play areas for kids with toys and children's videos, yet complaints persist -- truth or mere stereotype, so what's a car salesman to do?

Enter AskPatty.com, a female-staffed online publication that seeks to educate women on vehicle buying and car ownership, while identifying female-friendly dealerships after showroom staff complete a training course on how to communicate with women. The training, conducted by Maddox Smye, includes an instructional course, a reading of How to Get Rich Selling Cars and Trucks to Women, and an hour-long test. About 225 dealerships have signed up.

AskPatty isn't all about bridging the gap between Mars and Venus, though -- it's a business as well. Training is $225 per person for 12 months, and dealers shell out $795 a month for certification. If it encourages one salesperson to alter his style, however, it might just be worth it in our book.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Increased sales, a bigger need for technical knowledge in mechanic jobs, more financing activity and longer hours are all reasons that dealerships across the United States have over 100,000 job openings, which is why dealers have launched a campaign to push dealership-related careers with teens and college students.

Among the perks of working at a dealership is that, in many cases, employees don't need a college degree. The recruiting efforts by various regional dealer associations target groups that meet their needs -- in Texas and Florida, dealers are wooing women for sales jobs. In Cleveland, dealers are looking for business-oriented college students to fill marketing and other business jobs. Other areas trying to recruit mechanics have to overcome the grease monkey stigma in favor of the high-tech direction in which that career is moving.

In states like Ohio and Michigan, the loss of manufacturing jobs makes dealer recruiting all the more important -- the jobs are lucrative, at least for those who apply themselves, and they are a way to stay in the auto industry.

[Source: Detroit News]