Last month, Grapevine was “All In” across the car lot – blue polos on and eager to get an up-close look at how the team at Sunset Chevy Buick GMC goes above and beyond for their customers. From carrying tires to interacting with customers, Aaron and Ty were in the driver’s seat on an exploration to learn how one of the region’s most prominent dealerships creates happy car owners.
Now that’s in the rearview. This month, our President/CEO, Allison Imre, sat down with Sunset Chevy Buick GMC’s General Manager, Mike Freeman, to dive deep into what’s ahead at the dealership, how their team goes all in for their customers and more. With Mike’s more than 35 years in the automotive industry in Sarasota, there’s no better pro to break down the art of buying, selling and servicing cars – and creating a culture centered on customer relationships. Check out three takeaways from our conversation with Sunset Chevy Buick GMC!
Takeaway No. 1: Sunset’s Landmark Location is Going State-of-the-Art
“What we have on the horizon is that we’ll end up getting a completely new facility. It’ll be a brand-new landscape. Over the next – it’ll probably be about a four-year phase – we’ll end up with completely new showrooms. So, we’ll have three- and four-car showrooms. We’ll start, basically, at the back of the south end of the property. We’ll end up with a state-of-the-art body shop … and a parking garage on top, and then the service department with a parking garage on top at the south end of our property.
“And then the buildings, once those are set back, then the showrooms will be put back. And then at the north end of our property, it’ll allow us to bring all the inventory towards the front. … So that landscape will be, you know, set up where it’s cleaner, fresher. When General Motors came out with their new facility image, everything is all fresh, clean, very transparent glass. So it’s all glass frontage, which is a lot of the imaging for a lot of the new manufacturers nowadays. We’ve signed up, we’ve committed to it, we’re in the middle of drawings, we’re in the middle of just finalizing interior plans and stuff like that.”
Takeaway No. 2: Successful Dealerships Combat Customers’ Fears With Genuine Care
“The biggest change in [38 years]… I think probably the biggest difference is in people and employees and culture. The biggest difference is in management – because how you manage people today is completely different than how you could manage people 20 years ago, 30 years ago. … I think that you can’t be complacent. There’s no part of your life where you can wake up and just think that you’re going to come in and just mosey throughout the day. And if you think that you’re going to whine about your day or about your job, then the car business is not for you.
“If you’re going to complain about the fact that your customers are upset, this job isn’t for you. …You have to understand two sides. If you’re in the back end of the business, people are coming to you because either their car was in an accident and needs to be fixed or it’s broken down and it’s in service and it needs to be fixed. It’s a service-oriented business, so you’re there to help somebody fix their problem – and they’re struggling. They’re not necessarily mad at you, but inside, their life is in turmoil.
“… On the sales side, the same thing. Most people that come onto a car dealership to buy a car are petrified that it’s going to be a bad experience – someone’s going to rip ‘em off – because they’ve heard more bad scenarios than good scenarios. So if you already know that, then why wouldn’t you be the salesperson or sales manager that tries to overcome that right out of the gate?”
Takeaway No. 3: On the Lot, It’s About Creating Lasting Relationships
“… Going all-in by creating a long-term relationship. It’s not just a one-transaction stop dealership. It’s about the fact that, you know, a lot of times we’ll share with the salespeople that when you sit down with a customer, you want to create a scenario where they understand that you want to be their car guy, their car gal. When you’re creating such an impression with them, that when they’re done and they go home that evening – and they’re having dinner or they’re talking with their friends – that they want to be able to share with their friends, ‘Hey, you know what? My Tahoe is fantastic, but if you ever need anything, you want to go back and talk to Tyler. Because he’s fantastic – he’s my car guy.’
“… And that’s the type of impression you want to leave with your customers. That’s how you create a retention in the business, where your salespeople stay and they’re there for 10 years, 15 years, 20 years. And that’s how you survive and you’re not a dealership that’s only selling, you know, 15, 20, 30 cars a month – where you’re selling 200 or 300 cars a month. It’s that repeat and referral business. That’s what you thrive on. That’s what your service departments thrive on. … That doesn’t get created unless you’re going all-in by creating that type of retention.”
About Grapevine Communications
Grapevine Communications is a full-service creative marketing agency celebrating 23 years of success on the Suncoast of Florida. To learn more about what we do, visit our services page or call us at 941-351-0024.
