In the past few years, automotive brands have certainly felt the squeeze. A challenging economic environment left fewer consumers willing (and able) to purchase a new vehicle.
But many automotive businesses are optimistic about the year ahead – for good reason. Cox Automotive predicts that in 2025, new vehicle sales will reach 16.3 million units, making this the best year for sales since before the pandemic.
In 2025, new vehicles sales will reach
But that doesn’t mean automotive sales will suddenly be easy or guaranteed.
Automotive buyers have high expectations and an overwhelming amount of options. Reciting a list of features isn’t enough to meet those expectations and drive automotive sales.
Instead, winning automotive brands invest in sales enablement strategies, programs, and tools to ensure their sellers have what it takes to deliver engaging buyer experiences and close more deals.
Sales enablement for the automotive industry
Modern automotive buyers expect great products and services. But increasingly, they also demand outstanding buyer experiences.
Often, their expectations aren’t met. According to a recent report, around a quarter of automotive buyers are dissatisfied with their interactions with automotive sellers. If an automotive buyer isn’t satisfied, they won’t hesitate to take their business elsewhere.
Many automotive sales organizations are implementing sales enablement programs so every seller has the automotive training, tools, and resources to be ready to meet (and even exceed) automotive buyers’ expectations.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the top ways the automotive industry is leveraging sales enablement to ensure sales reps are ready to engage any car buyer that comes their way.
Sales onboarding
The sooner new automotive sellers can get up to speed, the sooner they can contribute to revenue growth. A robust sales onboarding program helps ensure every new automotive seller is set up for success, and it’s one of the pillars of a holistic automotive sales enablement program.
Ongoing automotive sales training
In the world of automotive sales, change is constant. Automotive innovation, buyer preferences, and compliance requirements are always evolving.
Ongoing automotive sales training for your dealership network ensures sellers know the ins and outs of the products and services you’re selling and can master the skills they need to deliver outstanding experiences that meet customers’ expectations. With mobile learning environments, sellers access automotive sales training wherever and whenever needed. This is essential for distributed automotive sales teams.
Just in time automotive sales enablement
Questions and challenges can arise anytime, anywhere. With just-in-time automotive enablement, sales reps can always find the content and information they need to conquer any sales scenario.
Targeted sales coaching
Sales coaching can significantly impact performance. A winning enablement program ensures dealerships and automotive sales reps receive personalized sales coaching that helps them improve their skills and performance.
Engaging, relevant automotive sales content
Sales content plays an important role in the automotive purchase journey. A sales enablement strategy ensures automotive sellers can easily find sales content that’ll resonate with each buyer and tailor those materials to fit the individual customer’s needs and preferences.
Role-plays
Practice opportunities help automotive sellers hone their skills before they use them with customers. Sales reps can share recorded role-plays and get feedback from sales managers and peers. With AI role-plays, they can practice their skills with an adaptive AI bot and get real-time feedback.
Digital sales rooms
Reps must deliver outstanding buyer experiences before, during, and after the sale. With digital sales rooms, dealers can share content, manuals, and other key documents – all in one spot. Dealers can track customer engagement to adapt their sales approach. After the sale, reps can use these insights to create opportunities for cross-selling.
Benefits of automotive sales enablement
Today, the most successful automotive brands invest in sales enablement strategies, programs, and technology. And it’s no wonder why. An enablement program can have a large, positive impact on how your sellers engage with buyers and sell vehicles.
Boost seller confidence
Confident sellers are better able to win the trust of automotive buyers. An sales enablement strategy ensures sellers have the right skills, tools, and resources to navigate (and conquer) any sales scenario confidently.
Get new reps selling – faster
The automotive industry’s turnover tends to be higher. That means you likely have new sellers joining the team regularly.
A structured onboarding program gives sellers a solid foundation to start selling sooner. And ongoing training and enablement provide the opportunities automotive sellers need to sharpen their must-have sales skills.
Ensure sellers keep pace with change
Change is constant in sales. New technology emerges, consumer preferences shift, and regulations change.
With sales enablement, reps always have the training, tools, and information they need to keep pace with change. For example, one component of a holistic sales enablement strategy may be a centralized repository for electric vehicle training and content so sellers can be well-versed in its features and benefits.
Attract great sellers and increase seller retention
Turnover is typically higher in automotive sales than in other industries. Per recent data, automotive dealerships experience an annualized seller turnover rate of just over 40%. It takes time and resources to continuously backfill those positions and ensure new sellers are properly onboarded and trained.
Providing a holistic sales enablement program can help you attract great candidates. According to a LinkedIn report, one of the top five factors people consider when considering a new job is whether or not there are opportunities to learn and develop.
A winning sales enablement program can also significantly impact seller retention. In fact, according to the same report, providing learning opportunities is the #1 way organizations are working to improve retention.
Better buyer experiences
Offering great automotive products is important. But today’s automotive buyers also demand great experiences. And they won’t hesitate to take their business elsewhere if their expectations aren’t met.
A modern sales enablement program equips customer-facing teams with the tools and resources they need to deliver engaging customer experiences, whether the shopper is researching independently or visiting the dealership. For example, sellers can use digital sales rooms to share content and communicate with buyers – all in one spot.
Rev up your automotive sales performance with Mindtickle
Overall, automotive sales are expected to grow this year. But success isn’t guaranteed. The automotive brands that deliver outstanding buyer experiences will be most successful.
With a winning enablement strategy, your sellers will have the skills, tools, and resources to attract, engage, and convert automotive buyers.
The right sales enablement technology is foundational to any enablement strategy.
Better Automotive Sales with Mindtickle
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By Helen Waite
By Rahul Mathew
