What Has Been Your Experience Hiring Female ISMs?

[ddavis]

I had a Sales Manger hand me a pen and say, "sell this to me". It shouldn't matter the product. I want someone to explain how women dominate the real estate industry but not a force in the car business.

Thin skinned? My oldest daughter defines toughness. At 30 she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. In two weeks (at her age cancer is very aggressive) it went to stage 4. She suffered chemo, radiation, a double mastectomy, reconstruction surgery while maintaining her job, marriage and raising a two year old son. Trust me, she would sell you a suit, shoes, tie, shirt, belt and whatever she decides you need. In a lighter note: she is healthy with no signs of cancer and encourages other cancer patients.

 

[Kelly Wilson]

@JoePistell via @zonewebb:
Doug: glad to hear she's

Why so few women? Think mainstream opinion on male nurses (especially in the 80's)

A female must understand & accept the perceptions she faces. Just like any other Women walking into the Good Ol' Boys' Club - even the receptionist will give her a look, not to mention the wives...

So if you hear a woman Roar, and still want to Pet her w/out fear of loosing your Hand--that's one you need to snatch up!

my

 

[john.quinn]

The women are a little wordy though, no??

Tehe Bahahahahahahaha!

Love You Kelly!!

 

[Dayna Wright]

ddavis,
You are right about the % of female sales staff. There certainly aren’t a lot of women applying for the positions & are often overlooked when they do. I myself have been in the biz for 10 yrs & have found that the most whiney, petty, gossipy co-workers tend to be the salesmen. I've also seen a pretty bad situation w/ a female sales person & I'll leave it at that.

Women work alongside men in almost every field & it's usually not a problem. I don't know why in this industry, it's almost acceptable to be sexist. I also don't want to paint all car guys w/ the same brush (there's a lot of you that came to our defense, thanks) but I've been around for a while & have heard that topic discussed quite a bit, whereas I've never heard it in any other field.

I think that in this business you need to have thick skin & the abillity to keep your emotions in check. I for one tend to be more logical than emotional & I like a dirty joke as much as the next guy however, I've met plenty of salesmen that were very emotional & couldn't handle the business. I think you should hire based on characteristics rather than sex & yes women tend to be more emotional than men, but that's not the same for all women as all men are not thick skinned.

 

[joe.pistell]

...I want someone to explain how women dominate the real estate industry but not a force in the car business.

I believe I know exactly why, but I kept my mouth shut. Now that you ask, here's my ol Uncle Joe take.

It's human nature to resist change. So, why is it that Car Dealer World has been so sucessful at it?

IMO, Franchised Dealers are isolated from decisions that normal businesses face daily. Here we discussed many real examples Federal Law, State laws and franchise agreements on top of an endless supply of demand have kept dealers from facing change (aka reality).

Want proof?
See Home Depot, WalMart, Best Buy, NetFlix. What are these businesses? In the stock market world, they're called CATEGORY KILLERS. Each of these businesses grew from the weaknesses of others. Home Depot, WalMart and Best Buy killed the small mom and pop stores. Where are the "big box stores" in our business? There are none.

This goes back decades. The autodealer franchise has never had a bone crushing business killing, near death experience. I am not saying that this business is easy, I am saying that there hasn't been a genuine threat to the way daily operations run in decades.


How is Real Estate different than Cars?
Real Estate Agents are more independent than cars sales. They have to get out of the office to beat the bushes to create business. Have you ever driven buy a Real Estate office and seen reps waiting at the glass for an up? Car reps are trapped under the roof and they create social circles that are a product of the owner/GM's management abilities.

Which leads us to Uncle Joe Rule #12:
Every business takes on the characteristics passed down from the owner.

If the Dealer/GM has never been really really challenged, then why change... ANYTHING?

 

[ddavis]

ddavis,
I myself have been in the biz for 10 yrs & have found that the most whiney, petty, gossipy co-workers tend to be the salesmen.

Dayna, With me, there isn't much of a gray area. I won't tolerate the kind of salesmen, you describe. They don't tend to feel very comfortable around me, either. When I correct a salesperson, I don't leave things up for discussion. As an example, "I have a desk for an ISM that sells 16 units a month ...not one that sells 5." My first management job was a Sergeant in the Army. This may be my strength in dealing with men but not with women.

Thanks, Kelly. She keeps getting good checkups. If this continues another three years, her chances of it coming back is very low. Both of my girls called, today.

Reading back through the tread, I see a concensous:

There are a bunch of Whiney, Back Stabbing, Petty, Gossipy (miss anything?) men in the business
Dealerships don't change unless their backs are against the wall
We, as Managers, are responsible for not being able to recruit, retain, and motivate women to our business.

 

[Mitch Gallant]

We've had amazing "luck." If you don't, it's your own fault.

 

[Resume101]

Personally, I don't think that gender should matter too much when it comes to hiring employees - it's all about their work ethic and their ability to stay professional and focused on the job - maybe you should test them in the work's action before decided who to hire. Good Luck!

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

This should explain my thoughts when it comes to hiring women: PhoneNinjas.com » Meet The Team

 

[mcampo2501]

Interesting topic... The dealership I came from absolutely could not hire women without disaster. I spend a long time there, from salesperson to new car manager, and I would have responded exactly like Doug if asked about hiring women in car sales. We didn't have a female person anywhere on the sales side that didn't end in litigation or failure during my time there.
Thankfully, I was afforded my most recent opportunity at a different dealer. It is managed differently and the day to day business is done differently. There is a very successful saleswoman here, and the only F&I manager is a woman. The difference? Quality starts from the top down.
I think a professional automotive saleswoman is a commodity. Any dealer would jump all over an experienced saleswoman. The problem is most women don't get an opportunity to start in an environment that's conducive to their way of learning. The women that do make it in the auto business likely started in a store with a tenured sales floor that is highly structured. I've also seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears, customers request to work with a male salesperson. I've seen this with race and color as well. Car sales is about relationships as much as anything, and if you can't connect with your customers, you're going to have a problem. I don't see that being an issue for an ISM though. I would think that a saleswoman would do just fine in an ISM role, but you're going to have a hard time finding a saleswoman that's been in the business long enough to have proved she has what it takes to be successful and also wants to leave the floor. Gender aside, the ISM spot isn't an easy one to fill. Most of the better sales people feel like they can do better on the floor with less responsibility, and the ones that beg to come to the internet department are usually looking for that "steady pay check". Finding the upper middle class of salespeople is a chore. Chances are you aren't going to find a whole lot of guys to come kill it for you and there are certainly more guys in the business. Pick the best person for the job. If it happens to be a woman, I wouldn't second guess yourself for that fact alone.