Pamela L. Epperson

September 24, 2000

Speechwriting

Dr. L. Rohler

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to Cape Fear Ford. My name is Pamela Epperson and today I am going to introduce you to our organization. We will discuss what you will learn during this week of intensive training, and we will tour our beautiful, newly renovated dealership. This week you will not learn just about sales. You will learn about finance, service and body shop repairs. You will learn how to become the best salesperson YOU want to be. You will learn that you CAN do it and Cape Fear Ford is the place to do it!

Cape Fear Ford, as some of you may know, has been in business for over 60 years. Now that is a long time to serve a community. We take pride in providing the best customer service in the automotive industry. Billy and Percy Smith are the owners of Cape Fear Ford. They know that if you treat the customer right before and after the sale you will have a customer for LIFE! That is key—in this business the more repeat buyers you have the better your chances are for success.

The expectations of a salesperson are far reaching. The method we like to use starts first with the history and then the mission of the dealership presented by the Smith Brothers. Each of the Smiths has a heartfelt concern for service after the sale and the reputation of Cape Fear Ford in Wilmington. Mr. Ray Richardson will provide you with some insight he gained from numerous motivational speakers over the years. Some of these speakers include Dale Carnegie, Zig Ziglar and many more. Mr. Richardson, Mr. Billy Smith and Mr. Percy Smith are your three top dogs! These men are very important to this organization. Although they will be warm and friendly they take their business seriously.

Actual Sales Training will be conducted by each of the Sales Managers. They will teach you everything you never wanted to know about car sales. They will instruct you on many selling techniques and they will encourage each of you to do your best. We do not want to overwhelm anyone. But there is a good bit of money to be made here in Wilmington, so why not make it! If we give you the tools to do the job then we want to also give you the instructions to use those tools.

Dick Sims, our General Manager will kick off this awesome training week. He is the one that made the final hiring decision about who would be employed with us. He has been in the automotive sales business for over 30 years. He knows what he is talking about. Mr. Sims has adopted a sales training program that has proven successful for seasoned sales people as well as you “newbies.” He will give you a brief overview of the booklets you see in front of you. These will be your Bibles for your entire employment experience. So, keep in mind that you will refer to this information often during your sales career. Having been a salesperson, people will ask you the strangest questions imaginable. You need to be able to give them an answer with enthusiasm and confidence. I do not want to buy anything from anyone that does not know their product. It is IMPOSSIBLE to know everything about every vehicle on this lot, so we have come up with a way for you to know as many of the frequently asked questions as well as where to find the answers to such questions as “what is the thread count of these tires…” Believe it or not somebody will ask that, I guarantee it!

Don Carter is the Used Car Manager. He is the person that decides how much trade-ins are worth. He goes to auctions throughout the southeast and purchases premium used cars and trucks. Don Carter is a man you definitely want on your side! Listen to him! He has been doing the “used” business for decades…that makes him sound ancient, well he is! (pause for laughter) Mr. Kelly is the Garage Manager for the Used Car side of the house. He and Don work together to do everything possible to make the sell of each used vehicle “FINAL!” That’s right. We do not want to spend “your” money on problems that should be handled before the used vehicles hit the lot. Which brings up a valuable point. The “WE OWE” document. Please turn to pg. 109 in your training manuals. This form is to be filled out and signed by a manager before any vehicle leaves the lot. Yes, even if we owe the customer nothing. Do you remember how frustrating it was to get home and realize that “hey I did not get those floor mats that salesperson promised me.” People come back, OFTEN! Do not be a person that makes false promises to YOUR customers. They will remember you. Just like the old saying, “do a good job they will tell two…do a poor job and they will tell 20!” Be aware of what you are saying when you close your deals.

Sam Beard is the expert on Deal Closing. We may have well titled him the Closing Manager instead of Sales Manager. Sam Beard was the top producer for over 24 months spanning over a five-year period. If there is a deal that you just cannot close, DO NOT let the customer leave. Go get Sam! He will cover in detail some of his most strategic moves to make when the customer refuses to buy.

Keith Stephenson is our Fleet Sales Manager. Usually, he will chose one person to assist him on ONE project. For example, when Corning decided they wanted ten brand new Taurases for their Vice Presidents they called him. With all of his regular duties, it was impossible for him to handle this deal alone. Some of the older salespeople refer to it as a “bone,” but make no mistake, they have had their fair share too. You may just fill out the paperwork, or drive the car or truck to have it gassed up before delivery or you may deliver the vehicles. Either way, you will be called upon at some point to assist Keith. He will return the favor. He is one of our silent closers. He is very personable and friendly. He is a Wilmington native and knows how to hit home with the Bible Belt folks. So keep that in mind!

George Suber is our New Car Sales Manager. Any new vehicle on the lot should go through him when processing. He has direct connections with Ford and local dealers to insure that you get the vehicle that YOUR customer wants. You do NOT want people to have buyer’s remorse. Do any of you know what that is? It is when you buy something and before you even begin to enjoy it, you wonder why you bought it to begin with and that is NO fun. This is what you do not want your customers to experience. When they do, it destroys YOUR reputation as a quality salesperson.

As I mentioned earlier, service is very important to this dealership. Cape Fear Ford has become even more competitive over the last few months…our service department is now opened on Saturdays. Our service department opens at 7am and does not close until 7pm---six days a week. Take each of your customers through the service department. Let them meet Greg Page, the Service Department Manager. Let them meet John Grise, Stan Taylor, or Jeff Patterson. All of these guys are top-notch service writers. If you take the time to get to know them and let your customers get to know them, it will benefit you greatly!

From our finance office today we have Bill Francis and Pam Turner. They have been with Cape Fear Ford for 20 years. They can finance almost everybody. Ford Motor Credit has responded very positively to our finance team! They want to help you and your customers in every way. AND when someone finances with Ford Motor Credit we all receive a kickback! So encourage your customers to finance with us. We have competitive rates like most of their credit unions and personal banks do…so do something for them and for YOU!

Okay folks that takes care of the fun stuff. Now I will tell you some of the “rules” of the dealership…think of it as sales etiquette. If you wait on a customer, get their name, address, phone number---as much information as you can. Document it in your daily logs and in the main log. If someone asks to speak to another salesperson, get that salesperson, if they are at the dealership. If not ask the customer if you can assist them, if they insist that they want to wait for their salesperson, let them. Tell them when their salesperson will be back. Now all of this may sound very simple. Make no mistake, if you take someone’s sell, you will be asked to pay them the commission they would have made off of the deal. If it happens twice, you will be asked to take a week off without pay to think about your future with our company. If it happens yet again, well then you will be asked to leave. We are honest and we encourage all of our salespeople to be as well. If you stab someone in the back, it will come back to you. If you think someone has wronged you in this manner, please be sure to let a manager know. Cape Fear Ford is the best dealership in Wilmington to work for. It’s because of rules such as this and our great commission package and benefits package, which Mr. Sims will now discuss with you. Good luck to all of you and I will be in the Human Resources office if you have any questions. Thank you and welcome aboard.