Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement - S17

OCTOBER 21, 2013 ❙ 17

B I L L K N I G H T F O R D A N D B I L L K N I G H T L I N C O L N - V O LV O , T U L S A , O K L A .

Knight school: If you're sunk on
Sync, tech-savvy dealer can help
Printed in Automotive News Feb. 18, 2013
Bradford Wernle
bwernle@crain.com

hen Bill Knight started offering monthly clinics on Ford
Motor Co.'s Sync entertainment and communication system back in 2009, only a handful of customers showed up for each session at his
Tulsa, Okla., Ford and Lincoln stores.
Fast forward to 2013. The clinics' popularity has soared to the point that customers
have to reserve spots in advance, and 30 to
50 people usually attend.
It would seem that Knight, who owns Bill
Knight Ford and Bill Knight Lincoln-Volvo,
might have enough to do just running his
two dealerships. He's also the 2013 chairman of the Lincoln National Dealer Council.
But Knight, 50, happens to like technology. And he gets a kick out of teaching customers to operate Sync, MyFord Touch and
MyLincoln Touch.
"It gives me a chance to engage our customers. People know if I can take the time to
learn it and be comfortable with it and communicate it, they can, too," says Knight,
whose calm and reassuring manner helps to
put technophobes at ease.
"It's great for me because it keeps me connected to our customers - and with the
technology, too. It's wonderful."
The clinics alternate between Knight's
Ford store and his Lincoln store. They start
at 7 p.m. and last about 90 minutes. Knight
starts with a slide presentation that lasts a
half an hour or so. Then many customers
want to get into their cars and practice what
they have learned.
A handful of salespeople and other employees hang around to sit with people in
their cars. Technicians help customers with
software upgrades or any other issues.
Because so many of his customers' issues
relate to the compatibility of telephones
with Ford's systems, Knight made an
arrangement with a nearby Best Buy store to
have Geek Squad personnel on hand to
solve phone queries.
Knight believes it's the dealerships' responsibility to sort out those issues, even if

Bill Knight: "It's great for me because it
keeps me connected to our customers -
and with the technology, too."

Tulsa's tech teacher
Dealer principal: Bill Knight, 50
Dealerships: Bill Knight Ford and Bill Knight
Lincoln-Volvo
Where: Tulsa, Okla.
2012 sales: Ford - 1,725 new, 1,250
used; Lincoln - 240 new, 250 used
Best practice: Knight, assisted by Best
Buy's Geek Squad, teaches monthly clinics
for customers on how to use Sync, MyFord
Touch and MyLincoln Touch.

the problem is with the mobile phone and
not the car.
"It's very difficult to tell the person to go
back to the phone store. We never do that. If
you say, 'It's a phone problem, so you have
to go to your phone store,' that's a real pain
point for the customer," he says.
The worst that could happen, he says, is
the dealership sends a customer back to the
phone store only to have the phone store
say: "'That's a Ford problem.' We work hard
not to let that happen."
The clinics have the added benefit of helping customers get over their natural reluctance to set foot in an auto dealership any
more than necessary.
"I think people are a little hesitant, thinking we're trying to sell them something," he
says. "It gives us another way to bring them
in the dealership in a very open and inviting
way where we're here to help. We're not selling anything, just trying to help them enjoy
their ownership experience as much as they
can."
Knight finds he has to scramble to keep up
with the material he teaches, especially with
"all the myriad phones and how to pair the

different phones. I try to read all the tools
that Ford provides us. I take in all the information that comes to us regarding MyFord
Touch. I need to be accountable, to know
it."
Accountability is part of the reason Knight
teaches the classes himself and why the
dealership posts the schedules six months
in advance. Having the classes run on a
clockwork schedule has helped promote
their popularity, he says.
Attendance also bumped up when the
MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch systems were launched a couple of years ago.
Knight worked for Penske Automotive
Group as a regional manager before buying
his own stores in 2008. A year later, he
launched the classes.
"It's hard to believe it's been four years
we've been doing it. Now we see customers
come who bought their Fords and Lincolns
at other dealerships," says Knight.
That's just fine with him.
"Technology can be so intimidating," he
says. "It is wonderful technology. If they
know it and know how it operates, they get a
ton out of it." c

Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement

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