Digital Dealer - June 2018 - 39

HELPING CUSTOMERS FEEL WELCOMED, SAFE,
AND UNDERSTOOD IS A QUALITY OF A REAL
FRONTLINE EMPLOYEE. IT IS MORE THAN JUST
A SKILL. IT IS AN ABILITY TO BE HUMAN WITH
ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL."
Some customers would
work better with someone
who likes to share personal
stories. Others may look
for someone who is very
knowledgeable and able to
go into detail in response
to every question, whereas
some may work better with
someone who does not say
much and is very direct.
At the same time, there
is something common
among all our friends,
something we appreciate
in every relationship; that is
being validated.
We feel validated when:
1: WE ARE WELCOMED. When we know

our friends are happy to
see us no matter how busy
they are. Are your customers greeted with a smile
and handshake?
2: WE FEEL SAFE.

We can share with our
friends our good, bad,
and ugly while not feeling
judged. Can your customers share their financial
struggles without getting
that look of disappointment?
3: WE FEEL UNDERSTOOD. Our real friends

are able to listen and let
us know they heard us in a
way we intended. Can your
employees remember a
customer's story that they
heard 10 minutes ago?
Can they remember their

customer's face?
Helping customers
feel welcomed, safe, and
understood is a quality of
a real frontline employee.
It is more than just a skill.
It is an ability to be human
with another individual.
It is hard to find and
maintain real friends
because it requires time,
effort, and emotional
energy. This is especially
true in business. Everyone understands that and
no longer expects real
friendships. We learned

to be satisfied with a
Facebook-style friendship.
This is why when we
experience being validated, or real friendship,
we notice it and put our
energy on maintaining
those relationships. This is
why being able to provide
real friendship will make
your dealership unique
and easily noticed.
Another huge benefit to
the dealership that builds
relationships with customers as real friends is that
those customers will begin

to actively pursue how
to get in touch with your
dealership. This means
the dealership will be able
to retain their customers
with little or no effort.
Stories of a frontline
employee, whom customers view as a real friend,
will include having a
customer who:
 Bought a car at
one dealership and then
brought that car to another dealership, where their
real friend works at the
service drive
 Searched online for
the best deal and still paid
15% more with their real
friend, who they know will
take good care of their car
 Called their real
friend to make sure he or
she was working, because
if not, the customer would
bring their car for service
another day
Customers feel loyal
and happier to get in
touch with their real friend.
KATIA TIKHONRAVOVA,
Ph.D.(c), LMFT is a
business and relationships
coach who specializes
in automotive sales and
service relationships.
She is the owner of
Corporation Clinic. EMAIL:
et427@mynsu.nova.edu

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

JUNE 2018

39
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - June 2018
