Female empowerment is a topic being covered through many channels of conversation, especially in the past little while. Did you know that according to Forbes Magazine, females make up 70 – 80% of ALL consumer purchasing? If we are seeing more women making these higher ticket spending decisions upon entering a dealership, then we should be seeing more women actually facilitating the transaction, right? As much as we would love to see more sales women on the floor, dealerships are still a hugely male-dominated industry. Though if you take the time to unpack the intricacies of the spending market, you might realize that having women on your side could be your biggest asset when it comes to your dealership’s bottom-line.
When you think of customer service, women generally expect it to be higher and more thorough than men do, so when the service is elevated for a female, it’s elevated for all customers. Because of their general attention to detail, women sales representatives can often connect to a female consumer in a different way than a man can. They can generally offer more empathy, patience and gentle communication. With that being said, your dealership has to actually employ women to have this secret weapon in their back pocket. Research has proven that companies with teams representing more gender equality tend to have a higher ROI.
You might think that it’s men who are still the bigger household spenders, but spending doesn’t always come down to who is bringing home the cheques. Women are generally the watch guards of the house-hold expenditures and often have the final say when it comes to the family’s large purchases. This means that if you can sell the female on the product, you may have just made your sale. Since so much of the buying power actually does come from women, adding women to positions of power within a dealership can aid in reaching the majority of consumers.
The reality of the power of female-purchasing is that not all women have had good experiences buying from men. Some women feel more comfortable when they walk in and are able to ask questions about a product to another female. As a dealership, to have the ability to offer the knowledge and experience of a female sales associate puts the dealership in an advantaged position. That being said, being a female sales associate in a male-dominated industry such as dealerships isn’t always a walk in the park. It’s important that female associates stay as knowledgeable as they can on the products they are selling, sometimes even more educated than their male counterparts. It generally takes more time for them to gain the trust of the other associates and even some customers on their knowledge so staying educated is key.
The moral of the story is that the old “boys-club” mentality has become quite dated, and hiring women in a dealership has been proven to benefit the business. If you want your dealership to connect with all of the people making purchases, and not just some – adding women to your roster is the way to go.
