Auto Remarketing is recognizing the 2022 Women in Retail honorees in the current issue of the magazine and at Used Car Week this fall in San Diego.
With these awards, we specifically recognize top leaders on the retail side of the auto industry, including honorees from dealerships, dealer groups and third-party providers/vendors
Over the next few weeks, AR will be posting Q&As with each of the honorees on this website.
Next up is Lisa Hess, senior director of major accounts at TrueCar.
Auto Remarketing: What do you enjoy most about working in retail automotive, and what would you change?
Lisa Hess: Retail automotive presents a myriad of possibilities to achieve personal and career goals. The cross-functional collaboration opportunities it can provide are limitless. In my experience, the skills learned, the people met, and the opportunity doors that have opened have been invaluable.
If there was one thing that I would change it would be the perception of retail automotive. Like any transaction, often the perceived negative aspects obscure all of the positives. What I love most about retail automotive is that it can take you anywhere you want to go.
It provides an amazing skillset. If you enjoy accounting, the opportunity to become a controller or CFO in automotive is there. If you enjoy the sales or service side of a dealership, the opportunity to grow into a GM position or to be a dealer principal is there. If you enjoy the OEM or vendor space sides of automotive, the opportunity is there.
You always have the prospect for growth to lead teams or even the organization itself. Retail automotive is a people business through and through. If you are driven, have grit, and enjoy serving others there is no limit to what you can do.
AR: What is the top trend you’re watching in retail automotive this year?
Hess: The omnichannel aspect of automotive retail is the key to our relationship with customers. If a consumer is going to do business with a company, they expect to have the ability to transact online whether they do some or all of their transaction online.
This includes all aspects of vehicle ownership. Whether purchasing or trading a vehicle, buying product protection, scheduling service, finding out about new models, web chatting with a technician, and even sharing a vehicle repair through video or remote communication platforms.
Success, growth, and profitability come from meeting the customer where they are versus sometimes where we want them to be.
AR: What piece of career advice would you give your younger self?
Hess: Take feedback and constructive criticism as a compliment. Constructive criticism and feedback are given to you by those who care and are investing in your growth and success. Those you work with, whether they are a direct report, or you report to them, give you feedback because they want you to be the best you can be to benefit both the organization and you. If you take feedback too personally, you will never get to where you want to go. Also, you will not give effective feedback to others.
As a general manager, I was fortunate enough to have another long-time co-worker tell me that if I “didn’t work on communication and stop taking feedback personally,” this would hold me back from achieving my goals. Taking their advice, I enrolled in a course to help with communication and confidence. I started reading books and learning everything I could about how to improve my approachability and mental resilience.
AR: What has been the top key to your success in retail automotive?
Hess: The key to success is service. Service to our dealer partners. Service to those who you are fortunate enough to lead. Service to the automotive consumer. These three are whom we work for. Without their success then we fail as a leader, and we fail our organization and ourselves.
Source : AutoFinanceNews
