Group Pushes Program to Dress Up Image of Car Salespeople

NEWARK, N.J. — It will take more than a wide tie and a loud sport coat to sell a car if the National Automobile Dealers Assn. has its way.

The trade association for new car dealers is touting its training program to fine-tune salespeople’s personal skills as a standard for the auto industry. To make that happen, the association is pushing its program harder than some salespeople can hawk a car.

“We think it will become the standard,” said Deborah Hopkins, spokeswoman for the association.

The two-day program seeks to help car sellers become “kinder, gentler and more consumer-friendly,” the association said. It hopes to put to rest a stereotype that’s been dogging car dealers for decades: that they’re obnoxious vulgarians who can’t take “no” for an answer.

Add those assumed personality traits to the physical caricature the profession has acquired--”the checkered suit, the wide tie, the two-tone shoes,” said Timothy Gercke, one of the program’s instructors--and you have a real problem.

“The stereotype is out there,” Gercke said, “but I’m sure it can be altered.”

That’s not going to be as easy as it sounds, many salespeople acknowledge. “In the consumer’s mind, there’s probably always going to be a doubt,” said Dean Seneca, 40, of Warnock Auto in Livingston, N.J.

If the association’s certification program is required of all U.S. car salespeople, it could mean millions of dollars for the 79-year-old trade association. The association charges $295 for each salesperson and $395 per manager for the program, as well as more than $1,200 per dealership. If even a small percentage of the 190,000 car salespeople and 21,000 dealerships in the U.S. sign up, it would mean big money.

For that reason, the association is pushing hard to make its program a requirement. With the help of a public relations effort, it is trumpeting the importance of being certified by NADA.

“Our certification takes salespeople to a higher level,” said Jerri Shafran, media coordinator for the association.

The association also is threatening grave consequences if a certified salesperson should become decertified. If that happens, “chances are they will never be able to be hired by a dealership with NADA certification,” Shafran said.

That would be serious business if it weren’t for the fact that only 1% of the 21,000 U.S. car dealerships require their salespeople be NADA-certified.

What’s more, while most U.S. car dealerships are aware of the program, many say it doesn’t give salespeople any particular advantage when selling cars.

“It doesn’t matter at all,” said Mort Charkey, a manager at Bay Ridge Honda in Manhattan. “The reputation of the car is more important than the salesman. I don’t think there’s any professional certification in the car business except that it’s a reputable car.”

Another way the association is selling its program is by hammering home the reality that stereotypes hurt sales.

No one’s more aware of car dealers stereotypes than potential car buyers, Gercke told a class earlier this month in Newark, N.J.

“For the buying consumer, the only way to be sure you’re dealing with a knowledgeable professional is to be certified through our program,” he said.

Later that day, he cautioned them to maintain high ethical standards. “The problem with unethical behavior--it’s like ripples in a pond. It goes into the future to wait for you.”

Yet, while many car salespeople agree the stereotype exists, most would argue it doesn’t include them. Especially, the stereotype that says car salespeople are unethical.

“I’m not part of that stereotype. That’s hard for me to fathom,” said John Philips, 39, a salesman with Autoland in Springfield, N.J.

“I see myself as any other businessman--personal, professional, conventional, respectful,” he says. “Perhaps the stereotype’s being exaggerated in some way.”

The trade association, for its part, blames car salesperson-stereotypes on the media and entertainment industry. It said it doesn’t use those stereotypes to lure salespeople to its program and doesn’t mention the stereotype when defining its program’s aim.

“The aim of the NADA program is to make buying a car more comfortable to the consumer and to make the car salesman’s job into a profession rather than a stop-gap job,” Shafran said.

The association also said revenue from its certification program gets spent on its members: the franchised new car dealers. The trade association in the past has used its resources for government and auto industry lobbying that seeks to protect dealers’ interests, like pushing for broader new emission laws.

Even so, chances that its program will gain full acceptance from the auto industry are slim, given that car makers such as General Motors Corp. already have their own salesperson certification programs for specific models.

What’s more, the decision to buy a car is ultimately in the hands of the customer, most of whom haven’t heard of the NADA certification program, and probably don’t care.

“I wouldn’t even know what NADA--or whatever--is,” said Joe Aline, 79, of Jersey City, while he and his wife surveyed a used Buick at Ray’s GEO in Jersey City. “I make the decision anyway, not the salesman,” he said.

Then he turned to his wife and pointed to the Buick. “You know, I’m not crazy about that roof.”