Car Toys, the 48-store, Seattle-based chain, has restructured its in-store sales force.
As installations become more complex, the sales process also becomes more complex. As a result, the company has eliminated junior salespeople positions and put installers on the floor, assisted by store managers.
Previously, two or three junior salespeople were at each shop, in addition to a sales manager and an assistant sales manager.
Instead of sales managers taking time off the floor to process inventory and paperwork, they now spend most of their time on the floor “with the explicit goal of developing the customer service and selling skills of the installers,” said Car Toys.
Junior salespeople who were let go have been given 60 days’ notice of the changes. They now may apply for other positions at Car Toys, including the new post of Inventory Control Manager or installer apprentice as well as other posts.
Industry members said the move returns the most experienced salespeople (managers) to the floor by relieving them of some of their backroom duties such as inventory. The move also puts knowledgeable installers in front of the customer. Installers, of course, continue to perform car audio installation.
Car Toys said, “The pivot recognizes Car Toys’ belief that as the industry moves to more complex solutions including OEM integration, installers are inherently better able to deliver the right solutions to the customer’s specific vehicle and performance goals.”
The chain said that installers have always been a part of Car Toys’ sales process but now they get a sales commission as part of their compensation.
Car Toys expects these changes to improve the sales experience and save the chain hundreds of thousands of dollars per month.
President & CEO of Car Toys, Geevy Thomas said, “Tomorrow’s cars will require new solutions. As technology advances, so do the possibilities. An informed sales force is key to exceeding customer expectations…”
The restructuring is the result of companywide surveys, store visits and direct feedback presented to Thomas and Car Toys leadership. Thomas, a 40-year veteran and recent President of Nordstrom Rack replaced Car Toys founder Dan Brettler nine months ago. Brettler remains Chairman of the Board.
I don’t think this is going to work for them. Technician and salesperson are 2 completely different positions requiring very different skillsets. There needs to be some bleed over on the salesperson side to thoroughly understand what they’re selling which is in large part labor. They need to describe in detail why it takes X hours to install X equipment in X vehicle and why you need X parts and at the same time get them SUPER excited about doing it. There are definitely some unicorns out there that excel in both, but in my experience, that is usually the shop owner or manager. Will be interesting to see how it works out for them.
I have worked for Car Toys in the past. In the Northwest you will not find a better class of installers. I think this is a good move for the industry and for the Techs. More money for them and a well educated consumer is the best way to combat online sales. Congrats for stepping up!
This must be great news for competing shops. I work with a great team of installers. 3 in my store and 20 more in other store. Nearly all of them shouldn’t deal directly with most customer. I’m assuming CT doesn’t pay a substantial commission to its sales people, if they did I bet they would have more sales people worth keeping. The idea of putting managers back on the floor makes sense. Inventory and busy work can.should be taken care of by hourly staff. I just don’t see this panning out in well for them. But hell being wrong is a great learning opportunity. Lets hope we hear more about this in 1-2 years.
Car Toys have some of the best installers and managers on the business! All the best, make it happen!
im sure there will be some good stories and may more disasters as they scramble to rethink their strategy in a year…… I have already seen this implemented and it was pretty horrible to watch it unfold.
Oh good, the Best Buy model. Installers do everything from inventory, to scheduling, to selling, to installing, to check in/out, to cleaning.
And maybe some of you installers are happy, smiley, friendly folks.. but me, and the majority of installers I know, are not exactly soft-skill master, nor are we people-persons, nor are we out to butter up a customer and make them feel good any way possible just to slide a hand into their wallet (IE slick talking sales folks).
When I’m doing a sale I find out what you need based on a few questions, show you what product/s will get that job done, tell you how much it’s gonna cost, and that’s about it, take it or leave it. We can change the price by adjusting expectations but I won’t sugar coat a guy with a $400 budget who wants a wireless Carplay unit in his Tahoe. Sorry dude, it’s either gonna cost more or you’re gonna have to want more basic features, that’s it.
I’m rambling now. But I wish to the heavens I had an experienced sales person who would just feed me work all day so I didn’t have to deal much with customers. I hope Cartoys knows what they’re doing, because to me if sounds like the Best Buy method, and in my experience, that’s not a good method.
Installers dealing with customers. What could possibly go wrong? It will be interesting to see what the result of this is. Will pan out either as genius or disaster. Time will tell.