10 Things Learned When I Started Working in the Automotive Industry
When I finished college and started applying for jobs, I had almost no knowledge of the automotive industry, and perhaps even less interest in gaining any. My experience with dealerships consisted of childhood memories of my dad’s poker-faced haggling with salesmen and the smell of the new car we’d eventually bring home.
So, when I started my first “real” adult job, in the marketing department at an auto group in the Pacific Northwest, I was truly going down the rabbit hole of an industry I never thought I’d find myself in. But despite the inevitable growing pains (and fresh addiction to coffee), I found myself ever more interested and invested in the auto industry and the people who keep it going. And while I am far from an expert in the field, there are some things I’ve learned in my first few years working in the industry.
Here’s a list of 10 things I learned in my first few years working in the car business:
1) Just About Everything Is Distilled to Letters
The first few weeks (okay, maybe it was more like months) in the car business felt like a language-immersion program. Except that the language they spoke seemed to be just initialisms: OEM, CRM, DMS, GSM, NADA, MSRP, SRP, BDC… The list goes on and on. For a while I was too timid to ask what these things meant, so I just nodded along as my coworkers babbled on in an alphabet soup of letters. Eventually, I started speaking the auto world language with the help of frequent Google searches, and even caught myself talking in the letter-based shorthand to new employees who had the same look of bewilderment I had when I started. In a world as fast-paced as the car business, these shortcuts are everywhere – and more come along every week.
2) The Temptation to Buy a New Car Is Always There
If there’s one dangerous thing about working around beautiful new vehicles for 40 hours a week, it’s that the new-car temptation is real. Walking to your desk and smelling “Eau de New Car” is quite sad when your own car smells like fast-food fries. Add to that coworkers who keep telling you what a great employee deal you could get on a new ride, and it’s nearly impossible to stay strong. I ended up breaking down and buying myself a bright-red Volkswagen Jetta – and I felt mighty cool pulling up to the VW store in it every day.
3) Dealerships are Full of Characters
The car business is chock-full of some of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet. I loved chatting with the military veteran who spent decades in the service but now sells trucks. I admired the 70-plus-year-old office manager who’d been working with the company since before I was born. And I laughed along with my colleagues as one of the owners started our morning meetings by screaming, “WOOOOOOOO!” The auto industry is never dull, and the people who work in it are the reason why.
4) Women Are a Growing Part of the Automotive World
One of my worries when I entered the auto industry was that I might feel uncomfortable and out of place as a young woman. But now that you’ve read this far, you know that my worries were mostly unfounded. The auto group I worked for had a female owner, and the company employed many women throughout its dealerships. While the auto industry still has a ways to go in gender diversification, I’m optimistic about the future of women in this field. I attended the Women in Automotive event at the Seattle International Auto Show, and what I saw inspired me: dozens of women in high-ranking positions doing admirable work in the industry.
5) Nobody Does Swag like Auto Brands
“Swag” takes on a whole different meaning in the world of cars. It’s not merely an occasional benefit, but a way of life. After a few years working at the auto group, I had filled my apartment with OEM-branded everything: hats, shirts, blankets, pens, sunscreen, BBQ tools, towels, coffee mugs, ice scrapers, and so much more – all emblazoned with OEM or dealer logos. I had accumulated so much free stuff that it became my go-to Christmas gift stash (and I know I’m not the only one who “re-homed” these free goodies).
6) You’ll Get Used to the End-of-the-Month Chaos
Ah, end-of-the-month… While workers in other industries might be slowing down, the auto industry launches full throttle to finish up the month strong. Every employee is on deck, and there’s palpable energy on the sales floor. During my first few months in the industry, the month-ending controlled chaos sent me into flight-or-fight response. But after a year, I’d gotten use to the panicked GSMs asking for a last-minute marketing push on the final day of the month. You get used to the chaos… eventually.
7) Many Auto Industry People Name Their Pets After Vehicles (Including Me)
They say inspiration is all around us, and that axiom is certainly upheld by all the auto industry folks who’ve named their animals after vehicles. I rescued an emaciated stray (pictured below) that had been hanging around outside the GMC dealership for weeks. It didn’t take me long to name her Denali, after GMC’s finest trim level: how appropriate for a top-of-the-line domestic cat! I had coworkers with pets named Malibu, Nova, Sierra, Acadia, and so on. I’d say I’m in good company!
8) The Best Auto Marketing Campaigns Get Employees Amped Up
One of the biggest challenges with marketing for an auto group is getting everyone – from the owners to the salespeople to the lot porters – on the same page with marketing campaigns. Without all staff members on board and gung-ho for a sales event, for example, it would inevitably flop. You can’t have a customer pull up and inquire about the Summer Fun Sales Extravaganza and have the salesperson return a blank expression.
The best way to get everyone on board and excited about an event or campaign is to simply make it fun. My best moment during my time at the auto group was when I planned an anniversary sales event with a 1970s theme. We hung up disco balls, posted vintage car ads across social media, and even had a staff dress-up day. With salespeople and GMs alike donning ‘70s jumpsuits and wigs, you couldn’t not have a good day at work. And all the fun had great results: we sold 25% more that week than during the same week the previous year!
9) Dealerships Can be Pillars of the Community
Perhaps the most life-changing part of working in the auto industry was having my eyes opened to how much philanthropic work is done by local charities. I took part in dozens of donation check presentations from our auto group to charities across the state, and I never tired of seeing people’s faces light up over the dollar amounts or SUVs full of canned foods – gifts that could authentically change people’s lives. Seeing how dealerships can positively influence their communities made me proud to work for one.
10) The Auto Industry is Exciting
Above all, I learned that this crazy world of cars is exciting. Hectic and ever-changing, sure – but that’s part of what makes it exciting. The memories are priceless, from stunt driver and X Games champion Travis Pastrana complimenting my dance moves at a Subaru autograph signing, to getting teary-eyed while presenting a donation to the local food bank. It’s already been quite the adventure in an industry I never imagined myself being a part of. And just last year I started my latest exciting adventure here at Media Results, a full-service advertising agency that works with some of the leading auto groups in the country.
If there’s a piece of advice to be pulled from my own experience, it’s that sometimes you don’t know what you’re truly passionate about until you’ve tried it. For me it was entering into the auto world and discovering that it’s where I’m meant to be in my career.
Written by: Taylor Crow