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SUCCESS STORY

Despite challenging market conditions, Hendrick BMW Mini continues to grow their team and their business. Successfully maintaining impressive sales and service volumes has not been an easy task, but one they attribute the accomplishment of to their stellar employees and solid solution partners – ones that deliver real, measurable results.

This scenario is not uncommon: a company, having developed a product that far exceeds its competition and recognizes the power of that product. Yet how does one plant the seed or drive the community to buy?

For Hendrick BMW Mini of Charlotte, NC, the concept is easy. The success of their venture depends largely on the extent of their dealership’s ability to persuade key employees to adopt and embrace company philosophies, as well as their ability to recruit and retain additional high caliber staff. United as an organization with one common purpose, Hendrick BMW Mini and their entire team have been able to reach expectations beyond even that of their customers.

“You never have a second chance to make a first impression,” explains Vice President & General Manager John Desmond as he addresses his staff during a routine all-company meeting. “You have to follow through on your word. Everyone here at Hendrick BMW Mini, whatever their role, matters. Everyone makes a difference.”

In fact, it’s true. Each employee plays an instrumental role in bringing this dealership’s philosophies to life. Hendrick BMW Mini depends on the entire team. “It’s going to be a fight to the finish this year, but my team is bringing their ‘A’ game,” shares David Effren, Business Development Manager. “When recruiting new hires, I’m not only looking for a replacement, but instead someone who would be able to fill my position.”

Empowering team members to ‘spread their wings,’ has proven an invaluable strategy. In fact, Hendrick BMW Mini has developed an outreach program. Every month an established committee of volunteers, loans out their time to area-wide, charitable organizations. The dealership also makes a continuous investment in their staff, through Hendrick University, where they offer numerous opportunities for personal and professional growth and development.

In a troublesome market for most, with automotive sales down 26% in Charlotte alone, Hendrick BMW Mini has managed to maintain their volume from last year. Desmond explains, “We greet people quickly and reassure our customers they’ve made the right choice with their buying decision. We aim to do the same with our employees. We empower them and give them a sense of belonging. At Hendrick BMW Mini, our customers and our employees are a key part of something bigger – a culture of excellence – and we want them to know that.”

“OneCommand solutions help us to further that mission, using their multi-channel communication solutions, we are able to deliver timely, consistent and personal campaigns and touch a much larger audience,” explains Desmond.

“Last week our BDC department delivered 2,500 communications and OneCommand another 15,000. I’m a sole believer that it takes at least three touches to drive a person to act. With the addition of this program, I’m able to reach my customers in a matter of seconds,” continues Desmond. “Customers respond well to a variety of communication channels offered by OneCommand and it significantly enhances our BDC department’s effectiveness. We use our live chat capability to engage in instant messaging with existing sales and service customers. It’s refreshing to have a business partner that cares as much about our success as we do.”

Steve Strickland, Pre-owned Sales Manager adds, “Accountability is our secret. We hold our people and OneCommand accountable as an intricate part of our team. By measuring true results and evaluating customer feedback provided by OneCommand, we have a chance to improve areas of our business otherwise not brought to our attention.”

To watch this team of dedicated professionals is truly amazing. Everyone is on board and operating at full speed. If someone is out sick or on vacation you wouldn’t know it. This well-oiled machine would still press forward without missing a beat. It is proven that with key employees adopting the company philosophy a dealer can sell more than 300 new and used vehicles a month, Hendrick BMW Mini continues to demonstrate that it can be done.

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