EP 11:02 From Corrections Officer to Sales Superstar: Car Saleswoman's Adventure in the Automotive Industry

In this powerful episode, host Sean V. Bradley delves into the unique career journey of Nena Gilmore Moss, a top-performing salesperson at Bolivar Ford with a substantial background in law enforcement!  From a career path that’s anything but ordinary to her impressive achievements in automotive sales, Nena’s journey is filled with lessons, strategies, and surprising insights!

"I had some goals, and I knew what I needed to do early on to get to where I wanted to be." - Nena Gilmore Moss

Listeners will discover how her unique background shaped her approach to sales and the unconventional methods she uses to consistently rise to the top of her field. This episode is packed with fresh perspectives, actionable ideas, and a story that proves success can come from the most unexpected places.

"Work hard. You can't sit back and wait on ups." - Nena Gilmore Moss

Sean V. Bradley explores with Nena the strategies behind her success, particularly her adept use of client relationships and industry connections to drive repeat business and referrals. Her approaches are framed around macro selling strategies which have proven to be highly effective, allowing her to sell nearly 36 cars a month. Nena’s story is a testament to the fact that strategic networking and customer-centric service can revolutionize one’s sales approach. 

"Probably 99% of my business is repeat and referral." - Nena Gilmore Moss

Tune in and hear firsthand how Nena has turned her past experiences into a formula for dominating the automotive industry, while inspiring others to push past limits and rethink what’s possible!

 

Key Takeaways:

✅ Leverage Past Experiences: Nena’s law enforcement background gives her a unique edge in sales, allowing her to communicate effectively and build trust quickly with clients.

✅ Importance of Relationship Building: Developing strong relationships with customers is crucial for generating repeat and referral business.

✅ Macro Selling Strategies: Nena uses strategic community connections to tap into group sales, enhancing her sales volume through organized partnerships.

✅ Community Engagement: Participation in local events is essential for visibility and networking in the community, generating opportunities beyond regular leads.

✅ Process and Training: Emphasizing the significance of having a well-structured sales process and continuous training to optimize performance and customer satisfaction.

 

About Nena Gilmore Moss

Nena Gilmore Moss is a top sales professional at Bolivar Ford in Tennessee, with a unique and diverse professional background. Before entering the automotive industry, Nena dedicated 18 years to law enforcement, spending nine of those years as a training manager within the prison system! Her extensive experience has equipped her with exceptional skills in communication, process integrity, and leadership. Nena has made a remarkable transition into automotive sales, where she consistently excels, often topping the sales chart and bringing a wealth of experience and a strategic mindset to her current role. Nena continues to break barriers and is an inspiration to everyone in the industry! 

 

---

Mastering Automotive Sales: Leveraging Experience and Networks for Success

 

Key Takeaways

• Building strong, authentic relationships is a key to expanding your customer base and securing repeat business.

• Leveraging your unique background and network to establish niche markets can significantly boost your sales and reputation.

• A proactive approach to marketing and relationship-building, rather than waiting for prospects, leads to greater success in the automotive sales industry.

Harnessing Your Past for Present Success

In the realm of automotive sales, one of the most effective strategies involves drawing from your previous experiences and networks. This idea is brilliantly illustrated in the journey of Nena Gilmore Moss, a former law enforcement officer who transitioned seamlessly into automotive sales and achieved remarkable success. With almost two decades in law enforcement, she now thrives as a top-performing sales consultant at Bolivar Ford. Her story is a testament to the power of leveraging one's unique background to create a distinct value proposition.

Having worked "18 years in a prison system," as Moss states, she drew upon her extensive experience in dealing with a wide range of people and situations to excel in automotive sales. The adaptability and communication skills she honed over the years have become invaluable assets. "What do you think your previous life helped you or prepared you with to be able to be successful in automotive?" Moss reflects, "Having a plan and following a process… because if we don't follow a process, it's chaos."

Her law enforcement experience provided her with the unique ability to "build that relationship in the beginning and keep that [customer] relationship going," which contrasts with typical sales approaches that often emphasize immediate sales over long-term relationships. This tailored approach not only earns repeat business but also generates vast referrals, underscoring the importance of leveraging past networks to create a new client base.

Strategies for Building a Referral Network

Referral networks are gold mines in the sales industry, often untapped due to either a lack of awareness or an understanding of how to cultivate them. Moss's experience showcases the immense potential of tapping into pre-existing professional networks to foster business growth. She eloquently narrates her tactic of leveraging connections from her time in law enforcement to form a robust referral base in her sales career.

"We have a program that's not open to the public. It is exclusive to law enforcement only because that's my background," she explains, demonstrating the significance of crafting a special, targeted program tailored to specific client groups. This strategy has been instrumental in driving referrals: "Probably 99% of my business is repeat and referral."

Her proactive strategy extends even further, utilizing tools like LinkedIn to establish new contacts with police departments and other relevant organizations. The creation of a targeted lead generation process involving these connections exemplifies how combining traditional relationship-building with modern platforms can expand one's reach exponentially.

The Art of Proactive Selling

An overarching lesson from Moss's success story is the power of proactive selling—the art of creating opportunities rather than waiting for them to appear. Moss, a former training manager, understands discipline and execution and applies these principles to automotive sales to gain clear advantages over competitors. "In this business, you can't sit back and wait on ups. You can't sit and hope that somebody comes on the parking lot, you got to work."

Through active community involvement and personalized outreach, she doesn't just wait for customers to walk through the door. Instead, Moss engages in activities like setting up booths at local events and diligently cultivating a positive reputation in her community. She also delves into untapped opportunities like becoming a certified car safety inspector, offering her services to parents and daycare centers. This niche service not only provides value but differentiates her from many others in the field.

Moss emphasizes, "Once you build that relationship, you keep that relationship. And you're transparent about your process. You explain your process. You work hard in the beginning, it pays off." These diligently-nurtured relationships then serve as a reliable source of ongoing business, reinforcing the importance of investing in long-term customer engagement strategies.

Looking at Moss's journey, it becomes clear that in automotive sales, success is within reach when employing tailored approaches that draw on personal expertise and networks. This is a lesson echoed through her narrative, where methodical planning, adaptability, and leveraging past experiences become the bedrock of a thriving sales career. By cultivating meaningful relationships and employing proactive, network-based strategies, sales professionals can significantly boost their impact and create a thriving business founded on trust and exceptional service.

 

---

Resources + Our Proud Sponsors:

The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group: Join the #1 Mastermind Group in the Automotive Industry with over 29,000 members worldwide. Collaborate with automotive professionals, learn the best industry practices, and connect with top mentors, managers, and sales leaders. Join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today!

Dealer Synergy: The automotive industry’s #1 Sales Training, Consulting, and Accountability Firm. With over 20 years of proven success, Dealer Synergy has helped dealerships nationwide build high-performing Internet Departments and BDCs from the ground up. Our expertise includes phone scripts, rebuttals, CRM action plans, lead handling strategies, and management processes; all designed to maximize your people, processes, and technology!

Bradley On Demand: The automotive industry’s most powerful Interactive Training, Tracking, Testing, and Certification Platform. With LIVE virtual classes and access to a library of over 9,000 on-demand training modules, Bradley On Demand gives your dealership the tools to dominate every department—Sales, Internet, BDC, CRM, Phone, and Leadership. From sharpening individual skills to elevating entire teams, this platform ensures your people are trained, tested, and certified for maximum success. Equip your dealership to sell more cars, more often, and more profitably with Bradley On Demand!