John Bening on the Importance of Sales Education

For John Bening, the biggest part of running a successful automobile dealership is knowing how to secure a sale while building a relationship with a customer. That’s why John Bening ran for the position of National Automotive Dealers Association 20 Group Chairman, and that’s why he won.

John Bening believes strongly in sales education, and using the collective resources of an industry to better profits through bettering sales techniques. As chairman of the National Automotive Dealers Association 20 Group, John Bening puts together meetings, workshops, seminars, and literature for distribution with the intention of helping car dealers throughout the United States improve their profits through improving their sales. This material focuses on best practices in the industry, and proven methods of securing sales. John Bening says that it’s especially useful for businesses with a  staff of primarily inexperienced salespeople, but that established businesses can benefit from increased education as well.

John Bening suggests that while some sales skills are, of course, inherent and depend on personality and interpersonal aptitudes, many skills can be taught, or at least improved through instruction in the most effective techniques in speaking, framing a sales pitch, and using body language and tone to influence a customer. According to John Bening, the proof of the pudding is, as they say, in the eating. John Bening reports that members of the National Automotive Dealers Association 20 Group make up to a whopping 30% more than competitors who aren’t members after just one year of membership and training attendance within the organization.

It’s certainly hard to argue with John Bening’s 25 years of experience as an owner and operator of multiple auto dealerships in southeast Missouri. John Bening owns four dealerships: two Ford franchises, one Mazda franchise, and an independent dealership of pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs that has been in business since 1987.