Herb Chambers Honda’s Scott Birtles has 28 years pleasing customers

Scott Birtles, general manager at Herb Chambers Honda in Seekonk, has 28 years in the automotive business.

By Will McGuinness

Seekonk — Scott Birtles, general manager of Herb Chambers Honda of Seekonk, knows the business of selling cars and making customers happy. With experience as his greatest teacher, Birtles used his early positions in his father’s shop to work his way from washing cars to working as the dealership’s service manager by age 19. But Birtles made a major move that most dealership owner’s sons don’t: He left the shop. In his 30 years in the business, 25 have been spent with the Chambers company. He was selling cars by age 21, and he went to Chambers the following year. There, he would climb the ladder to the desk behind which he now sits at his place on Route 44. Birtles said part of the location’s success comes from the strength of the Honda brand and its commitment to three main values: efficiency, safety and reliability. He added the brand’s focus on these values has monetary benefits as well. “They have very good resale value too, so what they bring to the customer’s table is safety, reliability and efficiency,” Birtles said. He added these are attributes that transcend generations and that younger drivers just entering the market understand them too. Though Honda sponsors concert tours to promote its products, Birtles said, the product speaks for itself, but he’ll bring his son to the Fall Out Boy show anyway.
“The younger kids know Honda is a reliable car,” he said. “Fuel mileage is important to them too with gas heading toward $4 a gallon this summer,” he said.Birtles said the company makes it easy for younger people to opt for Honda with its certified pre-owned program. MP3 systems and voice-recognition Bluetooth technology aside, he said that any car six years or newer with less than 80,000 miles comes with a seven-year, 100,000 mile warranty and a more preferred finance rate.
For every 300 cars sold at the dealership, 80 are used, and customers have an array from which to choose as he has 600 vehicles on his lot. “You save money in financing, have zero liability in repair and are saving because it’s a used car,” he said. “It’s like an extra franchise for us, in certified used Hondas.” “They are more online than ever. And if you do all your research, Honda’s going to come out on top,” he said.Birtles said the Internet has been great for business, and it isn’t just younger people who are getting the benefits of it.“The Internet has been a great asset to everyone in the car business and consumers too,” he said. Additionally, Birtles added, the visibility Honda garners through its many brands has a trickle-down effect as his site is often visited following Honda’s and the Kelley Blue Book’s. “About 35 percent of our business comes from online. We get pretty good visibility from all the brands we offer as a company,” he said. “We love to have educated customers.“The Internet gives them a lot of information before they get into the dealership, and now more than ever, how you treat the customer and doing what you say you will is the most important thing,” Birtles added. Attention to detail, above all, is Birtles’ mantra.
“Most of our employees are not originally from the car business,” he said. “We look for people with good attitudes. You can teach them the skills, but some things you can’t.”He added people with positive outlooks are more likely to pass those on to consumers as well.“I have happy employees,” he said, “and the best part of my job is making customers happy.”

1. BE A GOAL SETTER. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to save for college education for your children? A new car? A new home? You can have whatever you want, but you must want it enough to do the things that have to be done to get it. Whatever your goal, write it down and set a target date for reaching it. Divide the time period into blocks of achievement that are reachable. Work consistently toward accomplishing each day, each week, each month what you set out to do. Goal-setting is a must in every area of life. Little is ever accomplished without definite goals.

2. BE A LIST MAKER. Each evening list all the things you want to get done the following day. That gives you an organized approach to each day. As each task is finished, mark it off your list. It is amazing how much gets done when one works with a "things-to-do" list. Also, have a notebook listing appointments, potential clients, repeat clients, and referrals, and keep it with you at all times. You will be adding to it constantly.

3. BE ENTHUSIASTIC. Enthusiasm is the high-octane "fuel" that salespeople run on. Enthusiasm generates its own energy. Energy and good health are synonymous with busy, happy people, people who are achieving.

4. "ASK." In sales we don't have to wait for business to come to us. We create our own business by asking for it. Ask for appointments, and then you can do business. Ask for business, and then you will close sales. Ask for referrals, and then you always have a full list of potential clients. Be quietly, yet firmly aggressive.

5. EXPECT NO'S. Realize that no's are not personal. In sales, as perhaps nowhere else, the law of averages works. Every no gets you closer to a yes. Keep track of your ratio. It will help improve your techniques. Are you getting ten no's to one yes? Is your ratio five to one? Remember, the yes's are your income. Also remember that "no" does not necessarily mean "no." Often a "no" is simply a stall for more time to think. It may be a request for more information about your product or your service. What your client is actually buying is assurance. Assure by your helpful attitude and your complete honesty, that you want what is best for them. They will most likely respect you and do business with you.

6. SCHEDULE TIME WISELY. A schedule is the roadmap by which salespeople travel. It takes the frustration out of the day. It assures that the necessary things get done and get done on time. Plan your work then work your plan.

7. BE POSITIVE IN YOUR ATTITUDE. Success in sales, as in all areas of life is 90 percent attitude and 10 percent aptitude. All of us must work at developing habits of constructive thinking. I am proud to be a salesperson. Sales make the wheels of our economy turn. Every company that manufactures any kind of product depends upon salespeople to move that product. Without salespeople business would be paralyzed.

Remember, sales is one of the highest paid of all professions. Statistics show that good salespeople enjoy incomes far above the average.

8. HAVE AN OFFICE AREA. Most salespeople work from their own homes, but it is essential to have a place where you can work in an organized and efficient manner. An office plus a strict working schedule gives you dignity. Both are absolutely essential for efficient operation and accurate record keeping,

9. BE INVOLVED. Most sales organization offer contests to stimulate production. Include winning contests as part of your business goals. Contests make your business fun as well as adding considerable dollar value to your income.

10. LEARN TO HANDLE MONEY INTELLIGENTLY. A regular nine-to-five job usually means a paycheck at the end of the second week. Salespeople handle money constantly. Sales are instant income and constant income. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to become an efficient money manager.