“This is going to sound strange,” she said, “but we are just trying to keep things as normal as possible at a time when nothing is normal. We are working to keep everybody safe and sane. The media creates fear and panic in people, so when we run into that, we talk people off the ledge, encourage them and get them back in the game. If someone gets sick, we get them tested. Other than that, we are not really doing anything special.” Regarding the support of her employees, Shannon said, “We are keeping them positive, pumped up and employed, and we are also making sure we continue to engage customers so they come in through the door or submit a lead. That’s crucial because if our employees don’t get the opportunity to talk to customers, they don’t have a livelihood. We have done a lot of training and role playing on how to think differently and speak to customers differently.” We asked her what she’s learned in the past that was helping her navigate the new unknown that was a pandemic world. She quickly said, “People skills. It’s important to know how to work with people, both employees and customers. If you can’t communicate with people effectively, you’re not going to be successful – now or in the future.” Part of the unknown is what the pandemic crisis will have on the auto industry going forward. Not knowing what can happen often makes people think outside of the box, and we wondered if this was like-thinking for her, and her team. “This crisis is forcing dealerships to provide customers with more transparency,” she said. “That will continue going forward. But we are seeing that customers like coming into the dealership. In April, 60% of our deliveries were home During these undoubtedly extraordinary times, we wanted to meet with Shannon Kominowski, CFADA Chair, to determine how she and her team were doing, as a small business, to weather the unprecedented storm. This article was originally published in 2019-2020 Issue 3. deliveries. That went to 40% in May, 25% in June, and less than 10% in July. We still offer it, but consumers like coming to look at cars, and they don’t get that experience when they are at home.” Apparently, the pandemic was not hurting the dealership’s in-person sales. We asked Shannon: as a leader, what takeaways from the pandemic will guide her future business decisions? “I’ve realized I can do the same amount of business despite the shutdown,” she replied. “We can pivot, make strategic business decisions and still be successful.” And concerning community outreach – such as support for essential workers like healthcare workers and first responders – she told us her dealership actively supports back-to-school drives and agencies that protect abused women and children. We then asked about her work in the auto industry. “I wanted to do market research,” she told us. “Ironically, working in the car business is similar to many aspects of market research. You have to know customer wants and needs, as well as their reason to buy. You aren’t in a panel setting getting feedback; instead, you are on a one-to-one basis with the customer, helping them make a buying decision.” Next, we asked her to share how she became a general manager. She explained that after she graduated from Mars Hill University in North Carolina (with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and minors in management and marketing), she realized she had no money, no place to live and no job. The only place she could live for free was back home in Orlando with her father. She began her working career in banking, but “despised” it, claiming it was “the A VISIT WITH SHANNON KOMINOWSKI Pub Yr 2 | Issue 4 19 CFADA.ORG
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