Fair Play
"Honesty and integrity are everything.” That’s the motto at Crippen Auto Mall in Lansing, Mich., and it’s the reason Scott Kemp has stuck around for 30 years.
Good thing for the dealership since, on average, he accounts for at least 10% of the dealership’s sales. Kemp is always the top salesperson or the No. 2 sales guy, and it’s been that way every single month for more than 15 years (and counting).
Crippen Auto Mall includes GMC, Buick, Mazda and Volvo franchises, all covered by a tight group of 11 salespeople. In 2015, Kemp averaged 15 to 20 vehicles per month, new and used, and the dealership averaged about 115 to 120 cars per month for the year.
“I’ve been around for 30 years, so that helps,” Kemp says with a laugh. He says he has built his career on relationships with customers throughout the community — enough so that repeats and referrals make up about 70% of his sales. But he says he still relies on Internet leads and still walks the lot. In any case, when he meets a new customer, finding common ground is essential. “It’s a small world. Within a few minutes, you can usually find something in common with people.”
Commonalities or not, Kemp says it’s important to be straightforward with every customer and treat them the same way he would want to be treated. He also points out that relationships with customers don’t end when they drive off the lot. “Especially with all the new technologies in the car, I have people coming back in all the time to have me show them how the technology works — sometimes people come in four or five times.”
Crippen Auto’s general sales manager, Chris Erickson, says Kemp’s CSI scores are always “near-perfect.” Most of Scott’s customers have purchased multiple vehicles or have been referred to him by customers he’s sold to — a testament to his quality of work. Erickson refers to him as a “true professional in our industry.”
Scott Kemp has been one of Crippen Auto Mall’s top two salespeople every month for more than 15 years, and the secret to his success is simpler than you might think.