Additional leadership skills and connections in the automotive dealership world are the result of Krapohl Ford & Lincoln General Manager Mike Helmer’s regular week-long trips to the NADA Academy.
The National Automobile Dealers Association, in Tysons, Virginia, serves as an advocate for more than 16,000 dealerships and conducts its classes in a training center and organizes conferences. Mike traveled to its headquarters every six weeks over an 11-month period.
Mike was named general manager in March after serving as a sales team member, assistant sales manager and then sales manager.
“I’m more comfortable approaching everyone,” Mike said. “The leadership sessions taught me to not let stuff fester. Early communication leads to better results.”
He said meeting other dealership leaders showed him every dealership faces similar problems and concerns. “It was the same, whether it was a 15-person store, or a huge dealership run by Nick Saban’s son,” Mike said.
Academy students spent a day on Capitol Hill to meet with a member of Congress and gain insight into the lawmaking process, the importance of dealer visits to Washington, D.C., and why inviting members of Congress to visit their stores can benefit dealers, their employees and their customers.
“We’re seeing what (co-owner) Tom (Krapohl) and I expected when Mike was named general manager in March,” co-owner Mark Smith said. “He’s pushed himself to be familiar with every aspect of our business, he dove in with his NADA classes. It’s allowing Tom and I to concentrate on long-range, big-picture planning on the opportunities and needs for the dealership.”
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