I had the opportunity to join an exciting gathering last week at General Motors: the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Women’s Retail Network, the group of 200 or so women dealers in the GM network.
10 years ago, General Motors started this initiative to support its existing women dealers, to attract more women into GM’s retail business, and to serve women consumers better. During that period, the number of women dealers has grown from 2.6% to 4.5% – a number that WRN Director Celeste Briggs is determined to grow. If you met Celeste, you’d believe she can do it.
It was exciting to meet so many Vibrant Baby Boomer women business leaders. Each one of them manages a large and complicated business; most of them also balance complicated family politics (most of the women I met had taken over dealerships originally run by their fathers or husbands); and they play important roles in their communities. Oh, yes, and they also weathered the worst recession of their lifetimes and the bankruptcy of General Motors!
Yet these women did not seem overwhelmed by their challenges. Like women everywhere (including VibrantNation.com), they were clearly getting energy from connecting with each other. They talked about management and financial issues, but also about family: several brought their daughters with them.
I was invited to speak to the group at their anniversary lunch, but my talk seemed superfluous following the examples that preceded me.
Lynn Kimmel, whose mother was a pioneering Cadillac dealer, runs the Lockhart Automotive Group with other family members. After winning the “Dealer Choice Award” from her peers, Lynn’s own comments showed the intelligence and grace that women of all ages can bring to leadership positions. She also reflected a keen understanding of the value that women dealers can bring to women customers.
When I speak about the power behind vibrant Baby Boomer women, I usually have to explain to people that women in the 50s and 60s are independent, smart, dynamic leaders. Then I try to explain to them why and how they should serve this important demographic.
At GM, women like Lynn Kimmel—and WRN Chair Kathie Gaddie with other dealers, together with Celeste Briggs’ own predecessors as WRN leaders – had already accomplished both of these things. What was there left for me to tell them?
I did give my talk – and will share some results from the research we conducted for it – but if there were any single message I could give General Motors about how to gain market share among Baby Boomer women, it would be: listen to your Women’s Retail Network, and recognize them as models of understanding why every customer counts.
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