Auto Remarketing is recognizing the 2022 Women in Retail honorees in the current issue of the magazine and at Used Car Week this fall in San Diego. 

With these awards, we specifically recognize top leaders on the retail side of the auto industry, including honorees from dealerships, dealer groups and third-party providers/vendors

Over the next few weeks, AR will be posting Q&As with each of the honorees on this website.

Next up is Audrey Knight, who is dealer partner/general manager at Clark Nissan and Clark Hyundai.

Auto Remarketing: What do you enjoy most about working in retail automotive, and what would you change?

Audrey Knight: I enjoy retail automotive for the great diversity and opportunity within the industry. We are in a diverse business with many components that factor into our success. To have success we must master many facets of retail including customer care and satisfaction, hiring and training incredible employees, motivating and empowering those employees, and ensuring we are providing top of the line technical automotive knowledge and skills to our customers. And the opportunities that come with success in retail automotive are endless.

Our growth is only limited by the parameters we set. Doing the right thing will lead to success and growth beyond the limits we may have thought possible. I would change the way we currently do business as an industry. We need to adapt to modern customer expectations. We need to recognize the strength we possess together. The better each individual dealership or retailer does, the stronger we are collectively as an industry. We need to bring the automotive industry, especially dealers, into the modern-day way of doing business and meeting customer expectations — which does include getting back to our roots — taking care of our customers and providing a stellar experience.

AR: What is the top trend you’re watching in retail automotive this year?

Knight: EV. We want to be ahead of the curve for electric vehicle customers. This includes preparing our sales force and service personnel on their expectations. We are embracing the onset of EV and educating ourselves on all aspects of EV from the customer perspective — ownership, maintenance, charging, travelling, etc. We need to be their professional resource for advice. We need to understand their needs and meet them wherever they are in the EV ownership process.

AR: What piece of career advice would you give your younger self?

Knight: “Slow down you crazy child.” My hard work and determination to succeed has been a blessing. However, it would have been a smoother road and led to more success by listening to the advice of people who have come before me. Slow down, don’t try to reinvent the wheel, enjoy it, take a deep breath, take care of yourself and most of all, trust your gut and don’t be afraid. Make decisions and learn from the fallout. A little more risk and a little more trust in other people will lead to a lot more success. So just go for it. I have learned there is always someone that is doing it better. The key is to learn from those people, adopt the idea, make it your own, fit it into your plan and your people, and give it a try.

AR: What has been the top key to your success in retail automotive?

Knight: My circle of people: our staff here at our dealerships, our ownership and leadership group, and the mentors in my professional career along the way. I would not be in this position, going in the right direction with our dealerships and making good decisions on a daily basis, without the people who have guided me and off ered exceptional advice and opportunities along the way. Incredible people had and continue to have an integral part in my success. The lessons I have learned and the opportunities that have been aff orded to me are nothing short of blessings.

I am thankful for the ability to take these blessings and turn them into opportunities for other people. More importantly, our extraordinary employees are the backbone to our success. We cannot care for our customers or our business without our staff . One great lesson I have learned over my time in this position is the importance and value of our employees. We can be good on our own but we are great in numbers. We are great when we start to multiply the number of people that share our vision and take ownership of our success as a team. The sustainability and success of our company is dependent on our people.