Michael Rezi Featured in Automotive News

Everyone at Nissan of Cookeville are very pleased to announce that Michael Rezi was recently featured in an article for Automotive News, which is a highly respected publication in the automotive industry. The story highlights how Rezi has built up his business by doing things differently from other dealerships, setting us apart from the competition. For example, we used a different method for training employees, a fresh approach to vehicle pricing, and an advertising push that focuses almost entirely on digital and social media platforms.

Rezi said in the interview, “I worked at other dealerships, with other people in the car business. It didn’t seem to be working well, the way everyone was doing things in all the usual ways.” In 2011 he got his chance to depart form the ways of other dealerships when he became an owner of Nissan of Cookeville.

At the time, we were struggling because of stiff nearby competition. Rezi rolled in and immediately identified some areas that were in desperate need of improvement, especially customer satisfaction. In a period of just four years, things have turned completely around. The dealership is in the top 10 percent for pre-owned vehicle sales volume in the Southeast United States, plus boasts the top spot in the state of Tennessee for Nissan Frontier truck sales.

The big focal point of customer service has seen exceptional improvement. In fact, the dealership ranks in the top 5 percent in the country when it comes to customer satisfaction scores, a stark contrast to the down-in-the-dumps figures that were reported just four years ago. As a result, repeat business is high, as is customer loyalty and conquest sales. We are incredibly proud of the results we have seen under the leadership of Michael Rezi.

One way Rezi is breaking from tradition comes from his hiring practice that focuses on recruiting people with little to no car sales experience. Instead of engaging in the usual practices car shoppers might encounter at other dealers, Rezi uses the lack of experience of the sales staff to teach them a new way of doing business. That means intense training sessions that includes driving each Nissan model, as well as learning the different vehicle features and trim packages. After that, new salespeople observed more experienced employees for two weeks. Twice a week, classes are conducted for all sales professionals, helping them keep a sharp edge on a number of topics. The sales staff is encouraged to not just move cars, but also to leave each customer feeling incredibly satisfied with the experience.

“We’re looking for goodwill here in our community,” says Rezi. “My goal isn’t just to sell cars — I want to do that, of course, but that’s not how you build a business long term.” That means focusing on earning loyalty instead of just quick sales, which translates into treating customers with respect instead of like numbers.

Even our pricing strategy has been crafted by Rezi to boost customer satisfaction. Sales associates will go over the model and trim levels a car shopper is interested in, even looking at the offerings from competing dealerships. Once everything is explored the customer has the opportunity to say if the price offered by us is fair or not. If a person feels it isn’t, they can then name a price they feel is fair. If it is reasonable, it will be accepted. In the end, it’s all about the customer walking away happy.

“I want our customers to understand our prices and the value of the car they’re buying,” says Rezi. “I want them to be comfortable with it and realize that it’s a good price.”

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