What You Have Wrong About Getting Women into Motorcycling

A few crucial points were missing in the recent panel discussion of women in Powersports hosted by Mark Rodgers. I’d like to add to that conversation. While I have not reached the rank of female Dealer Operator, having been in Powersports for 15+ years I’ve learned a thing or two that I believe I can contribute. 

Perhaps it’s this missing role on my resume that has contributed to these strongly held opinions. I’ve been allowed to operate on the fringe and not part of the foray like my esteemed female counterparts that took part in the panel. My approach to marketing and operations in powersports has always been… alternative. I was one of the first to set up a social media account for a dealership (before Facebook technically allowed businesses to do so). I was one of the first to invest heavily in video content (back in the days of a flipcam and before iPhones). I understood early on that the true value of marketing at a dealership was to provide qualified leads (when competitors were investing in billboards). I was one of the first to apply the concepts of Inbound marketing to the powersports world (when “blogs” were still for tech-types). When I delivered leads and their quality was questioned, I fired back by also examining the quality of the sales interaction (something a “hot dog” girl shouldn’t do). I began investing the majority of my dealership’s budget into event marketing after the ’08 recession to better capture and qualify leads (when radio was all the rage). I invested in a marketing CRM software (before that was a thing) to organize the customer data I was collecting and better communicate to the sales team. I was among the first to move from a radio-focused approach to an events-centered approach to a digital-first approach as the consumer changed. And I had to be the first that successfully changed their sales department to run on a marketing-first consumer-driven content-led strategy. While many of these are common strategies employed today, none of these strategies were popular moves at the time. 

See what I mean by fringe? Well operating on that fringe gets you some out-of-the-box thinking. Want more women riding, selling and marketing motorcycles? Here are my top 5 ideas.

1. People that are encouraging to women get women into motorcycling. So be inclusive.

That’s it. That’s the big secret. Sometimes it’s a man that believes that woman could and should do it – such as a father, brother or friend. But it’s easier for a woman to look at a woman rider they meet and envision themselves in that seat. 

Also as a female rider it’s easy to put the idea of riding in the head of another woman. “Do you ride?” “No.” My response is always “No, not yet? Or no, not ever?” Sometimes the woman divulges that they have secretly thought about doing it in the past. Sometimes they take it as permission to admit they might like to try it. Sometimes they just straight up tell me they aren’t interested in riding their own motorcycle and I’ve made it okay for them to say that too.

This goes for customers just as much as it goes for dealership staff. As a female dealership employee, I can look at another female and pose the question of “why don’t you consider working here with me?” Make the assumption that if they are a smart, talented individual then there is no reason why they shouldn’t. 

People talk a big game about “including women” or “targeting women”, but I’m here to tell you that simply ditching the Bikini Bike Wash event isn’t going to cut it. Substituting it for a “Garage Party” or “Women’s Only <ANYTHING> Workshop” isn’t going to work. I’m not saying that you should host the sort of degrading misogynistic events that have become typical of dealership event calendars in the past. And I’ll be the first to stand up for the value of events geared towards overcoming the mental barriers many women (and often men, too) have regarding getting in to motorcycling. In fact those events are typically successful because they give women the space to engage with other women. A safe space to ask the dumb question. A place for them to envision themselves as part of the lifestyle. But that isn’t enough. The images on your social feeds, the content on your websites, the influencers you engage as your spokespeople, the groups you sponsor…all of it. They all have to be inclusive. Of everyone. Not just women. Everyone you want to sell to. Which leads me to idea number two.

2. Create a culture that elevates PEOPLE – not just women – that respect EVERYONE – not just women.

The second you alienate any demographic, you lose. Obvious. I know. But this goes for psychographic too. Less obvious. We’ve been down this road before with different types of riders. Why did Buell fail? What about the V-Rod and XR platforms? They weren’t bad products. In many ways they were revolutionary. They failed because the existing H-D customer base – led by the dealer network – alienated the rider whose psychographic profile was different. It’s a big reason why EV is struggling to take off. It’s the same reason I fear for the incoming Pan America platform. I have exactly zero interest in competing in a Dakar rally through the desert, but I can absolutely respect those that want to. I can understand that the experience that person is looking for is just as exhilarating to them as my cross-country adventure on the flat and straight I-80 through Nebraska is to me. Find the people that model that respect and empathy for all types of riders – and the psychographic of those riders.

You have these people in the dealer network already. The trick is to elevate them. To empower them. To encourage them. To make their attitude infectious among the entire store – no – the entire industry. How you approach the “that’s not a real Harley” naysayer customer matters. You work at the dealership. They see you as an expert in the industry. How you talk about the rider that isn’t like them impacts their view of that rider. Need an example? How do you react when a customer talks about a Sportster being a girl’s bike? Do you agree with them? Dodge the comment and move on to discussing the features of a bagger? Or do you talk about how the Sportster has been in production since 1957 and has won more racing trophies than any motorcycle still in production? Do you come back with a “they’re all girl’s bikes” and talk about the badass women in your life or on your Instagram feed and what they ride? How would every person in the store handle that interaction? The culture needs to change.

This is a culture that cannot exist with just one person at a dealership. It needs to be felt and lived at every level. It starts with the dealer ownership. It is embodied by every single manager. And it is crucial for every single employee. Anything else should not be tolerated. It doesn’t matter if someone is your top revenue producer. You don’t need them if they bring a non-inclusive attitude to the building. They might sell a hundred bikes but likely cost you a thousand. And their cancer will spread.

3. You know what else you could elevate? The link between Sales and Marketing.

Think about your BDC. You do have one of those right? I’m not talking about the receptionist. (Wait. Do you treat your BDC like a receptionist?) I’m talking about whatever the position is called that links your Sales team with your Marketing team. The one that systematically assists and qualifies your customer database as it grows. Is that not what your BDC does? Maybe you should revisit what you expect from them and how you hold them accountable. Do they have goals like your showroom sales associates? Is their process mapped out just like your showroom sales associates? Are they compensated according to the value they bring?

Are they armed with the tools they need to be successful? Have you stuck them in a closet with a phone and a legacy CRM account to work your web leads and follow up with no goals, little direction and zero training? Or have you equipped them with a robust CRM platform to manage the tens of thousands of customers in your database? Can they see every single marketing, sales and service interaction that customer has had with your dealership? Do they have every bit of content they need to properly move every customer they engage with through to the next step of that customer’s purchase journey? Can they video chat or send a Snap just as easily as they can pick up the phone? Are those interactions in those alternative communication methods held just as valuable to you as a phone call? 

What’s this have to do with selling to women? Women do not enjoy “kicking tires” on your showroom floor. They have questions but they aren’t likely going to ask you. They are kicking tires on your website now. So is anyone new to motorcycling. So is just about every potential customer out there. And the conversations your sales associates previously had on your showroom floor are now happening in a live chat on your website, a Facebook Marketplace message string or an Instagram DM. Speaking of…

4. Ditch the sales process you know and love. Create the purchase experience for everyONE.

Make it easy. Make it fast. Make it theirs. Every single automotive or powersports sales process I have encountered has one thing in common. In a funnel diagram, it maps out the steps a sales manager expects a sales person to take in order to sell a vehicle. It’s time for that model to go. You’ve probably heard that funnels are out and flywheels are in (if you haven’t, let’s catch up). But what’s a bigger problem is this idea of the sales person being in control of the sale. They aren’t. Not anymore. You can continue to try to grasp on to that outdated concept at your own peril. Let’s all acknowledge that when you put a customer in control of their purchase experience it all goes a lot smoother, they are a lot happier and the deal is more profitable for the dealership. Don’t believe me? Try it.

Customers – including but certainly not limited to women – are looking for online tools for their purchase journey. They don’t want to ask a sales person the question they think might be seen as dumb. They don’t want to see a limited selection of today’s available inventory at a particular store. This isn’t the purchase experience they get when they buy ANYTHING else in their life. Why would that still apply to motorcycles? They want to ask a search engine their supposed “dumb question”. They want to survey every rider on the planet to find out what the best motorcycle is. They want to see every product option available to them in every configuration possible. And this is just as true with female consumers as it is with male consumers.

So why aren’t you serving up the content they desire? Why are you holding so tight to pricing, features and availability? And why aren’t you mapping out your sales process in alignment with the actions your customer is taking as they move towards purchase instead of the steps your sales associate is taking?

Time to let the customer lead. Just give the customer the tools they want to make the purchase decision. Track the steps they want to take – not the ones you want your sales associates to make. And offer them the fast, easy, personalized experience they are looking for when it comes time to purchase that vehicle. No one has the opportunity to get to know your customers – including the female ones – and the purchase experience they want better than you do. Which brings me to my final idea…

5. Stop relying on others to solve your problems – especially the OEMs. 

OEMs specialize in manufacturing. You as a dealership should specialize in sales and marketing. YOU are the distribution arm of the equation. If you want the OEM to do that too, then you are in the fast lane towards D2C vehicle purchases and your own demise. Don’t expect them to want to fix “it” or know how to fix “it”. By “it” I mean selling to women, selling to millennials, selling to minorities…. just selling. And marketing. They shouldn’t be the expert in any of it. They can (and should) divulge what the product they make is capable of and the rider they designed it for – maybe even how many riders there are in your local area. But you should be the expert on the person with the money to buy that product, how to engage with that person and how to sell to them. 

How do you become that expert? More challenging, how do you create those experts on your team? Encourage training. Any training your OEM has to offer is a great place to start. Do you make time for and reward training that is completed outside a person’s specific department? This cross-training works because it instills confidence in the individual. They can see how it all works together. An employee that knows everything there is to know about Vehicle Sales but nothing about MotorClothes or Service isn’t as confident and isn’t as capable as one that has a baseline knowledge of the entire rider experience. They aren’t an expert.

And if you do have employees that are fully cross-trained, completed all the OEM-provided training – what’s next for them? Add in the training for every company your dealership works with – aftermarket vendors, software providers, and businesses owned by your customers… to name a few. What about call training? How about a class on social media? Is it a course on emotional intelligence? What about an advanced riding course? How are they investing in their future and how are you helping?

Also. Encourage riding. Something is learned on every single ride you take. It might be something you learn about the bike you are riding or whether a piece of riding gear is completely ineffective at keeping you warm. It could be the value of LED lighting in a hairy situation or what it feels like to find your ABS. It might be something about a local ride route or something about a potential customer segment and what is important to them. Every single ride makes you better at what you do. 

So you want to sell to more women…

Be inclusive of everyone. Demand it from everyone in your dealership. Re-evaluate how your marketing team, sales team and everyone in between gives your customers the purchase experience they are looking for. Stop waiting on someone else to hand you the silver bullet. Start training. And keep riding.