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E-sales Merchandising
Technician Training Program:
Instructional Plan
WILLIAM STEWART
CUR/516
JULY 31, 2017
ELIZABETH PACE
Overview
An automotive dealerships overall success in the U.S. pre-owned automotive market is
contingent upon its ability to meet car buyers where they shop with tools to use in their
purchase decisions: The Internet.
88% of car buyers use online automotive classifieds listings as a primary tool in their
purchase decisions (Cox Automotive, 2016).
Creating and maintaining online automotive classifieds listings = Competitive Advantage.
The E-sales Merchandising Technician A key role.

An instructional plan for the purpose of formally training internal employees selected for
the role of E-sales Merchandising Technician was developed.
Part I
Rationale
Purpose: Equip E-sales Merchandising Technicians with the necessary skills and
knowledge to ensure the effectiveness of the pre-owned vehicle E-sales department at
each of the dealer groups facilities.

Description: A structured, technology-facilitated program consisting of 5 daily

classroom training sessions conducted at the corporate training facility.
Maximum class size will be no more than 5 trainees.
Each training session will be 4 hours in length.
Following the completion of the classroom sessions will be a 5-day mentorship
program with a Senior E-sales Merchandising Technician.
Part I
Goals GOAL 1
Ensure accurate and
current online classified
Sponsoring Department inventory listings on
dealership and 3rd party
websites through the use
of dedicated personnel.

GOAL 2
Facilitate the consistent
achievement of the E-
sales departments
weekly and monthly
sales goals leading to
the achievement of the
departments annual
sales goals.
Part II
Objectives

Goal: Ensure
accurate and current
1 In a simulation exercise in which a weekly pre-owned inventory spreadsheet is
provided, the E-sales Merchandising Technician trainee should be able to
demonstrate how to locate and retrieve 5 pre-owned vehicles on the dealership lot.

online classified Given a company-issued mobile device equipped with a vehicle identification
inventory listings on number (VIN) decoder and digital camera, the E-sales Merchandising

2
Technician trainee should be able to survey 5 different types of pre-owned
dealership and 3rd vehicles:
- Decode the VIN of 5 different types of pre-owned vehicles with 100%
party websites accuracy
through the use of - Take the specified 9 external and 9 internal photographs with 90% accuracy

dedicated personnel.
Using a Wi-Fi enabled computer with access to the dealerships inventory

3
management software system, company-issued mobile device and digital camera,
the E-sales Merchandising Technician trainee should be able to upload vehicle data
and photographs for 5 different pre-owned vehicles into the software system and
create an online record for each.
Part II
Objectives
Provided with access to an active user account on the dealerships inventory management
software system via Wi-Fi enabled computer, the E-sales Merchandising Technician trainee
should be able to perform the following functions within the software system:
Goal: Ensure
accurate and current
online classified
4 - Navigate the software menus to set the online record created for each of the 5 different
pre-owned vehicles to active status.
- Write and input a vehicle advertisement description that includes features and benefits for
each of the 5 pre-owned vehicles.
- Convert each of the records for the 5 pre-owned vehicles into a classified listing
inventory listings on
dealership and 3rd
party websites
through the use of
Upon reading the E-sales Merchandising Technician Orientation Book in its entirety and
dedicated personnel.
5 completing the Day 1 and Day 2 classroom sessions, the E-sales Merchandising
Technician trainee should be able to earn a minimum score of 80% on the Module 1
online quiz.
Part II
Objectives

Goal: Ensure Provided the dealership organizational chart, the E-sales Merchandising Technician

accurate and current

online classified
6 trainee should be able to explain which dealership personnel to address in a role play
scenario in which 3 inventoried pre-owned vehicles cannot be located on the dealership
lot for the purpose of surveying.

inventory listings on
dealership and 3rd
party websites
through the use of
dedicated personnel.
7
Upon completing the Day 3 and Day 4 classroom sessions, the E-sales Merchandising
Technician trainee should be able to earn a minimum score of 90% on the Module 2
online quiz.
Part II
Objectives
Given a sample action list from the weekly E-sales department meeting, the E-sales

Goal: Facilitate the 8 Merchandising Technician trainee should be able to recite the weekly sales goal for the
department and explain the number of units necessary to meet the departments weekly sales
goal.
consistent
achievement of the
E-sales departments
9
Given a sample goal tracker list from the weekly E-sales department meeting, the E-sales
weekly and monthly Merchandising Technician trainee should be able to explain the correlation between the
departments weekly, monthly and annual sales goal with 90% accuracy.
sales goals leading to
the achievement of
the departments
annual sales goals. In a roleplay exercise of an inbound sales call to an E-sales representative at the dealership, the

10 E-sales Merchandising Technician trainee should be able to demonstrate at least 3 of the

prescribed methods for supporting the sales representative in facilitating a pre-owned vehicle
sale.
Part II
Objectives

Terminal Objective

Satisfactory learning of the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve both of the
programs goals is encapsulated in the terminal objective as follows:

Terminal Objective: Upon completing the 5-day program, the E-sales Merchandising Technician
trainee should be able to earn a minimum score of 90% on the summative online exit exam.
Part II
Instructional Strategies and Technologies

Environment
The training will be conducted at the corporate training facility equipped with no less than 7 Wi-
Fi enabled computer terminals for the trainees. Additionally, an instructors Wi-Fi enable
computer interfaced with a projector presentation system will be needed.

Instructional Methodologies
Lecture and discussion: Classroom lectures are followed by instructor-led group
discussions.

Formative assessments: There are 2 formative assessments in the form of online

quizzes that are provided within the dealership inventory management software
system demo accounts. There is also 1 summative online quiz.
Part II
Instructional Strategies and Technologies

Instructional Methodologies

Role-play: The trainee will participate in a role-play exercise to work with an E-sales
representative to resolve a common issue.

Simulation: The trainee will participate in a simulation involving the use of cognitive and
psychomotor skills.

On-the-job-training (OJT). Trainees will participate in a mentoring relationship with an

experienced E-sales Merchandising Technician upon completing the 5 training sessions.
Part III
Required Resources

10 copies of the following:

o E-sales Merchandising Technician orientation book.

o Organizational chart.
o Sample weekly sales meeting action list.
o Sample goal tracker form.
o Presentation slides.
o Standard issue mobile device and digital camera reference manuals.

10 standard issue mobile devices equipped with a VIN decoder.

10 standard issue digital cameras.

Active user account in the dealership inventory management software system for each registered
trainee.
Part III
Program Duration

Classroom Sessions

o 5 consecutive daily classroom sessions of 4 hours.

o Monday Friday 1pm-5pm.

Mentorship

o Shadowing a Senior E-sales Merchandising Technician at the trainees dealership destination facility.

o Immediately follows conclusion of the classroom portion the following Monday.

o 5 consecutive full work days Monday Friday.

Part III
Participating Individuals
E-sales Quality Control Manager (serving as Instructor).

Corporate General Sales Manager.

Corporate Pre-Owned Sales Manager.

2 Pre-Owned E-sales Representatives.

Senior E-Sales Merchandising Technician for each trainee.

Implementation
Human Resources Director communicates with trainees and schedules training.

Classroom training consists of 5 days with each session running 4 hours. A 5-day mentorship
immediately follows the conclusion of the classroom sessions.
Part III
Implementation
Engagement

Experiential learning: Learning activities in and outside of the classroom designed to leverage
experiential learning, allowing trainees to gain hands-on experience.

Discussion activities: According to Chou and Lin (2015), discussion learning activities are an effective
means of enhancing learner performance and engagement in classroom instruction. A substantive
amount of the daily classroom sessions of the training program is allocated to substantive group
discussions to increase learner engagement and facilitate social learning among the trainees.

Active learning: Role-playing exercise and simulation activities enhance engagement and allow trainees
to experience real-world application of the concepts.

Determining Learning

Instructor observation: Observation of group discussions contributes to the measurement of learning.

Part III
Implementation

Determining Learning

ASSESSMENT TYPE PURPOSE OF MEASURE MINIMUM TARGET SCORE

Benchmark Online Quiz Pre-test Existing mastery of content N/A

Formative: Progress in learning

Module 1 Online Quiz Level 2 content from Days 1-2; areas for 80% or higher
improvement.

Formative: Progress in learning

Module 2 Online Quiz Level 2 content from Days 3-4; areas for 90% or higher
improvement.
Part III
Implementation
Determining Learning

Level 2 summative assessment: A comprehensive online quiz covering all content to determine overall
satisfactory learning to achieve both of the programs goals, encapsulated in the terminal objective:
o Terminal Objective: Upon completing the 5-day program, the E-sales Merchandising Technician trainee should be
able to earn a minimum score of 90% on the summative online exit exam.

The summative assessment will be followed by an exit interview between the instructor and each
trainee to discuss overall learning, competence, and areas of focus for the mentorship to be conducted
the following week.
o Results will be compared to pre-test results in the instructors analysis of overall learning.

o Failure to earn minimum required mastery score results in one-on-one session with the instructor.

All assessments will be automatically scored within the software system, which will deliver the results
electronically to the instructor for analysis immediately following their completion.
Part IV
Evaluation

Evaluating the Program Design

Level 1 assessment in the form of an exit survey for trainees.

Formal surveys:
o Survey to be completed by the Senior E-sales Merchandising Technician that works with the trainee at the
conclusion of the mentorship week.
o Survey for the Pre-Owned E-sales Manager at the respective destination dealership facility to complete upon
observing the trainee during the mentorship week.
o Survey completed by the training instructor to provide his or her perspective.

The Corporate Pre-Owned E-sales Manager and Human Resources Director analyze survey data in a
collaborative effort.
 Conclusion

KNOWLEDGE

PRE-OWNED
E-SALES MERCHANDISING SKILLS
TECHNICIAN
EFFECTIVENESS
COMPETENCE

The Pre-Owned E-sales Merchandising Technician plays a vital role in the success of the automotive dealership in an increasingly competitive
marketplace. This training program will help ensure that Planet Autos technicians are skilled and competent to fulfill the important tasks of
their role and ultimately contribute to the organizations overall success. It can also serve as a foundational model to be used in developing
additional training programs for other roles within the dealership group.
References
Cox Automotive. (2016). 2016 Car Buyer Journey. Retrieved from https://agameautotrader.com/agame/pdf/2016-car-buyer-journey.pdf

Cherem, B. F. (2011). Using online formative assessments for improved learning. Currents in Teaching & Learning, 3(2), 42-48.

Chou, C., & Lin, P. (2015). Promoting discussion in peer instruction: Discussion partner assignment and accountability scoring

mechanisms. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(4), 839-847. doi:10.1111/bjet.12178.

Hodell, C. (2016). ISD from the ground up: No-nonsense approach to instructional design (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: ATD Press.

Kirkpatrick Partners. (2017). The Kirkpatrick Model. Retrieved from

http://www.kirkpatrickpartners.com/Our-Philosophy/The-Kirkpatrick-Model.

Lay, L. (2015). Enhanced student engagement and meaningful learning: A curriculum redesign. International Journal of Pedagogy &

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http://search.ebscohost.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=108548139&site=ehost-live.

Stevens, R. (2015). Role-play and student engagement: Reflections from the classroom. Teaching in Higher Education, 20(5), 481-492.

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