For Advaith, Faith’s the driving force

Every morning in Africa, a deer wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning, a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest deer or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a deer... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running...

This inspirational quote sits framed, in bold letters, on the office desk of LN Ajay Singh, director - sales & marketing, Advaith Hyundai. While Singh draws motivation from this fable, he says the ability to sell cars is due to three core values that he upholds. “Sincerity, honesty and hard work are the foundation stones of Advaith Hyundai's success. I personally believe in these values, and I try to instill the same in my team members too. Success is bound to follow you if you have these values in place," says Singh, who joined Advaith Hyundai as deputy sales manager in 1998, when the company first set up operations in a small showroom at Lalbagh. Today, he has scaled great heights and so has Advaith Hyundai, one the the biggest car dealers with a total brand recall.
Advaith Hyundai sells about 1,000 cars a month and has over 70,000 customers in Bangalore alone. This feat has been accomplished through lot of learning. "The industry has taught us a lot. It has transformed in a big way. Earlier, it used to be a sellers' market. But today, it's a buyers' market. Our customers have been our biggest teachers. And we are happy about that," says Singh.   

The biggest lesson that Singh has learnt is to how to stay ahead of the customers. "Customers of today are very smart. They know exactly what they want. Even before they walk into the showroom, they do their homework, be it with regard to a car's functionality or price range. As a company that believes in offering the best, we dole out exactly what the customer needs and also what he may require in the future," he says.

On the challenges in selling cars, Singh says that with several brands and car dealerships, the competition is fierce. But with good customer service and by attending to their needs on time, Advaith Hyundai has managed to win the hearts of their customers. "We treat our customers like guests. We have many repeat customers. About 40-45 per cent of our sales are done through referrals. However, there are also times when we make a mistake. But instead of going into a defensive mode, we admit our mistake and offer a solution to our customers. Doing so helps build a healthy relationship with them," says Singh, whose priority is customer delight.
The company does lot of team building activities among its staff to ensure that customers are treated well at every stage of car purchase. Both offline and online, Advaith Hyundai conducts awareness about the cars they sell.

"Every time a new Hyundai car hits the market, we take it to various MNCs and let the employees go on a test drive. We also have a permanent space in Mantri Mall where we display a new Hyundai car every month. We also have a Facebook page, on which we upload photographs of our customers and keep them updated about our activities," says Singh.

Ask Singh about his favourite car, and pat comes the reply: "Hyundai". He clarifies: "I am not singing praises about Hyundai just because I am selling it. Santro was my first car. The quality and service backup were remarkable. I hardly had problems with the car. I had to take it for servicing only once a year. Now, I have a Sonata, and I am just loving it. Since I have experienced Hyundai personally, it's easier for me to convince the customers about the benefits," he says.
Advaith Hyundai has over 11 showrooms across Karnataka, all of which are seeing rise in numbers every month. "This would not be accomplished without our customers' faith in us. Trust and confidence is what we are trying to retain," says Singh.