Australia’s automotive industry is evolving rapidly. There have been enormous technological advances – think electric vehicles and ADAS systems for starters – and the number of makes and models of those vehicles, particularly from China, seems to grow by the day. Choice for the customer has never seemed greater, and their expectations, rightly, are high. The cars have to be good, the tech has to be good, and the service has to be good too. If you are in the car-selling game, you had better be offering not only a reliable product, but that bit of something extra that makes you stand out from the crowd and makes your brand stick in the mind of the customer. If you can do that, then when the time comes to upgrade or update, they may keep coming back to you.
Throughout an automotive business – from sales, to parts, to servicing, to accessories and everything else – the goal is to build trust and maintain long-term relationships that encourage loyalty. Customer connection is everything.
At Isuzu UTE Australia, the person leading that effort is Jessica Otto who, as the company’s Aftersales Training Manager Parts and Service Operations, creates and delivers training packages for the teams located at Isuzu UTE Australia’s 160+ dealership network, helping to shape how the business trains, supports, and retains its frontline staff. It’s a role that is challenging and rewarding, and where, even though the goal remains unchanged, no two days are ever quite the same.
“I don’t actually have a typical day. Every day is different,” says Jessica. “There are some days where I am in the training room in front of a group of service advisors and parts interpreters, going through product information or how to talk to a customer . . . and then, on other days, I’m at my desk all day creating content, dealing with questions and queries from the dealership network . . . my typical day is not typical at all!”
A SPARK IGNITED BY CHANCE
Jessica’s journey to a leadership role in automotive aftersales training began with the decision to take a punt and apply for a position for which she really had no experience. It would be a career-defining, life-changing, decision. While working as a total loss claims consultant with RACQ insurance an internal advert popped up looking for someone to step into a training role – no experience needed.
“I applied for it, I got it, and it opened up a whole new world that I never even knew existed,” says Jessica. “It was like I was doing what I was meant to do.”
With the training bug having bitten, Jessica would move on from RACQ to pursue that training career path. The first move was to Mitsubishi Motors Australia, where she became a product trainer. A couple of years later, Hyundai came calling and she was headhunted to help build a new training team there.
After banking a few years of experience in automotive training, the opportunity arose for Jessica to step outside of the industry and move into the medical field – a journey that would prove to be an interesting and challenging diversion but which would ultimately lead her back to automotive.
“I missed dealership land,” says Jessica with a smile. “I missed the people that I trained. I missed DPs and saying hi to them when I go into a dealership. I missed hearing how service advisors and sales consultants were going in their careers. I missed that.”
CHAMPIONING SERVICE
Working outside the industry reminded Jessica just how much she loved it and she returned to the industry about 18 months ago with Isuzu UTE Australia.
“This role just epitomised what I wanted to do next,” she says. “It was within the service field, which was where I saw the most amount of need within this industry.”
That work – helping Isuzu UTE Australia teams from across the country build meaningful relationships with customers – is clearly one that is deeply satisfying, professionally and personally.
“The one thing that I absolutely love about the automotive industry is the people,” says Jessica. “And if I can see the same people from a dealership time and time again, I know we’re doing something right within Isuzu UTE Australia. “. . . I’ve seen people come back to courses and they’re still excited,” she adds. “They still have that little glow of, ‘I’m excited to be here. I’m excited to learn something!’ That part makes me happy every day when I train.”
WOMEN IN AUTOMOTIVE: THEN AND NOW
Jessica is honest in her reflections on how far the industry has come in terms of gender equality.
“Moving into automotive 10 years ago, it was a very different world back then. It was very male dominated,” she says, before adding how much things have improved. “I’m quite proud of our industry. We’ve really come a long way. Within that last 10-year period we now have female service managers, female foremen, female parts managers and sales managers and workshop controllers.
“My dream for the automotive industry is to have a female technical trainer within any OEM . . . To have a female get to that position would be so amazing for our industry.”
On a personal level, she says the industry has embraced her journey.
“I have found the industry to be quite supporting over time.” she says. “. . . Over time, gaining experience and exposure to cars and to the industry as a whole, it has been really accepting. And I think we’re at a point now where I feel the most accepted I’ve ever been.”
FORMULA FOR SUCCESS AND A BIT OF ADVICE
Jessica credits her success to a handful of core qualities – confidence, empathy, transparency, and resilience.
“Having confidence when you’re a trainer is the first fundamental skill,” she says. “. . . The empathy part comes next because, in most cases, when we have a training session there will be conversations and there will be challenges that service advisors and part interpreters have that I’m happy to listen to and I’m happy to explore with those participants. You do sort of become a counselor to some extent.
“The third quality, that I’ve realised in the last few years is a good quality that I used to think was bad, is transparency. I’m quite honest. I will tell you what I think, sometimes to a fault, but I’m always transparent.”
The last of the qualities – resilience – is a product of Jessica’s career journey which, like most careers, has had its share of tough spots. Put together, the qualities Jessica mentions make her work with Isuzu UTE Australia a truly enjoyable experience.
“We really have fairness and equality as a fundamental core value of ours,” she says. “. . . building that resilience helped me get to this point where I’m completely comfortable and happy with the organisation that I’m working with.”
A rewarding, sometimes challenging, career journey over the last 10 years has given Jessica the experience to recognise that self-belief and confidence are vital ingredients to building success. Her message to young professionals – especially women – stepping into automotive is clear.
“You deserve to be there as much as anybody else in that room . . . ” she says. “You can start out as a sales consultant, as a service advisor, as a parts interpreter. You can move wherever you want, regardless of what your sex is, regardless of what your current skills are. You can build those skills,” she adds. “It’s about desire. It’s about what do you want in life and what type of role you see yourself doing. Do you see yourself being a service manager? Do you see yourself being a dealer principal? It’s about then going, ‘I want to be that. How do I get there? Where do I start?’
“There are so many different entry points into the automotive industry. Believing in yourself and having confidence in yourself is 100 per cent the first fundamental thing.”
While confidence is clearly important, as are the other qualities Jessica mentions, there is, she adds, a place for initiatives such as Auto Women. They play a valuable role in promoting and supporting women in the industry.
“I think initiatives like Auto Women are fundamental for our community,” she says. “They are a great way to network with other women and, if you’re starting out
in the automotive industry, it’s a great way to build that network, to build that support system.”
DRIVEN BY PASSION – AND A V8
Speaking with Jessica, it is clear through the enthusiasm with which she talks about her work, the automotive industry, and cars in general, that they are a true passion. And when it comes to answering questions about her personal vehicles – and what cars she would love to own – she smiles like any true enthusiast.
“I’ve always had a fascination with cars,” she says. “I can’t fix them, and I don’t know, technically speaking, how to manage a service on a car. But I could talk about brands, I could talk about fundamental aspects of OEMs . . . I really thrive on that type of conversation.
“If I’m at a family barbecue, or at any type of group function, you will find me in a corner talking with a whole bunch of people about cars. Anything to do with cars!
“Currently, I have two cars,” she adds. “I have a company car, which is an Isuzu MU-X. I love the features. It’s so comfortable to drive on my daily commute. My at-home vehicle – and I’m going to preface with the fact that it has a V8 engine as to why we have it – is a Nissan Patrol,” she says with a chuckle and a shrug. “It’s for four-wheel driving. It is a comfortable drive. It is a Nissan Patrol,”
As for that car she would love to own? Well, if money was no object, Jessica would, it would seem, love to create a strange hybrid of two rather nice vehicles.
“If I had unlimited resources – Elon Musk-type money – I would morph two cars together,” she says. “I would have a 300C, lowered, awesome, maybe even in a pearl colour, and combine it with a Mercedes AMG G-Class. Just meld them together so if I wanted to go four-wheel driving in it, I could, but it’s still gangster! That’s my dream car!”
THE ROAD AHEAD
While Jessica’s dream car might cause some raised eyebrows in the world of car designers, back in the world of aftermarket sales, her dedication is to creating training that matters and that delivers for Isuzu UTE Australia, its dealerships and teams across the country, and every Isuzu UTE customer.
Teaching team members to be successful and then watch them take what they’ve learned and put it into practice is immensely rewarding. It’s exactly what Jessica wants to be doing and a feeling upon which she thrives.
“It’s like endorphins,” she says. “It’s so amazing to have that feeling. And you just want to keep getting it and getting it.”
