Women and Wheels
By Dr. Robi Ludwig
One woman is taking the wheel in her own two hands and beating the odds of what is still a very heavily male-dominated industry! The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that women only make up 21.4% of all employees in auto dealerships. But 57-year-old Suzannah Sarkahian is trying to change that. She knew very little about the car business when she decided to reenter the workforce 15 years ago, joining the Audi Wynnewood, Pennsylvania dealership, after spending nearly two decades at home. Since then, she’s successfully climbed the auto ranks from sales associate to sales car manager to general manager. She’s also managed to groom an almost all female-run leadership team of fierce women heading up service management, wholesale duties and overall sales at Audi. And now another accolade: the dealership just claimed the top spot in the company’s Magna Society Elite – for being one of the highest performing dealerships in the US.
What made you enter the car business?
I entered the car business when I was in between jobs. My brother owned the dealership group that I am with today. When he found out I needed a job he offered me an interview for a sales position. It never occurred to me to be in the car business. However, being self-employed for most of my life intrigued me.
What were you doing before?
Before working in car sales, I had a lunch truck in University City in Philadelphia for most of my twenties and thirties. After that I worked from my house and was contracted to handle the logistics of moving tissue, blood, organs etc. for the Gift of Life program. Gift of Life outsourced this work to the company that contracted me.
What is it like being a female leader in a mostly male-dominated industry?
Being a female in the car business is not easy. In general, this business is hard. It is hard to be heard, hard to get noticed and hard to be taken seriously as a female. The good news is that I am the youngest of seven kids so I can talk loudly. You must put your blinders on and go for it. If you do not, you will not get very far. When I became the General Manager of Audi Wynnewood and Audi Service center Conshohocken I almost passed out. I really could not believe it. I had been turned down before, more times than I can count, before.
Tell us about your mostly female leadership team?
My female leaders work hard. They are driven, team oriented and can handle anything. Like myself, they did not start out as managers. They worked hard to get to where they are now. My top salesperson is also a female. She is within the top ten in the country for Audi. She is amazing to say the least. Any of my females can run the place in my absence and get the job done. We are a powerful bunch!
Tell us about winning the Magna Society Elite award?
Magna Elite is the highest honor that Audi can award a dealership. Only 17 dealerships get that honor, and I am the only female run store that earned the award. To achieve this, you must be the best in every metric that Audi sets for you and more. It scores everything from sales objections, market share and customer service. All cylinders must be running at the highest level to achieve this.
What makes Audi Wynwood so unique that you’re at the top of the US for service and sales?
Audi Wynnewood is different. We are so diverse regarding culture, religion, age, education, and gender. We love our differences and are united in our common goal of greatness. Nothing is won by mediocracy. The car business is such a unique career. You can be 20 or 40 years old; you can have a college education or have been a poor student. You can be a man, or a woman and it has no bearing on how well you can do. That comes from inside of you. It also comes from the culture of our store. We keep it fun and exciting. We laugh and we fight. I truly believe that there are so many ways to run a store and we are not the norm. But we thrive. As a GM, I am not educated, I do not know how to make an excel spreadsheet, I sometimes look at other GM's as if they are speaking a different language. However, I know how to get the most out of my staff, how to encourage them, pick them up off the floor and tell them they can do this. I am an observer of people. I like to see how people tick. I think this is an asset to business acumen that my male counterparts may not feel is as important. I also do not play politics in business, but I do take a stand in for what I believe in. Sometimes it has been dismissed as being a dramatic female -as if I don't know what I am talking about.
What advice do you have for a woman considering entering the car business?
For women looking to challenge themselves, who are self-driven, competitive or want some sales experience in general, get into the car business. If you can sell a car, you can sell anything. Stand up for yourself, do not take “No” for an answer and never apologize. Do not dumb it down to make the men more comfortable. It is a tendency that women, me included, tend to do. We feel the need to apologize. I love this place and the people that work for me. Their success makes me feel worthwhile. I am honored and humbled to lead them.
