One of the obstacles that deter driving instructors from creating tremendous value for customers is the belief that they know what is best for the customer more than the customer does. The instructor knows how they like to learn, for example, so therefore, in their mind, it follows that everyone also likes to learn the same way.

Personal learning styles

Any salesperson who has been around the block a few times knows that the real art of selling is tuning in to what the customer desires and can afford. When a customer speaks to us at BIG TOM about wanting to get a driving licence, we spend a great deal of time double-checking that an accelerated learning programme is what they desire. A salesperson could spend a lot of time and effort trying to convince a customer to purchase the latest, zippy car all spec’d up to the hilt. Still, if the customer is looking for a small, economical car to make local journeys, all that effort is wasted.
Sometimes customers need a bit of help and support guiding them about the differences in learning by ‘pay as you go’ driving lessons versus an accelerated learning programme. Just because a prospective customer says to us, “I want to get my driving licence really quickly”. That does not mean that they are necessarily suited for one of our courses. We take the time and trouble to talk them through the different ways to learn and the effort, resilience, concentration needed to learn how to drive. We are NOT in the business of signing up anyone who expresses an interest in our courses.

7 months to learn is too long for many

We are a responsible driving training provider. It is most certainly possible to significantly reduce the time it takes to develop the skills of being a safe driver. Nowhere is it written in stone that the process has to take 7 months* so that a pupil is a safe driver. There is a great deal of inefficiency in ‘plodding along’ driving lessons. Pupils start to lose motivation when they realise how long it is taking. Some will forget key learning points with a week or two passing. Some pupils much prefer and benefit from a steeper learning curve. It is an oversimplification to suggest that the only way to learn to drive effectively is weekly driving lessons because “the pupil can reflect between sessions”.

An achievable goal

It is in no-one’s interest to “sell” an accelerated learning programme to an enthusiastic pupil who does not like to learn in shorter timescales. We invest the time at the start to check that our customer knows the characteristics of our programmes and appreciate what they are purchasing. We have a handy Help Centre loaded with articles to inform customers about the obstacles of learning to drive. We know that this sometimes means that customers choose to go elsewhere, but there is no fun for a pupil or instructor to help someone learn who is not enjoying the experience.
Rest assured, this driving school is NOT using underhand sales techniques to persuade pupils to purchase a course that is not suited to them. It is important to make this point because some training providers will not feel the same way. For them, it may be all about “bums on seats” and quotas and quite literally connecting up any driving instructor with a pupil who lives nearby.

[*Source: 7 months]

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