PROPOSALSenior Service Consultant for St Louis Area West

Working diligently with the management team at Westport, we have increased our service consultants quality of service, while at the same time raised our GX$/PC average by 19.8% YTD. I believe now is the perfect time for me to take my proven sales and management skills to the St Louis Area West locations, where I can enhance their location's profitably and quality of customer service as well. I am confident that my Needs Based Sales Training Program will deliver the St Louis Area West locations brilliant results!

Ryan BardenMay, 2009

2 Proposal

PURPOSE

The purpose of this proposal is to establish myself as the Senior Service Consultant for the St Louis Area West. As the Senior SC of the St Louis Area West locations (STLW) my immediate goal would be to increase the Gross Extra Sales Dollars Per Car average (GX$/PC) for the STLW, by a minimum of $1 over the next six months. Since October of 2008, the Westport location has reestablished itself as the premier GX$/PC store in the St Louis market. Even as recently as December '08, January '09 and March '09, the Westport location was the #1 GX$/PC store throughout the entire company. In March '09, Westport was able to reach another new high by achieving a $10.98 GX$/PC average for the entire month! Since October '08, I have Worked diligently with the management team at Westport, and we have been able to increase our pumpers quality of service, while at the same time raising our GX$/PC average by 19.8% YTD. Westport's achievements are a result of a true commitment to quality, customer service and store profitability. I strongly believe that if we combine my Needs Based Sales Training Program with a similar commitment to increasing sales in the STLW market, we will undoubtedly improve the STLW's GX$/PC average and enhance their customer's overall satisfaction.

CURRENT SITUATION

After reviewing data from Waterway's Intranet ranging from 4/08 to 4/09, there is a clear difference in the sales production (GX$/PC) when you compare the St Louis Area West Market to the St Louis Area East Market.

STLW vs. STLE GX$/PC Avg (4/08- 4/09)St Louis Market AVG GX$/PC St Louis Market AVG GX$/PC

West 7.8 East 8.97

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Figure 1

After compiling numbers from Waterway's intranet, it also shows that the Westport location's GX$/PC average is also significantly higher than the GX$/PC average of the STLW Market.

STLW vs. Westport's GX$/PC Avg (4/08- 4/09)ST Louis Market AVG GX$/PC ST Louis Market Location AVG GX$/PC

West 7.8 Westport 9.29

Figure 2

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PROBLEM

Based on the numbers provided above, it is my belief that the STLW locations are not truly maximizing their opportunities to profitable. I also believe that largely due in part to a lack of SC recruitment, training, and development; the STLW locations could be providing their customers with even better customer service. These of course are only my initial speculations. A thorough assessment of each location however, would be required to establish a more accurate summary of needs.

ANALYSIS

After analyzing data of the Westport location, I was able to discover a direct increase in both sales and service since I have taken over as the Senior Service Consultant at the Westport location. These numbers are derived from Westport's SQ Summary Reports and from Waterway's Intranet, and they date from March, 2008 to March 2009.

GX$/PC for Westport Compared Against YTD FiguresDate GX$/PC Date GX$/PC

October-07 8.86 October-08 *9.13November-07 9.26 November-08 *9.59December-07 7.79 December-08 **8.67January-08 7.8 January-09 **9.22February-08 6.78 February-09 9.15March-08 7.64 March-09 **10.98April-08 8.06 April-09 **10.61

Average 8.03 Average ***9.62*Westport was the #1 location that month in sales throughout the STL Market  **Westport was #1 location that month in sales throughout Waterway   ***Indicates a 19.8% increase in GX$/PC

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Figure 3

Understanding that Waterway's mission is to deliver clean cars to happy customers, the Westport management staff and I have committed ourselves to enhancing every customer’s total wash experience. The following data is compiled from Waterway's Corporate Reporting Services, and it dates from 4/08 to 9/08. These figures are compared against the same report dating from 10/08 to 3/09. These figures show Westport's more recent commitment to excellence, and it represents a steady increase in overall quality. In the CCC Survey Detail- Last 100 surveys, the two categories which pertain to Service Consultants both increased. "Our People" increased from 4.46 to 4.49 and "Pump Attendants" increased from 4.26 to 4.29. When it came to Secret Shop Key Stats, "ASAP Greetings" increased from 15 to 17 in the "24s" category. In the Secret Shop Detail- Last 24 Months, our SC's remained courteous both periods scoring 100% each time. However since October '08 our SC's did suggest additional services more often and their suggestion percentage climbed from 92% to 96%. Having always stressed to my sales team the ability to ask the customer good questions and in return to sincerely listen, it is no surprise to me that our SC's listening skills have also increased from 96% to 100% during that same time span.

Service Reporting Details 4/08- 9/08 10/08- 3/09Our People 4.46 4.49Pump Attendants 4.26 4.29ASAP Greeting 15 17SC Courteous 100 100SC Suggest 92 96SC Listens 96 100

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Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

SOLUTION

Appointing myself as the Senior Service Consultant over the St Louis Area West locations, would increase the STLW's GX$/PC average and would enhance the STLW’s overall customer satisfaction. My Needs Based Sales Training Program would create a uniform method of recruitment, training and ongoing development of the SC’s throughout the STLW market. I believe appointing me the Senior Service Consultant over the STLW locations, and allowing me to implement my Needs Based Sales Training Program, would ensure a higher level of consistent professionalism throughout the STLW market. I believe that committing to a human resource development program such as this, would not only directly increase each location’s profitability, but it would also coincide with Waterway's commitment to delivering our customers superior service and quality.

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IMPLEMENTATION

Conduct a thorough needs based assessment of each location beginning with Chesterfield. This assessment would help me to determine underlining causes for these lower sales numbers.

Interview each SC at every location to determine the strength and weakness of every store's sales team. Interview service team members that management has recognized as potentially strong candidates for

the Needs Based Sales Training Program. Assist in recruiting additional sales talent from our local high schools, colleges, universities etc. Participate with local management staff in conducting formal interviews with SC applicants, in

accordance with our current interviewing and hiring practices. Enroll each SC (current and prospective) in my Needs Based Training Program. This program is based in

part from the SC Training Manual and it provides each SC with a thorough understanding of the needs based selling technique. It also reaffirms Waterway's code of ethics, professional guidelines and position expectations of being a Service Consultant.

Implement a “Sales Team Member of the Month” award at each location. This award is not only based upon sales production, but also customer service and overall team contribution.

Put in to affect, Individual Month Sales Goals (IMSG), as well as Team Month Sales Goals (TMSG) for each SC and store location. This program is designed so that SC’s who are performing below goal, will receive additional training and support, while SC’s who are performing above goal would receive well deserved recognition. These IMSG and TMSG will be SMART goals, and will be compared against each stores YTD GX$/PC numbers.

Monitor and post the progress of both IMSG and TMSG goals through our own intranet sales reporting program.

Schedule regular SC team sales meetings, at which time we will cover:1) Lessons taught in the SC Manual as well as lessons taught in my Needs Based Selling Program 2) Any product or procedural changes that pertain to the SC position 3) Our SC's needs based selling skills through role playing and other sales training techniques 4) SC work related concerns or questions 5) A “Team First” culture within the SC Team 6) Further ways to improve communication between SC’s, cashiers and the management staff 7) The Sales Team Member of the Month Award

Coordinate the SC schedule for each location Recommend disciplinary action for SC's who do not adhere to Waterway's code of ethics, safety

guidelines and professional expectations. Become the liaison between the management staff and the sales team at each location.

TIME

Initially, I would like to spend on average of about 4 to 6 weeks with each location in the STLW before moving on to the next. This programs initial role out would be complete within roughly 6 months of the start date, and is expecting to require approximately 200 man hours of my paid time during this period.

COST

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The financial commitment to this project would be minimal in comparison to the obvious revenue growth potential. I would require the standard compensation for a Senior Service Consultant for each location, as outlined in the company’s Senior Service Consultant’s bonus program (5% of each SC's monthly commission). I would request my hourly wage, as well as the STLW SC's hourly wage is paid to the both of us when we are training together. Since so much of this positions success hinders on effective communication, I would also ask that a monthly cell phone reimbursement be added to my monthly bonus. A small monthly budget for each location would also provide our regularly scheduled SC team member meetings with such supplies as food, small incentive prizes for team members, and the one-time purchase of a “Sales Team Member of the Month” trophy. This monthly budget not only improves the morale of the individual team members, but I find it moreover creates a greater interest in these regularly scheduled meetings. Beyond the one time purchase of the Sales Team Member of the Month trophy, which I've already received a bid from trophiesplus.com for $50, the monthly budget for each location would never surpass $50.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

It is my recommendation that I be appointed to the position of Senior Service Consultant of the STLW market, at which time, my Needs Based Sales Training Program would be implemented. Given my proven success in both sales and sales management, I believe I am the perfect candidate to carry out such a program. I believe so strongly in this project, that I am confident that I can raise the GX$/PC average of the STLW by a minimum of $1. Hypothetically, if the STLW was to wash 165,000 cars in the following 12 months, and I was able to raise the STLW's GX$/PC by $1, it would result in a $165,000 increase in revenue. Following those same hypothetical projections, if I was able to raise the GX$/PC by $1.50, the increase in revenue would be $247,500! Obviously, the investment in this project is minimal in comparison to the expected increase of revenue. I believe that instituting a human resource development program such as this, would be a reflection of the STLW's commitment to providing our customers with a superior car wash experience. I sincerely encourage you to please consider me for this position. I firmly believe in the teaching of my Needs Based Selling Program, and I am confident that the success that was achieved at the Westport location can be duplicated if similar support is provided. If chosen to represent the sales team of the STLW, I would pledge my earnest efforts to ensuring this programs enormous success. I will call you in the near future so we can hopefully schedule a time where we can discuss this opportunity further. You can of course always reach me at (314) 605-9553 or at ryanbarden@gmail.com. Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hopefully working with you soon on this project.