Description

James Birt

West Hollywood, CA 90046    ·
Cell: 949.887.1533
Jamesabirt@gmail.com     ·
linkedin.com/in/jamesabirt

Summary
A dedicated, passionate and results driven professional with six years of sales, marketing and customer service experience in the automotive industry for both luxury and non-luxury automotive segments. Experience as an accomplished and impactful consultant for multiple dealerships, resulting in increased sales, profitability and implementation of process improvements at dealership facilities across the nation. Additional experience working with advertising agencies and marketing partners to develop and implement Toyota national advertising campaigns, resulting in improved brand awareness, increased sales and overall profitability.
§  Ability to foster collaborative relationships
§  Strategic thinker
§  Proactive self-starter
§  Attention to written & oral communication
§  Results driven
§  Ability to empower others
§  Decisive decision maker
§  Innovator
§  Persuasive communicator
§  Able to multi-task in fast paced environment
§  Forward thinking
§  Strong organization skills
Professional Experience
TOYOTA NORTH AMERICA                                                                                                                                2011 – 2017

 

National Customer Retention Field Support – Marketing Focus, Torrance CA (2014-2017)

Management of successful key marketing initiatives and retention programs utilized by all National Regional Field Offices and Toyota dealerships. Main responsibilities included the administration and management of the Toyota Dealer Marketing Covenant, the Dealer Mystery Shop program and management of national E-Commerce consultants. Responsibilities also included the creation and implementation of national advertising and social media content working closely with outside vendors. Managed and responsible for a 4 million dollar budget.

 

·      Highly successful re-launch of the Toyota Dealer Marketing Covenant, a national multi-million-dollar program, resulting in a decrease in deceptive dealership advertising and an increase in new vehicle sales, profitability and customer retention scores by 15%.

·      Conducted in person and WebEx training nationally for regional office and dealership employees, acting as the subject matter expert on the enhanced program.

·      Awarded and recognized by upper executive management for exceeding expectations following a highly successful program re-launch and implementation.

·      Created multiple successful national dealer advertising and social media campaigns working closely with agencies and external marketing partners to maximize ROI while remaining within tight budget schedules.

·      Proactively implemented updates to the Dealership Mystery Shop program resulting in actionable KPIs and improving overall dealership service scores 12% compared to the previous year.

 

Lexus, a Division of Toyota North America

District Manager – Lexus Eastern Area Office, Parsippany NJ (2012-2014)

Consultant for multiple Lexus dealerships. Analyzed and administered company polices. Developed advertising strategies and implemented process improvements to enhance dealership sales, customer service and profitability. Extensive travel to perform on-site inspections and council with dealership executive management and franchise owners’ multiple times a month.

Cont.

 

·      Awarded 2013 Lexus Eastern Area District Manager of the year.

·      Improved dealership customer service, retention, sales and profitability by over 12% year over year.

·      Implemented and improved dealership online advertising strategies and expanded social media presence including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Yelp and Foursquare, resulting in increased customer interaction, sales and improved customer retention scores.

 

Sales and Fixed Operations Analyst, Lexus Eastern Area Office, Parsippany NJ (2012)

Provided proactive support to Lexus Eastern Area dealerships, fixed operations and sales departments as well as supporting respective District Managers. Responsible for creation, analysis and distribution of daily sales and customer service reports to upper management in preparation for monthly executive management ‘state of business’ presentations.

·      Demonstrated leadership through effective time management.

·      Demonstrated a high level of organization and consistently meeting and exceeding tight deadlines.

·      Developed new trend reports to align with yearly company goals and targets.

·      Consistently challenged the status quo resulting in positive process and reporting improvements.

 

Toyota North America

Management Trainee, Torrance CA (2011)

Provided personalized and professional service to Lexus owners via contacts in the Lexus Customer Satisfaction Department. Responsible for monitoring and responding to customer feedback through various social media channels, as well as provided support to the sales department for ad hock requests and reports.

·      Exceeded customer service level goals monthly.

·      Thoroughly documented and researched customer concerns to provide positive solutions and outcomes.

·      Formed relationships with customers and dealership management to improve the customer experience.

·      Completed the management trainee program and received promotion to the Lexus Eastern Area office.
Education
University of Southern California, Los Angeles CA

Bachelor of Arts in Economics

·      Relevant Coursework:  Leading Organizations, Communication Strategy in Business, Marketing,     Internet Publishing Fundamentals, macro and microeconomics.
Skills
Professional: A3 project proposal creation, Requests for Proposals, Statement of Work, Business Requirement documents.
Technical: Advanced understanding of MS Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, Adobe Photoshop, HTML programing, Keynote, Pages, Numbers. Windows and Mac.

 

Associations
American Advertising Federation, Los Angeles Chapter

AMA Los Angeles: American Marketing Association

Omicron Delta Epsilon Honor Society