 Ralph D. Ebersole
Director of Training, Cars.com
Ralph D. Ebersole brings more than 30 years of automotive industry experience and training expertise to his role as director of training at Cars.com, where he is responsible for leading the organization’s national dealer training program. In addition to developing and facilitating hundreds of dealer trainings each year, Ebersole is also responsible for employee and affiliate network sales training and product education.
In his current role at Cars.com, Ebersole has trained more 10,000 dealership professionals from general managers to Internet sales personnel in a variety of dealership settings, both franchised and independent, from the largest dealer groups to single-owner lots.
He was a featured speaker at the 2005 National Automobile Dealer Association convention in New Orleans, presenting the highly acclaimed workshop, "Transforming Internet Advertising Dollars to Vehicle Sales." He was also a featured speaker at the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association, as well as numerous state association functions.
Ebersole began his career in the automotive sector on the showroom floor in 1977 and has since managed every department in a dealership, in both fixed and variable operations, including service as a general manager of two dealer groups. He began his training career in 1985, when he was appointed director of personnel development for a major automotive group in New England and built the training department from the ground up. He was also the director of personnel development for and directed all facets of retail operations at an eight-dealership group in the western United States.
Ebersole moved to the automotive consulting industry as an account manager/senior consultant and, subsequently, as director of sales for The Nickelsen Group/Reynolds & Reynolds Consulting. He was responsible for developing, marketing and delivering consulting and training products to major clients including Southeast Toyota Distributors, Toyota Motor Sales, Chevrolet Motor Division and many mega-dealer groups. In total, Ebersole has trained more than 20,000 automotive salespeople over the course of his career.
Recognized as an expert in retail automotive processes, Ebersole is frequently quoted in leading industry publications, including Used Car News, Dealer Marketing Magazine and NADA’s AutoExec. He has been a featured speaker at 20 group meetings and on the Automotive Satellite Television Network.
Ebersole attended Lansing Community College, Lansing, Mich., and Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich. |