National Press Release

HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- WomenCertified(R) today announced that it has honored Annette Sykora and John Lyboldt of the National Automobile Dealers Association with its first Vision Award.

The WomenCertified Vision Award is given to industry leaders who advocate and drive change to better meet the needs of women consumers. Vision Award winners are influential in raising the standards of service in their industry and are actively involved in promoting initiatives that accomplish this important goal.

WomenCertified founder Delia Passi presented the award to the co-recipients on Saturday, January 24 at the NADA Convention and Expo in New Orleans. The ceremony was conducted at the booth of convention exhibitor Crowe Horwath, and footage will air on a special upcoming segment on the Lifetime Network's morning show The Balancing Act.

Sykora is the current chair of the NADA and the first woman to hold the position. Passi stated, "Annette is a true advocate of the woman customer and recognizes the value of building lifetime relationships with women and their families." Sykora was also one of the first dealership owners to embrace WomenCertified and the first dealership in Texas to become WomenCertified.

Lyboldt serves as the NADA's Vice President of Dealership Operations. Said Passi, "John is a consistent supporter of WomenCertified's mission, and he has recognized the importance of reinforcing the message that women are a critical segment within the auto industry, necessitating higher standards of service at auto dealerships."

Passi continued, "We chose to honor Annette and John because they are strong supporters of the movement to change the way women experience the car buying process. Women influence 85% of all auto purchases, but 8 in 10 are not satisfied with the service they receive. It's time for dealers to make a change and really examine what their customers really want when they walk into a car dealership."

WomenCertified is a certification program and accolade for sales and service teams who complete a specialized training on gender communications and women friendly sales and service practices. A company or dealership earns the WomenCertified Seal of Approval only after a minimum of 70% of its sales and service staff completes the training and certification process.

The WomenCertified training is based on research into women's buying preferences and focuses on teaching associates how to approach, communicate and partner with women buyers to provide a more mutually beneficial and ongoing customer relationship.

SOURCE WomenCertified