Michelle Brown knows how much clout women have when they walk into a car dealership. It’s the nuts-and-bolts basics that Brown, one of the Lia Auto Group’s top performers, drummed into her male associates.

“I’d tell them, ‘You didn’t look at the woman directly. You have to make eye contact,’” said Brown, an 11-year industry veteran who consistently ranks as the company’s top Infiniti salesperson.

Women now account for 65 percent of all U.S. new-car sales and 53 percent of all used-car sales. And even when they’re not closing the deal themselves, women influence 95 percent of all vehicle purchases.

“We’ve seen a shift,” said James Goyette, general manager of Mohawk Honda in the Albany area of New York. “Time and time again, we hear men say, ‘I have to check with my wife.’ Not as many women say they have to check with their husbands.”

That new breed of car buyers has led to a new breed of sellers.

The number of women on dealership floors has increased to 7 percent from 4 percent in 2002, according to CNW Marketing Research Inc., an automotive researcher in Bandon, Oregon. Overall, the number of women working in dealerships has almost doubled during the same time period, to 11 percent from 6 percent.

Mohawk Honda is running a newspaper ad with a photograph of six of its female employees, all of whom are in sales or management positions. The caption reads: “Around here, cars aren’t just a ‘guy thing.’”

The Schenectady, New York, dealer employs 58 and generated $51 million in revenue in 2008. Three of the company’s 12-person sales staff are female.

“We have found great, great employees in women,” Goyette said. “Over the past few years we paid attention to feedback and how customers interact with them. We decided to market that a little bit.”

Dealerships can be intimidating places for women. As more females make vehicle-related decisions, it’s important that auto companies understand their needs, Goyette said. In Mohawk Honda’s service shop, which handles parts and repair, three of the department’s five service advisers are women.

Sometimes, a woman’s nonaggressive approach is mistaken for weakness. In reality, Brown said, customers trust a salesperson with nurturing tendencies.

“We’re more organized. We know how to build relationships. We’re more patient, and we follow up,” Brown said. More than once, she has closed a sale months after making contact with a prospect because she made periodic phone calls. One deal took two years.

That persistence paid off, especially in this down economy. Now, most of Brown’s sales come through repeat business or referrals. One customer recently purchased his ninth Infiniti from her.

Like other retail careers, car sales has its downsides: Long days that include nights and weekends—a schedule that isn’t conducive to raising a family.

“One of the reasons that so few women sell cars is the time that is required away from families or homes—unless you have grown children or great childcare, which, sadly, isn’t usually available,” said Maria Dunning, vice president of Keeler Motor Car Co. The Latham, New York, dealership, which anticipates $188 million in revenue this year, sells and services Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar, Honda, Mini Cooper, Land Rover, and Smart brands.

Keeler employs a half-dozen women in key service or management roles, including one who runs the showrooms for the company’s seven franchises.