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It is a natural progression for most successful entrepreneurs to review and reflect over the past years’ business decisions, while looking ahead to see how these, and other choices will create further successes down the road.
Take a quick moment to review your year, then tell us what your 2009 resolution is for your business?
One of the first things you become aware of as an Auto Sales Manager is that you have many roles to play. At various times (and often all the time) you are a time management supervisor, a meeting planner, a contest creator, a report generator, a talent scout, a disciplinarian, a coach, a salesperson, a customer service representative, a trainer and a psychiatrist. All of these roles, well executed, make for a great Sales Manager - one whose main purpose is to get the best out of his/her salespeople.
That is the bottom-line goal of every Sales Manager - to build a strong, confident, productive sales staff. It’s not always an easy job, and their are many factors that block our success in that effort. Based on interviews I’ve had with many salespeople around the country, the following portrait of the Sales Manager everyone hates to work for was created.
Ever hear this horror story? A salesperson, little shakey about closing the deal, asks his Sales Manager if he’d come in for a T.O. The Manager, basically a lazy desk-type says, "If you can’t close it, what makes you think I can", and continues leaning back in his chair. The salesperson makes a last effort, then escorts the customer to the door. The Manager then replies, "You are really weak. My mother could have closed that deal!".
Not only did the Manager lose any possibility of a sale, he lost all credibility with his salesperson. No doubt this salesperson will complain to everyone else in the dealership. A good Sales Manager, who truly cares about his/her people, and the dealership, would never make this kind of mistake. Which is not to say that great Sales Managers aren’t infallible. It’s just that if they do make a mistake, they’re the first ones to admit it. Every salesperson when asked the type of Sales Manager he/she would like to work for, has the same thought: someone who is honest and upfront, who gives his all to the job and to his people, and who doesn’t have time for blame or games.
Unfortunately, horror-story Managers do exist. Just so you’ll recognize one if you ever run into a bad Manager, here are 10 most common characteristics of the Manager everyone hates to work for:
1. Low energy, low enthusiasm
Mr. Negative never gets excited about anything. He’s unhappy with his job and shares this information freely. He’s constantly depressed and so are his salespeople.
2. No vision
He sets no goals for himself or for his staff. He gives the salespeople one direction on Monday morning, and by Tuesday afternoon he’s saying something completely different.
3. Willing to settle for average performance
He "doesn’t have time" to work with salespeople or develop their potential. He doesn’t expect much from his people, and he doesn’t get much.
4. Takes credit for everything
This Manager’s ego needs constant stroking. So ever success becomes his own, no matter how much or how little he had to do with it. He takes full credit for his salespeople’s success.
5. A finger-pointer
When something goes wrong, he’s the first one to point out who did it and what went wrong (unless the mistake was his). He is quick to point out the salespeople’s shortcommings, and slow to offer any suggestions or solutions.
6. Glued to his desk
He always has paperwork to do and seldom gets out on the showroom floor. He is always telling his salespeople to get to work early and stay till the bell - but is not willing to do the same.
7. Cares more about getting his money then he cares about his people
He’s more concerned about short-term results then the long-term success of his salespeople.
8. Lack of communication skills
He knows how to tell his salespeople what they did wrong, but doesn’t know how to teach them to do it right. His listening skills have a lot to be desired, and his salespeople don’t feel comfortable asking his advice.
9. Let’s his friends stop pulling their weight
He has favorites in his department who take advantage of his friendship and get away with low activity and poor results, causing resentment and discontent among the other salespeople.
10. Doesn’t stand behind his team
He’s only interested in impressing the dealer. He doens’t realize that the success of the Sales Manager is in direct proportion to the success of his salespeople.
Fortunately, many Managers don’t fit this profile. There are a lot of caring, supportive, enthusiastic team leaders in dealerships all over the world. I hope that you’re one of them.
For more information on Sales Management, visit www.autosalesmanager.net
One of the temptations of Sales and General Managers is to look at the commissions of their salespeople as a great place to cut into their operating budget. After all, a great salesperson might out earn the vast majority of sales managers. Many dealerships will cut commissions to increase their bottom-line thinking that this is the smart and clever thing to do.
However there are four factors that come into play when you undertake such a strategic move:
Results: Sales is a results driven profession. Salespeople are naturally competitive and will compete with other salespeople as well as themselves to increase their performance and the results they can produce. There is no bigger high for a salesperson as getting a new sale. It makes their day. They live and die by the results they produce. It’s feast or famine since they have no fall back on a salary or the luxury of just showing up to be paid. They must produce results.
Motivation: Results are produced by a motivated individual. You either pay or fire a salesperson. There is no middle ground. When you reduce a commission rate, you have taken the wind out of their sails. Some sales managers will tell them to work harder to make up the difference, but the trust has been broken. Without that trust between the salesperson and the dealership, the motivation will quickly deteriorate.
Risk: Salespeople are natural risk takers. Being paid a commission is a natural risk in their profession. However risk takers expect to be compensated for the risk when it pays off. You as a sales manager benefit from the risk by not paying when the results haven’t been produced. It is suicide to tinker with the salesperson once they have reached the level of success which is both beneficial to both the dealership and the individual. It doesn’t undermine the relationship, it destroys it.
Retaliation: Once the dealership breaks the trust with the salespeople by tinkering with commissions, it can expect some form of retaliation. In a demoralized and demotivated sales force, there will be a notion of why even bother. Results will drop. This is the least of your problems. In many instances salespeople will actively voice their discontent with customers causing long-term problems. Salespeople are your company to the customer and people buy from people they like. This could cause a backlash. In many instances salespeople have left the dealership and taken a loyal following with them to their new employer. This is often difficult to counter and recover.
The risks that a dealership undertakes when they attempt to alter the compensation structure of their salespeople can be tremendous, well in excess of any earnings they might wish to recoup. Before you consider such a move, it is wise to explore all the possible implications and consequences such a move could cost your business. The short-term gain may not be worth the long-term loss.
If you’d like to learn more about Sales Management, visit www.autosalesmanager.net
If you’re like most Sales Managers, you came to this position because you had great success as a salesperson. But managing your own sales is not the same as managing your team. As a salesperson, you could easily measure your success through numbers of appointments made and vehicles sold. As a Sales Manager, your success is measured by the success of others. That’s not always an easy transition to make. However, it is ultimately a rewarding one. Being a Sales Manager provides you with the opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise, and to help others grow professionally and personally. As the saying goes, when you elevate the success of others, you elevate your own as well.
Today, salespeople respect those Managers who are tuned into their needs, and who are willing to come out of their offices and give them the attention and training they want. The best Sales Managers are available whenever needed, but know when to let go and let a salesperson experience success (and perhaps failure) on his/her own.
Keep in mind that just because you were a great salesperson doesn’t mean you’ll make a great Sales Manager. The best take the skills they’ve learned on the showroom floor, and add the traits of effective leadership. Your role as a leader will then be to encourage your people to succeed. There may be substantial monetary rewards in being a great sales leader, but the greatest reward is having helped others reach their goals. Your material possessions won’t really matter once you’re gone. Your greatest legacy is the people you’ve helped build, who are left to build others in the same way.
If you can look down the road and realize that you’re changing the lives of the people on your team, that should be the major reason why you became a Sales Manager. The thrill is no longer in the individual sale; it’s in your team’s success. The times when you have to sit back and watch your salespeople fail are frustrating. But it’s part of the job — to let go of the leadership position, where you show them how to do it — to letting them show you how they do it.
My suggestion to you is be passionate about your work, and remember that enthusiasm is catching. Be proud of what you do, and be proud of what you have to share with your salespeople. Let your effort and activity levels be a model for your salespeople to follow, and you’ll find that your legacy will be intact.
ps: You should know that I became interested in Management when I first became a salesperson. We had several Sales Managers in my dealership. One of them was a task-oriented Sales Manager who concentrated on his own agenda and pretty much stayed to himself, and one Sales Manager, Roger, who was people-oriented and cared about his staffs success.
Roger was the type of Manager that didn’t have to tell his salespeople what to do. If the lot needed to be changed, he went out to begin the process and his salespeople followed. If we had a contest, he made it fun to participate. If he came in to help close a deal, he would develop a plan of attack with you before he went in. If we were in a slump, he wanted to know why so he could help us get out of it. If we were down, he was motivating. When we came to work in the morning, we were happy he was there. He wanted us to work with him to increase sales for ourselves and the dealership, not work for him.
I’m telling you this story because I learned from the very best Sales Manager there ever was. I truly feel my success as a Sales Manager, and eventually a business owner and trainer was directly related to having known Roger. I am his legacy.
This is the introduction to my newest book, Under New Management: Sharpening Your Skills as an Automotive Sales Manager. To learn more about this, and I must say, outstanding work, visit http://www.autosalesmanager.net.
On Mondays… are you excited to start work? Do you look forward to setting that first appointment? When asked at a party what you do for a living, do you cringe? Or are you proud to say that you are an auto sales professional? Are you afraid to close? Are you nervous about price competition? Do you feel guilty about asking for the sale? It’s a fact: If you improve your mental attitude about selling, you automatically improve your results. Once armed with a positive mental attitude - even an average salesperson can transform overnight into at least a good salesperson.
However, there is an even higher level:
If you hunger - really hunger - to become more than just "a great sales professional", if you see yourself wanting to break away from the pack and move into the realm of the legendary, then you my friend, need to go beyond just developing "positive" mental attitude" and learn to cultivate and develop these "7 Rare Mental Attitudes of Top Auto Sales Superstars."
These are the "uncommon level" attitudes that have carried many regular sales professionals beyond ordinary to extraordinary results, from middle income earnings into six-figure incomes, and helped them go from being fearful followers to becoming fearless leaders. If this sounds like where you are headed, read on. When you are done, print this blog and affirm these attitudes to yourself on a daily basis.
Rare Attitude #1
Knowing Your Product From The Inside Out
The key for extraordinary results is to always remain brilliant at the basics. Close to thirty percent of your sales effectiveness will come from just how well you know your product. Not just the product’s features (interior room, horse power, inventory) but "true" product knowledge - which means knowing the real benefits that your features offer your customers, the circumstance in which it best shines and the major and minor benefits that they can solve.
When you become knowledgeable about what you are selling and you are skillful in your ability to present it as a valuable solution, then you will begin to develop the calmness and confidence that carries you through even the most challenging competition.
Rare Attitude #2
Placing High Value On Exceptional Work Habits
Personal responsibility is probably one of the most lacking attitudes in auto salespeople. Yet it is one of the most important. So many mediocre salespeople have the attitude that, "the product should sell itself" or the dealership should motivate us more. They blame things like the economy, product problems, manufacturer issues, an unfriendly credit policy, the weather, uncooperative customers, or five hundred other things, for their sub-par performance.
The fact is that your work ethic is an internal principle. Your ability to follow-up and follow-through is determined by you and you alone. Extraordinary salespeople take ownership and responsibility for "how" and "when" they work. Their clocks and standards are internal and they do not need to be told what to do.
In fact, accountability and measurement are two of the things that really excite them. Time is something that is managed by extraordinary sales performers - not something that manages them.
Rare Attitude #3
Viewing Objections As Buying Signals
Do you have a strategic plan for handling objections? Can you disagree without being disagreeable? Well, extraordinary sales superstars possess the "rare" attitude that objections are merely buying signals from a prospect. Therefore they have developed confident and non-threatening techniques for handling these objections; they are very comfortable and relaxed when the prospect raises one of these. They almost never lose business based on "price objections" and they can spot the difference from legitimate concerns from commonplace stall tactics.
Rare Attitude #4
Recognizing That Rejection Is Not Personal…It’s Part Of Auto Sales!
Let’s face it, regularly being told "no" is a normal part of the selling game. In fact, if everyone you present to says "yes," chances are pretty good you are not talking to enough people, changing too little or are too quick to drop your price!
Fear of rejection can cause you to develop a great reluctance about waiting on customers; it can also make you timid about asking for an order, or make you so depressed that you waste your most valuable selling time worrying about personal matters.
Extraordinary salespeople recognize that prospects buy for their reasons, not yours or mine. The opposite is also true: People refuse to buy for their own reasons. They may like you, respect, you, and generally feel very positive about all their dealings with you, but they may refuse your deal for their own personal reasons. But it does take some work to move from intellectually accepting this idea to incorporating it into your mental attitude.
Rare Attitude #5
Expecting to Win.
Extraordinary salespeople seemed to have an attitude of calm, confident, positive self-expectation. They feel good about themselves and they have absolute faith that everything they are doing is contributing toward their inevitable success. They know they are good at what they do, and their customers know it as well. Often, their customers decide to buy from them even before they’ve made a product presentation. That is because they walk into every situation with the end clearly defined in their minds. They have already closed the deal mentally before they wait on their prospect. They go in with an "expect to win" mental attitude. Imagine walking toward your next prospect knowing that you are just there to collect the check or get the signature on the deal. How much easier would it be for you to really tie up that deal?
Rare Attitude #6
Having Specific Clear Visions Of What You Want Out Of Life
Extraordinary sales superstars have very specific and clearly defined goals about what they want. They know exactly where they want to live, the make, model and color of the car they want to buy, how much money they will donate to charity, and have a time line for achievement. Because they are so specific, they are always internally motivated, and never have to be dragged out of bed on a Monday morning. Every day they visualize themselves as they would like to be - and then they act that way!
Rare Attitude #7
Viewing Selling As A Process, Not An Event.
Extraordinary sales superstars have the "rare" attitude that auto sales is a science that when practiced correctly, becomes an art. They have set themselves up to win by taking the guesswork out of selling and adopting an integrated, comprehensive selling system that runs like clockwork, no matter what the circumstance. They personally choose to follow a selling system that:
They know that by having a process, their chances increase dramatically; without one, it drops significantly. And they are NOT willing to take that chance!!
A common complaint among sales managers is that they don’t get enough cooperation from their employees. You have to realize that you need to give before you can expect to receive. If you want employees who will work with initiative, ingenuity, and enthusiasm, you have to make them feel good about their job and about themselves.
Praise help to focus on the positive
The main purpose for getting into the habit of praising your employees is because a sales manager too often overlooks all the things an employee does correctly and only focuses on the employee’s occasional mistake. Because bosses expect certain things from their employees, they don’t feel the need to compliment or acknowledge routine performance; when in essence, this acknowledgment is exactly what an employee needs to feel worthy.
Create a stimulating work environment
A manager’s main responsibility is to motivate his/her employees so that they become outstanding workers. The success and welfare of your employees is dependent upon the supportive work environment surrounding them. Providing employees with an atmosphere that is pleasant, stimulating and verbally rewarding will gain you the loyalty and commitment you are striving for. When employees are happy in the work environment they perform more productively.
Praise helps boost confidence and performance
When an employee feels uncertain about his level of appreciation, his ability to perform at his optimum may be impaired. The key to building self-esteem, confidence and motivation in employees is to compliment them for even small contributions. Make it a point to praise your employees on a regular basis. Recognizing consistently good performance is just as important as recognizing an outstanding performance. The added confidence and pride you instill through praise will maintain your employees’ momentum to achieve.
Show your employees you’re proud of them
One of the biggest misconceptions managers hold is that when they praise employees, they must do it really well. Paying compliments may not be something you are accustomed to. It is a behavior that has to be learned by many people. If you’re not used to praising, your initial attempts may sound unnatural. But as with any type of repetition, the more you do it, the more comfortable it becomes. The only way you can get your employees to want to work for you is to let them know they are appreciated. The one phrase we seldom hear from management is "I’m really proud to have you on my team!"
Your employees are your most valued asset.
Don’t let your busy schedule and numerous responsibilities distract you from remembering that the most important asset in your department is your employees. They are the ones who will ultimately determine your success and subsequent promotions. Realize their value and nurture them because without them, you have no career. Personal praise from one’s boss is one of the greatest motivators in the workplace, and ranks higher than monetary rewards. When you praise your employees always be sincere — because false complimenting can backfire. Look for legitimate reasons to compliment employees and make complimenting a part of your daily routine.
I’m sitting in my living room right now, possibly feeling a little melancholy. As with any person who lives their business, my thoughts turn to training, which I love more than anything.
To set the stage for my rantings, you should know that I’m not new to the business. I spent 10 years in the dealership as a salesperson and manager, where I won awards for every carline I sold, and won a national walkaround competition for a major manufacturer. I will be celebrating my 20th year in the vehicle sales training business, so I feel I’ve stood the test of time, and know a little of what I’m speaking. Over the past 20 years, I’ve developed successful sales websites for my company (autosalestraining.us), performed numerous large group seminars for manufacturers and major training companies, developed products that have successfully sold around the world, and worked with dealerships to train their salespeople and managers and develop their internet departments. In essence, I love this business and everything I do for the industry.
Throughout my career, I’ve experienced many of the frustrations other trainers in our industry have, mainly on how can we get our salespeople and managers to want to learn more. Now as I begin speaking about this, keep in mind that I have met many salespeople and managers who actually want to learn and are excellent examples for our industry. But as with any industry, the Pareto Principle (80-20 Rule) probably applies. We have 20% of our salespeople who do 80% of the work. So we likely have 20% of our salespeople and managers who I would consider truly professional. So if you are one of the 20%, please don’t take this article personally because it has nothing to do with you.
So my thought begins, why don’t most salespeople and managers want to learn more than they already know? They resent it when they are sent to training away from the dealership, they won’t buy a sales book or audio with their own money, they won’t go to the library to check out a book, they won’t even search Google for free articles on sales and management. Is it that they already know everything there is regarding their jobs, or do they feel it’s just not important to learn more?
This year I developed a program called, “How You Can Make $100,000 Per Year in Auto Sales.” I created this program because I got tired of salespeople making $40,000 per year in an industry where they were promised an “unlimited income potential.” This program, which I’m very proud of, comes packaged with a 289 page workbook which incorporates selling skills, business skills and internet skills training, and 6 audio cd-roms that talks about “running their business like a business” as well as hours of training on negotiating, closing and handling objections. It is the most complete program I have ever seen and would help every salesperson reach new levels of sales and financial success.
I sell this program in a sales meeting format. We offer a dealership a free 30-minute sales meeting that’s motivating and inspiring. The only requirement for the sales meeting is anyone who wishes to purchase this program, which I currently sell for only $129, the dealership will agree to payroll deduct their investment over the next couple of pays, making it easier for them to acquire.
Now I must admit, I’m proud of the way I present. My training is high energy, my message is real world, and I do have credentials. I’ve been an NADA and RVDA presenter, so I know how to work a room and keep their attention for an entire day. And in 30 minutes, I’ll leave them with enough solid information to at least start thinking about how to earn more money than they currently make, even if they don’t buy the program. So you would think with all this going for me, salespeople and managers who were interested in their careers would want to hear from someone who is a solid contributor to our industry.
So when I look out at the group, what do I see? Closed minds, eyes down, salespeople looking at their watches, some even have their backs turned to me, and some even create an excuse to leave the meeting. Don’t get me wrong, I will have some devotees in the meeting that do buy my products; people who smile and nod their heads in agreement, people who are looking at me straight in my eyes, those who take notes and sign the payroll deduct forms before the meeting is even finished, and those who even productively comment on issues I’m speaking of. These are the ones that keep me going and make the meeting worth while. But what about the other ones? Why would they take such a negative approach to learning? Am I an imposition on their time? Do they think they know more than I do? Do they think they’re already successful that they don’t need to learn more?
As I’m writing up the invoice in the manager’s office for those who purchased the program, I overheard one of the salespeople say as he passed, “If he really knew how to sell, he wouldn’t have to be a consultant!” Is that really the way they see us, as failures rather than successes? Is the adage, “Those that can, do - those that can’t, teach” really the rule?
So as I looked at the attitudes of some of these salespeople, I was wondering what the trickle-down effect could be that may cause them to think that way. So I went back to the initial call to the dealership to setup the free sales meeting. Aside from those managers who treat us rudely or hang up on us, only 10% of the managers we call welcome the opportunity to have their salespeople listen to an outside trainer. Why do 90% of managers turn the sales meeting down? Do they not want their salespeople to learn anything more? Are they afraid we’ll say something that goes against what they believe? Could it be that they don’t believe that training and motivation works? These sales meetings are absolutely free, there’s no financial risk to the dealership. Plus it’s done before the dealership opens, so it’s not even an imposition on their time. If I walk out with a few sales, great. If I don’t, then I know I’ve left them with some good information, and a motivating and hopefully inspiring sales meeting to start their day. That alone sounds like a win-win situation to me!
So, we setup a sales meeting. When I walk into the dealership, I normally will sit with the manager for a few minutes and explain the program so he/she knows exactly what I’m going to talk about. I’ll always ask the manager if the dealership has a policy of splitting the cost of the program with the salespeople as an educational perk. 60% of the dealerships will say no. Why wouldn’t they want to help with a training investment? It really doesn’t cost the dealership that much, and it would show the salespeople that they believe in them enough that they’re willing to help with their education. But some of the reasons I’ve heard include: “Why should I invest it my salespeople when I’m not sure that they’ll even be here tomorrow.” And, “If they want to learn they can purchase it on their own.” Some managers won’t even come to the sales meeting. I wonder what message that sends? Hmmmm.
I do some management training for a state automotive association. I wrote the book, “The Ultimate Automotive Manager”, but I don’t bring it with me. I simply provide the training workbook. But what I will do is offer all the managers in the seminar a free ebook if they’ll just email me and ask for it. If I have 20 managers in the seminar, only two will email me for the free ebook. 99% of the managers won’t even take learning if it’s free. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to know that most managers have never received any training on how to be a successful leader. So if they don’t believe in education, I would imagine that mentality would trickle down to their salespeople.
Sometimes I ask myself why I continue to stay in an industry that doesn’t want to learn. Well, here’s why. Every so often you get to be a part of a life changing experience. You trained a green-pea that went on to have a successful career. You receive an email from a despondent manager who’s ready to quit. And because of something you said, and the way you made him feel, he took a new approach to his career and continued his good work. Or you get a call from a salesperson that was #6 in the dealership, and because you taught her how to run her business like a business, she is now #1. Or you developed an Organizational Planbook that helped someone become better organized and therefore, increased sales. And the countless many other success stories that keep me wanting to help that one additional person achieve a rewarding career in auto sales.
My job as a trainer was created the moment one of my salespeople asked me a question when I was a sales manager. To respond to that person who made the “consultant” remark, all I can say is I was an excellent salesperson. But being in sales was way too autocratic for me. I’m the type of person who loves helping other people succeed. My degree is in Education and Speech Communication. So after learning the auto sales and management business, training was the next logical step for me. Along with being a trainer, I’m also a writer, product developer and instructional designer. These talents provide a way for me to give back to an industry that has been so very good to me. It’s a career I have a great passion for. It’s the same type of passion I wish for everyone who pursues a career in vehicle sales.
“To be successful, you must always remain a student of your craft.”
…Mike Whitty
I am adding several more chapters in my book, "The Ultimate Automotive Manager." And one of the chapters I really want to do well is on Desking Deals. Since many dealerships do desk deals as compared to having salespeople take the process from start to finish, I feel this is an important area where sales managers could use some excellent advise.
What do you feel are the most important aspects of desking a deal? What are some of the things sales managers do wrong when a salesperson comes to his/her desk? How can a sales manager make the process more productive? What is the salesperson’s responsiblity when desking a deal? How can sales managers hold gross profit? What can they do to make the negotiating process easier for the salesperson? And any other areas you feel will be helpful,
Everyone’s help will be greatly appreciated.
Mike
Mike Whitty is president of Salesperson, Inc. and is a regular provider of training for the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association. A former middle school teacher, Whitty began his career in automotive retail in 1979 as a salesperson. He also is a past winner of the Mazda National Walkaround Championship. In 1988 he wrote his first book, “The Complete Guide to Selling New Cars,” and has been a frequent contributor of products and training for the auto industry ever since. He is also the author of “The Ultimate Automotive Manager.” We spoke to him recently about leadership skills for new- and used-car managers.
In our talks with dealers, many cite lack of leadership skills in their general sales managers. Isn’t that the key role of management?
Yes, that’s accurate, but I feel we’re seeing the demise of the general sales manager (GSM) due to monetary reasons in today’s market. The title is being eliminated at many dealerships leaving the new- and used-car managers to coordinate with the general manager.
The concept of the GSM was intended to oversee both of those departments. That individual was responsible for hiring and monitoring the performance of the department, for holding weekly sales meetings and conducting sales training, and for determining objectives related to gross sales and profits. In addition, the traditional GSM was responsible for handling the store’s advertising and sales promotions as well as for forecasting and auditing trade-in values to make sure that they were in line with current market conditions.
Thus, with these responsibilities handled by the GSM, the new-car and used-car managers could concentrate on writing and closing deals. But in dealerships where that management title is eliminated, the new-car and used-car managers have to be responsible for all GSM responsibilities as well as their own. In truth, they’re so busy every single day writing deals and handling inventory that they don’t have time for those other responsibilities. As a result, developing and motivating their staff is not always a priority.
And that creates what hole?
The big detriment is that many managers do not concentrate on developing their leadership skills. The manager’s job, traditionally, was to take ordinary people and develop them into outstanding employees.
But that concept has been pushed to the wayside in order to write deals, especially in dealerships that use a desking platform where the manager is responsible for writing all deals. I’ve been in dealerships where just trying to talk to the sales manager is virtually impossible and even getting him to go to lunch is unlikely.
OK, so at the speed dealerships run today, who’s developing their talent?
I just don’t know. In such an environment it is very hard for managers to focus on training and leadership development, which they may not have the skill set for to begin with. So they hire salespeople into their departments and virtually wait to see if they sink or swim.
Where does that leave an operator/owner who has a staff development need?
Once a salesperson has been in the business for three months, he or she pretty much should know the format from A to Z on how to be able to sell a vehicle. Now, a salesperson who wants to excel but isn’t getting that training on the job can certainly find many self-paced training products on the Internet. But you don’t see this happening often. Plus, many sales managers were once salespeople and what they know about being a sales manager they learned from their boss before them, good or bad. It’s a rare sales manager who asks for skills training or if he or she does and can’t get it through the dealership will go to a library or online for resources to expand his or her knowledge and skill set. And thus, they don’t aspire to learning more leadership skills, like learning how to be able to hire and fire properly; like learning how to praise and criticize their employees; and like how to perform performance reviews. Many dealerships don’t even do a performance review, so what really happens is that salespeople don’t know how they’re doing until a manager comes up to them and says they’re doing poorly or they’re doing well.
Has there ever been a time when it was not that way?
I don’t think so. But let’s compare our industry to the real estate industry, for example. Real estate agents pay for their own training. They go to seminars and buy “how-to” books on their own nickel as well as listen to audiotapes to gain more knowledge. Now I’ve only been in this industry since 1979 so I can’t comment about training prior to then. But in my time, I’ve seen dealerships that refuse to invest in training for their salespeople; refuse to purchase materials; and refuse to develop a library of training. Many dealers do this very, very well, but too many don’t. I’ve had dealers say, “Why should I invest in training when I’m not even sure they’ll be here tomorrow?” My only response is, “If you don’t invest in training, you know they won’t be here tomorrow!”
What’s the difference between dealerships that do and those that don’t?
It comes down to a dealer or GM who truly believes in training. The idea behind training is that it keeps the juices flowing in peoples’ heads. It helps them stay stimulated so they want to and can sell more vehicles. In this industry just about any salesperson can step into a dealership with only a high school diploma and make $40,000 to $50,000 a year; at least they should be able to. But how do you develop salespeople who can go further than that? It’s through education, repetition, practice, training; all the things a typical professional athlete would do.
Pro athletes study their craft and practice hours and hours a day; they look at game films to learn about their competitors and to develop better competitive tactics and strategies. They work on their skills in order to become more proficient. I wish we would see this thirst in our industry more than we do.
Too often, salespeople run their business by potluck – which basically means whatever happens, happens; there is always tomorrow. Too many managers operate under this same philosophy. They know that if they don’t make their quota they won’t be fired. Hiring new managers can be even more stressful and time-consuming than keeping nonprodcutive managers. So some managers will take their jobs for granted.
This is a dismal-sounding situation, Mike.
Salespeople want and need someone to look up to and to inspire them. Many managers believe that just because they give their salespeople a free desk and phone, a free advertising budget and a million dollars’ worth of inventory that they should be successful on their own. Chances are that the people we’re hiring into this industry have never been successful at anything in their lives. So why do we expect them to be successful with us just because we give them a job? Yet most want to be part of a successful sales department and successful dealership but need someone to show them how. That’s the leadership aspect of management that, in many dealerships, is missing.
Now, as I said earlier, I know of some great dealers and managers, the type of people who you really want to work for. These stores have little turnover because they take care of their employees. I’ve always been a proponent that the customer does not come first; the employee always comes first. Because if you make the employee feel like they’re number one, the customer will automatically become number one. But if you make employees feel like they’re second rate, that’s going to trickle down right to the customer.
We forget that the management’s job is a coaching job. Managers are in a position to develop their people, which can be truly satisfying.
In your GNYADA seminars, what do you tell attendees about being a leader?
As any good trainer, our job really isn’t to tell as much as it is to bring out information from people, to get them to start thinking on their own. They know how to write deals, so I don’t touch on those skills. I teach them how to figure out what employees look for in a leader and what type of leadership skills they have currently and how they compare with other styles. As a class, we then work on changes the individuals may want to consider when they return to the dealership. We work on helping them train their sales staff on some vital basics: handling phone-ups more proficiently and how to negotiate more successfully. But the core of what I can help them realize, to basically begin thinking about, is their own management style and some other management styles that might work better for them and their situations. Sometimes managers simply need a reminder of the importance of their management responsibilities.
Most managers have never been to a management training class. Being task-oriented, managers tend to forget or understand how valuable people are to their success. They don’t always consider themselves as special people, as leaders and developers of other people.
Look, the manager should be on a pedestal and not in an egocentric way. Managers need to be reminded that their staff looks to them for direction. From the moment the manager walks into the dealership the sales staff checks the manager’s mood, which sets the atmosphere for the showroom all day; managers forget the power they have to motivate, as well as de-motivate their staff, and their responsibility to establish a winning atmosphere in the dealership.
For example, if the first thing out of the manager’s mouth that morning is a negative comment to a salesperson, like “Did you sleep in that suit last night?” it affects that individual in monumental ways. Is that salesperson going to be positive and motivated throughout the day to carry on with what he or she is supposed to be doing? Managers have tremendous power to de-motivate or invigorate a salesperson’s mind.
That’s the manager’s job. The manager is responsible to set the atmosphere within the dealership; that’s not the salespeople’s’ responsibility.
It may be through a training program that a manager hears that message for the first time. And being primarily task-oriented individuals, managers today aren’t particularly concerned about such things. But they should be.
I tell managers that you can never be angry when you come into the dealership; they can’t bring their problems to work with them because other people are taking cues from them all the time. Managers should be consistently uplifting and praising and motivating people to get them to want to perform, especially when times are slow. That’s the time that they really need to lift themselves up to a whole other level as far as motivating and stimulating their people. Instead, they take the other approach a lot of times whereby they put more pressure on their staff, telling them they’re not doing their job. They criticize and critique their staffs to no end, and so they take a whole different approach as to how they view themselves as leaders.
Where’s the weak link that is causing this breakdown?
It’s in the hiring process. First, we tend to hire people who are like us. Few dealers, not to mention managers, are not trained on how to effectively hire people and how to ask the right questions. Most managers will not even write down a list of questions that they want to ask a person interviewing for a position. So what happens is we hire the person with the right job skills but not the right mix of characteristics like ethics and discipline and enthusiasm. And when it comes to firing someone, most managers don’t prepare for that occasion either, nor do they know the laws regarding firing. These are leadership responsibilities that so many managers don’t feel is important for them to study and know.
Any commonality among dealerships that do this right?
I’ve seen large and small dealerships do it absolutely wonderfully. Large automotive groups, many times, because of the size of the corporation, have more policies in place regarding hiring, firing and training. But to the prior question, sales managers often ask questions around the candidate’s sales history, profit added to the last dealership, their income at their last dealership, etc. They never ask them to conduct a five-minute presentation on a vehicle of their choice, or how they might handle a particular type of objection or customer problem, or how they develop repeat referral business, or how they handle phone- ups. They don’t ask those types of questions because they don’t know enough to do it since they’ve never been to a leadership program that teaches knowledge like this.
Given the workday pressures cited here, what is the message to dealers about their bench leadership strengths?
First of all, money and time are real issues. And we can’t lump all dealers into the same bucket. Some dealers are absentee operators and others are in their stores working every day. That situation alone will impact the policies that a dealership will have. A dealer will often say when I broach this subject, “I’ve been in business 30 years. What can you teach me that I don’t already know” and my only response is, “Well, it’s because you’ve been in business for 30 years that you need me to teach you things that you don’t know.”
Obviously, as a trainer, I think that developing people is the single most important thing that we can do for our industry. That means the dealership either has a consistent in-house training program for its salespeople or it acquires training from an outside resource. And that holds true for training managers also. There’s no sense training your salespeople if you’re not going to also train your managers. And so often, when a manager is trained, they still don’t implement what they’ve learned in training. The basic reason is we tend to continuously do the things that are most comfortable for us, whether they work or not.
We need to make sure that our managers truly do train their people and then the dealer needs to monitor that. Why isn’t this happening? Because managers are responsible for their departments and as long as the results come in somewhere close to the figures they need; everybody is satisfied and complacency takes over.
These dealerships have no processes in place to assure proper training is done. For example, a process that requires a manager to conduct a 10-minute training session in every sales meeting. This isn’t happening because, one, most managers are not trainers, and two, they don’t have time to develop the training, and third, they may not even like training. If a manager doesn’t believe in or know his or her job is to develop people, but rather to fill a desk and let people develop themselves, no training is going to convince that individual of the need for proper education. Managers who want to develop their people love people and they love learning themselves.
You notice the dealerships that value training the minute you walk into the showroom. It’s a feeling you get from everyone you encounter. The staff makes it a point to say hello to every visitor…to want to make that visitor feel welcome. You get that same sense at a restaurant. I use this example: is the server’s job to serve food or make big tips? If the server sees his or her job as just serving food, they’ll serve food anyway. But if they see their job as making big tips, he or she will do everything necessary to take care of the customer so they want to tip big. I pose the same question to salespeople: “Is your job to sell cars or is your job to make high commissions?” If your job is to sell cars, you’ll sell cars anyway and at any price. But if your job is to make high commissions, now you must be responsible to develop a process whereby the ultimate result is that customer’s going to want to pay you more money.
Your final assessment?
As long as managers fail to develop their staffs, dealerships will have salespeople who continue to under-perform. Taking that concept a step further, how can we expect our salespeople to want to learn more when our managers won’t?
Now, having said that we all know that volume is often dictated by market conditions and manufacturers’ programs. But without training managers to become better leaders, dealers will continue to struggle with turnover and poor performance. And often, salespeople leave a dealership not necessarily because of money issues, but because they don’t feel like they’re being taken care of, and just don’t enjoy working there anymore.
I’ve always felt that a sales manager had three responsibilities: gross sales, gross profit, and training. Somebody else can develop the ads. Somebody else can handle inventory. But dealerships put so much responsibility on one individual that they end up getting overwhelmed, and ultimately end up doing a lot of things poorly.
So to summarize, managers need to look at themselves as special people and hold themselves to a higher standard. Management isn’t easy. If it were, everyone would be doing it. Developing strong leaders in our industry will be the first step to taking dealerships to the next level of sales and financial success.
Thanks Mike.
I’ve been in a lot of dealerships and seen a lot of Internet processes, and some of the things I’ve realized are:
- Most Internet departments are failing
- Many dealerships are afraid of computers and the Internet
- Many dealerships simply print leads and pass them out to the salespeople
- Most dealerships do not monitor the leads they pass out
- Most dealerships put a showroom salesperson in place to handle leads
- Most salespeople cherry-pick leads and won’t follow-up after second call
- Most leads are thrown away
Wow, that tired me out just thinking about it. Now granted, there are some dealerships that have really jumped on the Internet bandwagon and do things right, but when I use the words "most" and "many", I’m sure it’s not an exaggeration. Most dealerships are happy selling their 7-10 sales per month from manufacturer leads, if they even know what the true number is. But those of us who are passionate about the Internet, which are usually the Internet trainers and consultants, know that there truly is a lot of business to be developed from the Internet, and at a profit!
"I Don’t Want to Deal With That Element"
I remember when Special Financing was getting started, and dealerships would say, "I don’t want to deal with that element!" Well obviously their perception of "that element" has changed since over 50% of all Americans are now eligible for Special Finance. It’s not as scary for them any more. That’s the same thing that’s happening with Internet sales. The Internet customer is an "element" that dealerships don’t know how to handle. And because change is hard for most dealerships, since they’ve been doing things the same way for years, they’re not comfortable with the Internet business and they shy away from it. They know that’s it’s not going away and will only get bigger, but still they’re more comfortable handling showroom traffic and running their business by "pot-luck."
The Leads are Already Coming In
Every dealership is already getting leads, even in small amounts. Most dealerships will get at least 20-30 leads per month directly from the manufacturer and possibly their website if they have it setup for leads. Since most manufacturers have some sort of tracking process to see when they’re handled, they know they need to assign someone to work them, typically showroom salespeople. Even if they only get 20 leads per month, that’s 240 leads per year. If handled properly, that would account for additional sales, F&I, service and parts, and repeat and referral business.
Buying Leads
I’m a big fan of buying leads. It’s the easiest and quickest way to increase sales if handled properly. But most dealerships who buy leads take a short-term approach to the Internet. Just like a showroom mentality, if they don’t get the sale right now, they forget about them. So these leads, and the money it took to purchase them are wasted, and sales stay low. What if these dealerships took a long-term approach to the leads? What if they realized that they have something just as important as a sale, they have information from a captive audience who wants to do business at their dealership, that they can market to every single month until they decide to opt-out? Wow, over the years that could conceivably be more productive than the $30,000, $50,000, or even $100,000 per month they spend putting advertising in the newspaper. They don’t even know who’s reading it, or if anyone’s reading it. But a lead they purchase for $22 that they can market to forever, hmmmm.
Enter, the Appointment Coordinator
So, I think we can all agree that dealerships waste leads, waste money, and waste manpower handling leads the way they do. There is a productive way to handle these leads, and that’s by placing an excellent Appointment Coordinator in place. I know there’s still a big debate on handling leads by email if they request, or handling them by phone. My philosophy is if they include a phone number, they’re getting a call. And since most of the leads purchased include a phone number, this is a no-brainer. Those of you who wish to debate this single issue, and tell me about customer respect, etc., please don’t. I know for a fact that salespeople who do business by email lose gross profit, and it takes a lot longer to get them into the dealership. The Appointment Coordinator’s main job is to set an appointment. It’s a great process and here’s why.
Let’s take the dealership who passes leads out to the salespeople. I know that most salespeople hate the phone. They feel more comfortable face-to-face with the customer which is where they do their best work. I also know that phone-ups are the biggest profit loser in the dealerships because most salespeople only give information on the phone and seldom strive to set an appointment. So, when a lead is passed out to the salespeople, they make the first call and leave a message, make the second call and leave a message, and then the lead is forgotten about. And since most Sales Managers who pass out the leads don’t monitor them, well, you know where I’m going from here.
The Appointment Coordinator has one main responsibility - persistent and relentless follow-up by phone and email. This persons job is to set an appointment for the salespeople to close. Now, this is where you don’t have to have a full-fledged internet staff. You can use the current staff, especially the good closers, because they don’t have to use the phone. All they have to do is be there when the appointment shows up. Now they’re in their comfort zone and have to do nothing but close sales.
The Long-Term Approach
Many leads may take 3 weeks to 3 months or more to get them into the dealership. And since most salespeople do not follow-up very well, most leads are lost to neglect. The Appointment Coordinator makes sure these leads are not forgotten through consistent follow-up. But let’s say this lead buys a vehicle from another dealership. Most dealerships would just throw that lead away. My philosophy is that lead is still my customer, that dealership is just using them for the next several years. I still have the opportunity to get that customer back by keeping in touch with him/her every single month with at least a digital newsletter. Since most dealerships don’t do a real good job of following-up with their customers, The Appointment Coordinator will at least have an opportunity to retrieve that lost business.
I developed the Appointment Coordinator in a local dealership that was doing between 7-10 Internet sales per month. They are now doing 50 with one person. But what’s even more important is that they are getting sales this month from leads they received in April 2007. Now that doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a process of relentless follow-up and keeping the dealership’s name in from of them every single month. This is the greatest asset of having an Appointment Coordinator.
The Final Point
Dealerships don’t have to grow quickly and start big. They also don’t have to have dedicated salespeople who only sell Internet leads. By having a strong Appointment Coordinator, they can get maximum results with very little investment.
