Don Graff Auto Facebook http://www.dongraffautomotive.com/ Don Graff LinkedIn Expanding on that statement will be the intent of this blog.   Looking back at a career in our industry now in its fourth decade, I reflect on the lessons of several wild economic swings and the cycles of rising and falling sales that accompanied them, the extraordinary rise of the import brands and the absolute revolution in communications brought on by the Digital Age. But, despite the wonders of the technology in the vehicle itself and the promises of the electronic wizardry of the Internet, Social Media and now, the "Cloud" (whatever and wherever that may be).  I still return to one of the smartest things I've ever heard anyone say, "They don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."   Zig Ziglar says a lot of things in his famous seminars, but that's one that never left me, and I believe it has contributed a lot t...

http://www.dongraffautomotive.com http://www.linkedin.com/pub/don-graff/14/896/a39 One of the issues I hear about frequently from my client dealerships is that of sales staff retention. Let me venture out onto the limb to suggest that, just perhaps, the requirements for a sales position in your organization need to be reviewed. The sales people, the floor staff, the lizards, studs, newbie, - whatever name you apply to them - are incredibly important to your dealership's ongoing success. They need to be happy with the sales opportunities that can enable them to earn a decent wage. They need to feel that they are supported by you, their dealer. Most important: They need to benefit from the incentive of compensation for performance. If your showroom has a problem with a continuously changing roster of sales staff, maybe it is time to look at how you qualify prospective personnel. A sales person has to offer more than a pulse and the ability to remain vertical. Re...