My name is Mike Whitty, president of Salesperson, Inc. After 20 years of successfully training dealership personnel through our products, seminars and in-dealership programs, we have decided to close our doors.  The economic situation here in Detroit has made it difficult for our clients to afford our services, so it seems like a good time to retire from the vehicle training business.
Therefore, we are in the process of offering our products for sale to interested consultants, training company's and vehicle manufacturers who can benefit from our excellent materials.  By purchasing one, or all of our products, you will have full rights, copyrights and licenses to make the product your own, with you as the author.
 
We have products specifically designed for automotive, rv, motorcycle and marine dealerships, and would like to sell the entire list.  If not, we will consider selling them individually.
 
The sale of these products is on a first come b...

Boy, after 20 years of being in the sales training business, and having some significant accomplishments over the years, I never thought I'd be writing this post.  But being a training company in the Detroit area has not been easy over the past year, especially since this is such a wholesale market.  So, I need to rely on the expertise from the most experienced members of this blog to help me out.
I just finished writing my newest program, "Under New Management:  Sharpening Your Skills as an Auto Sales Manager."  I feel that by far, this is some of my best work.  And since there really isn't a Sales Manager program out there, this is an excellent time to bring it to market in a big way.  This program is specifically designed for auto, RV, motorcyle, marine, and used vehicle Sales Managers, and can be viewed at www.salesmanagerbooks.com.
We've been selling this program indvidually from our websites, but I would like to learn how to sell it in la...

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...

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:  Res...

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 fa...

Want to make more money selling cars? Here are a few hard questions about your own mental attitude towards selling.
 
How would you rate it? Is it good? Bad? Positive? Negative or indifferent? It's sad. Most of us get into sales with a lot of handed down self-defeating attitudes about selling. Let's take mental inventory of your own attitude.
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 - rea...

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 depe...

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. I...

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 l...

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 Intern...