We have had a problem with marriage that has created quite a bit of controversy lately at our dealership.  I'm not referring to marriage between a husband and wife, I'm referring to marriage between 2 sales consultants.

I'll start with a definition.  Being "married" on a deal is when 2 sales consultants are working the same deal together.  It is pointless to tie up 2 guys with 1 deal so one of the guys will go take another customer while the other guy continues to work the deal.  If the guy who took a new customer sells a car he would give up half of that deal to the guy that continued to work the original deal, regardless of the outcome of the original deal. Hopefully you guys followed all that. I read it 3 times to make sure it made sense!

Anyway, we have never had any sort of a rule regarding this marriage clause at our dealership.  It is only been a problem lately because we hired a couple of guys that have worked at other dealerships who have had that rule.  The problem we have now is that every salesperson thinks it is the best rule in the world.

Here's my stance.  I see the logic behind why 2 salespeople would want to make that agreement having sold cars in the past myself.  However, I think they are trying to cheat the system and get paid for work that they didn't even do.  They shouldn't be compensated for a deal that they didn't work with a customer they didn't even meet.  Also, I think we need to have a definitive rule because if we give our sales guys an inch, they will take a mile.  The other reason I am against this marriage clause is because I believe everything will work out in the long run when you average every deal out.  Meaning, a salesperson will definitely get screwed if he gets stuck working a crappy deal and the other guy on the deal goes and gets someone to lay down and buy.  But he can be on the good side of that deal in the future and according to the law of averages, everything should work out and be equal.

I may be completely in left field on this one, but I feel good about the decision we made as a management team.  The reason I wanted to write a post about this issue is because we have had lots of resistance from our guys when we made our decision.  Have you guys had issues with this at your dealerships, and if so, how have you handled it?

    We have had a problem with marriage that has created quite a bit of controversy lately at our dealership.  I'm not referring to marriage between a husband and wife, I'm referring to marriage between 2 sales consultants.

I'll start with a definition.  Being "married" on a deal is when 2 sales consultants are working the same deal together.  It is pointless to tie up 2 guys with 1 deal so one of the guys will go take another customer while the other guy continues to work the deal.  If the guy who took a new customer sells a car he would give up half of that deal to the guy that continued to work the original deal, regardless of the outcome of the original deal. Hopefully you guys followed all that. I read it 3 times to make sure it made sense!

Anyway, we have never had any sort of a rule regarding this marriage clause at our dealership.  It is only been a problem lately because we hired a couple of guys that have worked at other dealerships who have had that rule.  The problem we have now is that every salesperson thinks it is the best rule in the world.

Here's my stance.  I see the logic behind why 2 salespeople would want to make that agreement having sold cars in the past myself.  However, I think they are trying to cheat the system and get paid for work that they didn't even do.  They shouldn't be compensated for a deal that they didn't work with a customer they didn't even meet.  Also, I think we need to have a definitive rule because if we give our sales guys an inch, they will take a mile.  The other reason I am against this marriage clause is because I believe everything will work out in the long run when you average every deal out.  Meaning, a salesperson will definitely get screwed if he gets stuck working a crappy deal and the other guy on the deal goes and gets someone to lay down and buy.  But he can be on the good side of that deal in the future and according to the law of averages, everything should work out and be equal.

I may be completely in left field on this one, but I feel good about the decision we made as a management team.  The reason I wanted to write a post about this issue is because we have had lots of resistance from our guys when we made our decision.  Have you guys had issues with this at your dealerships, and if so, how have you handled it?

After having read Mark Tewart’s post on “The death of the traditional salesperson” and seeing the commotion that it caused, I wanted to write a post on training.  Mark had many opinions in his two posts, but the most important part that I took from both of them is that dealerships for the most part have virtually no training processes in place.  I commented on his original post and suggested that he check his data again for the fact that I’m pretty sure he is inaccurate in saying that 95% of dealerships across the country have no idea how to effectively train a sales staff. I’m sure some do better than others, but 95% seemed like a pretty staggering statistic.  I wanted to get some feedback from other dealers and trainers out there and see what training process, if any, is in place at your dealership.

I will start by sharing our training process that we do for our sales crew at our dealership. I would rank our training process at probably a 7 ish out of 10. I think we do an above average job, but I think we definitely have some areas we can improve on.  When we hire a new salesperson the process is as follows: 1- We have 2 team leaders that take them through a 2 day orientation to familiarize them with the dealership and our sales process. 2- We have one of our sales managers put them through what we have named “blacktop university”, which is a 2 week intense training for 3 hours every morning. 3- We require that within their first 3-6 months of employment, all salespeople have to become master certified with Ford.  4- We try to do our best with ongoing training after the initial training. We do a 30 minute training on various topics every morning before we open and try not to be the “manager that just sits behind the desk” like Mark said in his post. 

So that is what we do at our dealership but I’m dying to know what other dealers do so we can hopefully prove Mark wrong!  Like I said, I think we do a good job out our dealership, but I’m sure we have room for improvement.  Let me know what other things you guys have tried that seemed to work so we can hopefully improve ours a little bit.  I’m hoping some of you guys were able to pick up a couple pointers from the way that we train and you can use them at your dealerships. Comments and questions wanted please!

After having read Mark Tewart’s post on “The death of the traditional salesperson” and seeing the commotion that it caused, I wanted to write a post on training.  Mark had many opinions in his two posts, but the most important part that I took from both of them is that dealerships for the most part have virtually no training processes in place.  I commented on his original post and suggested that he check his data again for the fact that I’m pretty sure he is inaccurate in saying that 95% of dealerships across the country have no idea how to effectively train a sales staff. I’m sure some do better than others, but 95% seemed like a pretty staggering statistic.  I wanted to get some feedback from other dealers and trainers out there and see what training process, if any, is in place at your dealership.

I will start by sharing our training process that we do for our sales crew at our dealership. I would rank our training process at probably a 7 ish out of 10. I think we do an above average job, but I think we definitely have some areas we can improve on.  When we hire a new salesperson the process is as follows: 1- We have 2 team leaders that take them through a 2 day orientation to familiarize them with the dealership and our sales process. 2- We have one of our sales managers put them through what we have named “blacktop university”, which is a 2 week intense training for 3 hours every morning. 3- We require that within their first 3-6 months of employment, all salespeople have to become master certified with Ford.  4- We try to do our best with ongoing training after the initial training. We do a 30 minute training on various topics every morning before we open and try not to be the “manager that just sits behind the desk” like Mark said in his post. 

So that is what we do at our dealership but I’m dying to know what other dealers do so we can hopefully prove Mark wrong!  Like I said, I think we do a good job out our dealership, but I’m sure we have room for improvement.  Let me know what other things you guys have tried that seemed to work so we can hopefully improve ours a little bit.  I’m hoping some of you guys were able to pick up a couple pointers from the way that we train and you can use them at your dealerships. Comments and questions wanted please!

     One of the things that I have struggled with the most as a sales manager is when to be a good cop and when to be a bad cop.  I know the stereotypical sales manager in the car business is a power driven A-hole that thinks the best way to manage people and get them to do what they are supposed is to yell and swear at them until they see results. I don't want to be that guy for sure, but I also don't want to be a pushover and let the salespeople walk all over me. The problem that I have faced in the last year being a sales manager is where to find a happy median between good cop and bad cop.

     I face some challenges that most of the sales managers out there probably don't have to deal with as a manager. First, I sold with a lot of our salespeople for many years so I am very good friends with them. Second, I am only 29 years old and am trying to manage guys that have been in the business for longer than I have been alive!  So when my buddies in sales aren't doing what they are supposed to,  I feel like I have to be extra cautious on how I treat them so they don't think that I have let my position go to my head.  It is hard with the "veterans" as well because they think they know everything and do everything perfectly because they have been in the business for so long, but they really don't in most cases.  I find that I can hardly tell them what to do when in the back of mind I am rattling off every superlative under the sun because it frustrates me how lazy they get and how many corners they cut. Then there is the new guys. For the sake of time, I won't even get started on the new guys. Anyone who has worked in the car business can sympathize with me on that one!

     So what is the best approach?  I have tried the good cop approach most of the time and tried to be 100% helpful and supportive with our guys but I feel like that isn't always the best route because they don't take you as serious as they should. I have also tried the bad cop approach from time to time but that one inevitably will backfire because every salesperson is extra sensitive right now and I always feel like I am walking on eggshells when I discuss issues with them.  Not to mention, I usually get in trouble with the GM when I piss off one of our salespeople.  I would imagine somewhere in the middle would be the best route to take, but I am struggling to find that sweet spot.  Any ideas?

     One of the things that I have struggled with the most as a sales manager is when to be a good cop and when to be a bad cop.  I know the stereotypical sales manager in the car business is a power driven A-hole that thinks the best way to manage people and get them to do what they are supposed is to yell and swear at them until they see results. I don't want to be that guy for sure, but I also don't want to be a pushover and let the salespeople walk all over me. The problem that I have faced in the last year being a sales manager is where to find a happy median between good cop and bad cop.

     I face some challenges that most of the sales managers out there probably don't have to deal with as a manager. First, I sold with a lot of our salespeople for many years so I am very good friends with them. Second, I am only 29 years old and am trying to manage guys that have been in the business for longer than I have been alive!  So when my buddies in sales aren't doing what they are supposed to,  I feel like I have to be extra cautious on how I treat them so they don't think that I have let my position go to my head.  It is hard with the "veterans" as well because they think they know everything and do everything perfectly because they have been in the business for so long, but they really don't in most cases.  I find that I can hardly tell them what to do when in the back of mind I am rattling off every superlative under the sun because it frustrates me how lazy they get and how many corners they cut. Then there is the new guys. For the sake of time, I won't even get started on the new guys. Anyone who has worked in the car business can sympathize with me on that one!

     So what is the best approach?  I have tried the good cop approach most of the time and tried to be 100% helpful and supportive with our guys but I feel like that isn't always the best route because they don't take you as serious as they should. I have also tried the bad cop approach from time to time but that one inevitably will backfire because every salesperson is extra sensitive right now and I always feel like I am walking on eggshells when I discuss issues with them.  Not to mention, I usually get in trouble with the GM when I piss off one of our salespeople.  I would imagine somewhere in the middle would be the best route to take, but I am struggling to find that sweet spot.  Any ideas?

    One of the biggest problems that I and most sales managers face is turnover with salespeople.  The cycle of a sales floor is pretty consistent and predictable at most dealerships year in and year out. Generally most dealerships have a core of 3-5 great salespeople that do what they are supposed to, 3-5 guys that are your average salespeople that don't do a lot right or wrong, and 3-5 guys that are your "newbies" that don't get it and realistically will probably never get it.

     I actually have it pretty good at the dealership that I manage and can confidently say that we have an above average sales floor.  The group that I want to focus this post on is the group that all dealerships care the most about, which is your 3-5 "top dawgs".  We actually have a group of about 6 people that all have the talent and ability to be our top dawg on any given month.  So, what should a manager or GM do to keep their top dawgs happy and more importantly, keep them at their dealership? 

    The reason I am throwing this topic out there for discussion is that we have had a couple of issues with our top guys in the last month.  Salesperson # 1 has all the talent in the world, will do anything you ask of him, and if he committed himself every single month would probably lead our board at least half of the year.  He accepted a new job and was supposed to start last week because felt like the grass would be greener on the other side and "wanted to try something new".  Luckily we slapped some sense in to him and we were able to convince him to stay here.  Salesperson # 2 used to be our 2nd best guy for about 3 years but has struggled big time lately due to family obligations and having to be more available to his kids.  He actually ended up quitting last week despite our attempts to keep him here.

    So...... Should a manager give special treatment or do something special with regard to compensation to keep your core group of top dawgs at the dealership?  Is it fair to throw them extra spiffs or regular commissions to ensure that they don't leave?  Is that fair to the rest of the sales crew that doesn't produce at the level that they produce at? Let me know what you guys think. Any input or previous experiences would be great to hear.

    One of the biggest problems that I and most sales managers face is turnover with salespeople.  The cycle of a sales floor is pretty consistent and predictable at most dealerships year in and year out. Generally most dealerships have a core of 3-5 great salespeople that do what they are supposed to, 3-5 guys that are your average salespeople that don't do a lot right or wrong, and 3-5 guys that are your "newbies" that don't get it and realistically will probably never get it.

     I actually have it pretty good at the dealership that I manage and can confidently say that we have an above average sales floor.  The group that I want to focus this post on is the group that all dealerships care the most about, which is your 3-5 "top dawgs".  We actually have a group of about 6 people that all have the talent and ability to be our top dawg on any given month.  So, what should a manager or GM do to keep their top dawgs happy and more importantly, keep them at their dealership? 

    The reason I am throwing this topic out there for discussion is that we have had a couple of issues with our top guys in the last month.  Salesperson # 1 has all the talent in the world, will do anything you ask of him, and if he committed himself every single month would probably lead our board at least half of the year.  He accepted a new job and was supposed to start last week because felt like the grass would be greener on the other side and "wanted to try something new".  Luckily we slapped some sense in to him and we were able to convince him to stay here.  Salesperson # 2 used to be our 2nd best guy for about 3 years but has struggled big time lately due to family obligations and having to be more available to his kids.  He actually ended up quitting last week despite our attempts to keep him here.

    So...... Should a manager give special treatment or do something special with regard to compensation to keep your core group of top dawgs at the dealership?  Is it fair to throw them extra spiffs or regular commissions to ensure that they don't leave?  Is that fair to the rest of the sales crew that doesn't produce at the level that they produce at? Let me know what you guys think. Any input or previous experiences would be great to hear.