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.

         The very first lesson I was taught as a young, naïve used car manager was turn is king. I was told that I needed to view each used vehicle as an individual stack of cash or investment and the quicker I could turn that stack of cash, the more profitable my department would be. The logic made complete sense at the time because I, like everyone else, understood that a car is a depreciating asset and you don’t want to sit on your investment too long and let it depreciate too much.  Also, the shop makes more money, we make more pack, we make more doc fees, and we make more back-end money.  So all I needed to do was to stay on top of my pricing and so long as my cars were reconditioned and advertised properly, I would succeed. Sounds easy right?

Any car guy knows that the best time to sell a used car and maximize profit is to sell it in the first 30 days. We also know that you are doing a good if you can sell 60% of your used inventory in the first 30 days. What’s the best strategy with the remaining 40% of your inventory then? Should you go to a 45 day turn and sell the remaining 40% in the next 15 days? Is a 60 day turn better? 90 days? Should I even care about how quick they turn knowing that I will eventually sell them if I’m ok with taking a huge loss?

I work at a bottom line pricing dealership. We have been running on a fairly strict 90 day turn policy the last couple of years and we are trying to transition to a 60 day turn policy. As we have started to make the transition, I have noticed that I do a lot more discounts than I used to and we are taking skinnier deals as a result.  A shorter turn policy would make complete sense in a normal depreciating market, but does it make senses in today’s market?  Everyone that knows anything about used cars understands how volatile the market has been and how crazy thing have gotten at the auctions over the last couple of years.

The concept of turning your inventory quickly makes complete sense to me if I can go replace that same care for cheaper than my current cost at the auction. We all know that that isn’t the case most of the times. So, back to my original question. Do you really want to follow a 60 or 90 day turn policy and “drop your pants” so fast knowing you are in a very unpredictable market? Or, is it better to keep your pants on and try to put more emphasis on gross and less on turn?  It’s a tough call for sure! I would love to get some insight and hear what you guys think. What is working for you?

         The very first lesson I was taught as a young, naïve used car manager was turn is king. I was told that I needed to view each used vehicle as an individual stack of cash or investment and the quicker I could turn that stack of cash, the more profitable my department would be. The logic made complete sense at the time because I, like everyone else, understood that a car is a depreciating asset and you don’t want to sit on your investment too long and let it depreciate too much.  Also, the shop makes more money, we make more pack, we make more doc fees, and we make more back-end money.  So all I needed to do was to stay on top of my pricing and so long as my cars were reconditioned and advertised properly, I would succeed. Sounds easy right?

Any car guy knows that the best time to sell a used car and maximize profit is to sell it in the first 30 days. We also know that you are doing a good if you can sell 60% of your used inventory in the first 30 days. What’s the best strategy with the remaining 40% of your inventory then? Should you go to a 45 day turn and sell the remaining 40% in the next 15 days? Is a 60 day turn better? 90 days? Should I even care about how quick they turn knowing that I will eventually sell them if I’m ok with taking a huge loss?

I work at a bottom line pricing dealership. We have been running on a fairly strict 90 day turn policy the last couple of years and we are trying to transition to a 60 day turn policy. As we have started to make the transition, I have noticed that I do a lot more discounts than I used to and we are taking skinnier deals as a result.  A shorter turn policy would make complete sense in a normal depreciating market, but does it make senses in today’s market?  Everyone that knows anything about used cars understands how volatile the market has been and how crazy thing have gotten at the auctions over the last couple of years.

The concept of turning your inventory quickly makes complete sense to me if I can go replace that same care for cheaper than my current cost at the auction. We all know that that isn’t the case most of the times. So, back to my original question. Do you really want to follow a 60 or 90 day turn policy and “drop your pants” so fast knowing you are in a very unpredictable market? Or, is it better to keep your pants on and try to put more emphasis on gross and less on turn?  It’s a tough call for sure! I would love to get some insight and hear what you guys think. What is working for you?