Parts departments, the service drive, the sales floor – everyone has a sales target every month of every year. There’s a clear expectation from upper management, which is a good thing. But that pressure to perform can cause good staff to run off the rails.

It isn’t always realistic to hit monthly goals, and some years it’s simply impossible. The economy affects how customers shop for cars and how tight they are with their parts and service dollars. And after a fantastic year or two of growth, the bubble is almost guaranteed to burst. It seems like a slump, but it’s just a correction, much like what happens in the stock market or the recent Bitcoin correction.

As a general manager, dealer principal, or department manager, you know this to be true in your head. But since everyone’s paycheck depends on sales, there’s a push to hit those elusive targets. When the pressure is on, now far will you go to make the sale?

Maintain Integrity…

It’s what everyone would like to believe they would do. When a customer shouldn’t be bought in the F&I office, the salesperson knows it’s not the right fit for the customer, or the fuel injector service isn’t really due but shows up on the recommended services, you’d like to think you’d have the integrity to take the high road.

Sometimes, it’s in everyone’s best interest to let a deal go. Despite the pressure to roll a unit or make a service upsell, the best way to serve some customers is to let the sale pass by and keep a loyal client.

For example, I have a rough older truck. It needed new tires, and the shop I chose to buy tires from knew it. I explained it was only a workhorse, yet the advisor had the option to try to upsell me services that weren’t of benefit. Had he pushed for fluid flushes, a transmission service, and brake services, I might’ve bought the tires but certainly would’ve gone elsewhere afterward. Instead, he knew my interests and made recommendations in passing, because he is a man of integrity.

…Or Get Greasy

The other option is to make the sale, no matter what the cost. It’s about the here and now – hitting this month’s target with no forethought of the damage it will do down the road. A few examples:

• Slamming a subprime customer into a car with payments you know they can’t afford at an obscene interest rate.
• Selling a trusting customer a brake job when a cleaning or adjustment would do instead.
• Playing a customer’s emotions, making them feel guilty, or causing undue worry about their current vehicle.
• Selling a part above retail list simply because you want to make up gross profit.

Especially at the end of the month when the pressure is on to hit the target, there’s a tendency to get greasy with sales. Instead of bowing to the pressure, maintain your integrity and only make the sales you know are honest. Your customers will love you for it.

As this new year starts, get back to the basics with your team. Make sure everyone is doing what they should be with every customer interaction. Ensure your team maintains their integrity with your customers and does right by them, and the sales growth will follow.