I have been fortunate in life in that I have been given the opportunity to have worn many hats.  Having a broad level of experiences in life has given my personality a great deal of depth.  I have always been a marketer in some role or another.  One of these marketing roles was that of an entertainer, in which I marketed what would become my signature brand of “fun, joy and ease" as a singer and dancer.  One of the shows I was involved with featured a song from Disney’s Cinderella in which I sang these words:

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true.

Now it might have been my immaturity at that time, but the meaning of those words was lost in the duty of having to sing them.  I had no understanding of what I was signing, I was just singing.  Possibly due to repetition, those words found a place to hide out away in my memory until I had enough life experiences to fully understand the value of the lesson to be learned. 

Thankfully, the day came when I have had enough life experiences to understand the value of lesson to be learned.  The moment occurred when I was trying to entertain the boredom of my some of my younger Sister Queens, as we awaited our appearance in the King Tree Parade at the Florida Forestry Festival.  Like magic, the words to this song rolled of my lips and the culmination of this song’s meaning and my life experiences intersected.

It takes faith, belief, heartache and time to make a dream come true and for it to be yours to keep.  Nothing in life that has been handed to me seems to hold its value and I often take it for granted.  The achievements in life that I had to earn are the most precious to me.  There seems to be an equation for success in my life.  The more blood, sweat and tears effort towards attainment, the greater the value of the accomplishment.  It takes courage to suffer failure, heart to get back into the game, faith in your abilities to sustain your momentum and tenacity to endure until your dreams do come true.  Actual success is to be earned like an athlete training for success, not dropped in your lap like the winnings of a lottery.

When working with Automotive Management, Service and Sale Staff, inspire them to chase their dreams by pushing themselves to better at their best.  The best that you are today will only see you through this day.  Tomorrow, you have to continue the momentum forward and be better than your best from yesterday.  Without momentum, we are all subject to gravity and gravity is a heavy weight to bear.  If something is worth having, it is worth working towards.  Believe in your goals, have faith it your abilities, understand it will be a struggle and know it will take time.  There is no easy button for success.

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.

I have been fortunate in life in that I have been given the opportunity to have worn many hats.  Having a broad level of experiences in life has given my personality a great deal of depth.  I have always been a marketer in some role or another.  One of these marketing roles was that of an entertainer, in which I marketed what would become my signature brand of “fun, joy and ease" as a singer and dancer.  One of the shows I was involved with featured a song from Disney’s Cinderella in which I sang these words:

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true.

Now it might have been my immaturity at that time, but the meaning of those words was lost in the duty of having to sing them.  I had no understanding of what I was signing, I was just singing.  Possibly due to repetition, those words found a place to hide out away in my memory until I had enough life experiences to fully understand the value of the lesson to be learned. 

Thankfully, the day came when I have had enough life experiences to understand the value of lesson to be learned.  The moment occurred when I was trying to entertain the boredom of my some of my younger Sister Queens, as we awaited our appearance in the King Tree Parade at the Florida Forestry Festival.  Like magic, the words to this song rolled of my lips and the culmination of this song’s meaning and my life experiences intersected.

It takes faith, belief, heartache and time to make a dream come true and for it to be yours to keep.  Nothing in life that has been handed to me seems to hold its value and I often take it for granted.  The achievements in life that I had to earn are the most precious to me.  There seems to be an equation for success in my life.  The more blood, sweat and tears effort towards attainment, the greater the value of the accomplishment.  It takes courage to suffer failure, heart to get back into the game, faith in your abilities to sustain your momentum and tenacity to endure until your dreams do come true.  Actual success is to be earned like an athlete training for success, not dropped in your lap like the winnings of a lottery.

When working with Automotive Management, Service and Sale Staff, inspire them to chase their dreams by pushing themselves to better at their best.  The best that you are today will only see you through this day.  Tomorrow, you have to continue the momentum forward and be better than your best from yesterday.  Without momentum, we are all subject to gravity and gravity is a heavy weight to bear.  If something is worth having, it is worth working towards.  Believe in your goals, have faith it your abilities, understand it will be a struggle and know it will take time.  There is no easy button for success.

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.

I love going out to dinner when the wait staff remembers me and greets me like a friend.  The looks on my guest’s faces are priceless!!!  Everywhere I go; it seems the red carpet is waiting on my arrival.   Even my friends are eager to join me because via association they too get special treatment.  So, how did I earn my VIP status?  It was easy.  I just started treating each person I meet as a friend.  I use their name in conversation.  I give them my attention when they speak.  I use polite words like "please" and "thank you".  I part company with a farewell and "see you again soon".

Want to be known as the dealership in town with the best customer service?  Then flip the script.  Treat the potential buyer like a friend and build a relationship.  A sale really is about creating that relationship before creating the sale.  It is hard to disregard someone and their needs and wants when you seem them as your equal, a person with needs and wants just like you.

Building a relationship is the key to building trust.  When you trust someone, you tend to trust them with your hard earned money during the sell.   When you trust someone, you tend to take their advice and value their opinions.  When you trust someone, you tend to listen to what they have to say and place value in their words.  When you trust some, you believe they have your best interest in mind.  Trust is part of the sales process.

Automotive sales staff recruiters should be looking for individuals who have the ability to form relationships.  Relationships are something we all can relate to.  We all have the experience of being in relationship, but good and bad.  Even though relationships tend to be a universal human experience, there are people who are just naturally better at forming relationship than others.  Relationship building is not often a talent someone will list on a resume, but can become a part of your interview discovery.

Even though forming relationships is a real concept that all people can relate to, salespeople can slip into the trap of seeing their customers as a task and not a person.  Automotive sales are not a point of sale, click it and forget it, here are the keys to your car transaction.  Successful dealerships understand there is even more income to gain after the sale.  Therefore management and sales performance training programs should have a focus on relationship building as one of the key ingredients to the sale.  Reinforce with both your sales staff and management team, that building long term relationships with each customer is not as much about being popular but about being successful beyond the achievements of today.

Your dealership does not need balloons, spot lights, red carpets or even velvet ropes to be the hottest spot in town.  Your dealership needs relationships to be seen as the VIP spot to purchase and service a vehicle. 

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.

I love going out to dinner when the wait staff remembers me and greets me like a friend.  The looks on my guest’s faces are priceless!!!  Everywhere I go; it seems the red carpet is waiting on my arrival.   Even my friends are eager to join me because via association they too get special treatment.  So, how did I earn my VIP status?  It was easy.  I just started treating each person I meet as a friend.  I use their name in conversation.  I give them my attention when they speak.  I use polite words like "please" and "thank you".  I part company with a farewell and "see you again soon".

Want to be known as the dealership in town with the best customer service?  Then flip the script.  Treat the potential buyer like a friend and build a relationship.  A sale really is about creating that relationship before creating the sale.  It is hard to disregard someone and their needs and wants when you seem them as your equal, a person with needs and wants just like you.

Building a relationship is the key to building trust.  When you trust someone, you tend to trust them with your hard earned money during the sell.   When you trust someone, you tend to take their advice and value their opinions.  When you trust someone, you tend to listen to what they have to say and place value in their words.  When you trust some, you believe they have your best interest in mind.  Trust is part of the sales process.

Automotive sales staff recruiters should be looking for individuals who have the ability to form relationships.  Relationships are something we all can relate to.  We all have the experience of being in relationship, but good and bad.  Even though relationships tend to be a universal human experience, there are people who are just naturally better at forming relationship than others.  Relationship building is not often a talent someone will list on a resume, but can become a part of your interview discovery.

Even though forming relationships is a real concept that all people can relate to, salespeople can slip into the trap of seeing their customers as a task and not a person.  Automotive sales are not a point of sale, click it and forget it, here are the keys to your car transaction.  Successful dealerships understand there is even more income to gain after the sale.  Therefore management and sales performance training programs should have a focus on relationship building as one of the key ingredients to the sale.  Reinforce with both your sales staff and management team, that building long term relationships with each customer is not as much about being popular but about being successful beyond the achievements of today.

Your dealership does not need balloons, spot lights, red carpets or even velvet ropes to be the hottest spot in town.  Your dealership needs relationships to be seen as the VIP spot to purchase and service a vehicle. 

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.

Each year, I make the pilgrimage from coast to coast to spend time with my family.  It is a journey I greatly anticipate as I find myself not only home sick, but in need of family time after a few months away.  I eagerly anticipate my work day to end and the voyage to begin with a dash to the airport.  This delight usually melts away like a snowman standing in the sun by the time I make it to the TSA security check point.

This year, I found an odd peace had settled over seasonal travel.  The airport was abuzz with first class treatment for all. It began at the airline counter with a holiday pass for a slightly overweight bag.  The TSA officers had smiles on their faces and preformed their tedious job like caring humans and not sheep herders.  The flight crew was not only helpful but cheery and humorous in performing their duties.  Even my carry-on bag received first class service when the pilot found a substitute for the overhead bins packed with goodies and gifts.  Suddenly, I felt like I was in a modern day version of it is a “Wonderful Life.”  This spirit of caring became so contagious, that I found myself joining in with other travelers as we sang to pass time and shared snacks during the long layovers.

Caring is not something that can be scripted or even put into words in a sales training manual.  Unscripted caring is cultured in the work environment.  When Automotive Management practices unscripted caring, there should also add this behavior to their sales performance training.    Just look at companies like Amazon and Zappos who have created an atmosphere with the “right” attitude for converting the mundane and making it exciting.  Cultivation this experience is what moves your products/services from ordinary to an extraordinary experiences that keeps your consumer coming back for more!   Interestingly, caring really does not take much additional effort or dollars to in order to create a huge impact.

Imagine what little things you can do to boost the value of the products and services your sell.  How would those little deeds of kindness motivate your buyers to shorten the sales cycle?  What would your work place be like if your staff and customers alike were untroubled and energized about doing business with each other?  In a market that has become so competitive and where every dollar seems to count, unscripted caring is the fine line between struggling for success and actually achieving success.

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.

Each year, I make the pilgrimage from coast to coast to spend time with my family.  It is a journey I greatly anticipate as I find myself not only home sick, but in need of family time after a few months away.  I eagerly anticipate my work day to end and the voyage to begin with a dash to the airport.  This delight usually melts away like a snowman standing in the sun by the time I make it to the TSA security check point.

This year, I found an odd peace had settled over seasonal travel.  The airport was abuzz with first class treatment for all. It began at the airline counter with a holiday pass for a slightly overweight bag.  The TSA officers had smiles on their faces and preformed their tedious job like caring humans and not sheep herders.  The flight crew was not only helpful but cheery and humorous in performing their duties.  Even my carry-on bag received first class service when the pilot found a substitute for the overhead bins packed with goodies and gifts.  Suddenly, I felt like I was in a modern day version of it is a “Wonderful Life.”  This spirit of caring became so contagious, that I found myself joining in with other travelers as we sang to pass time and shared snacks during the long layovers.

Caring is not something that can be scripted or even put into words in a sales training manual.  Unscripted caring is cultured in the work environment.  When Automotive Management practices unscripted caring, there should also add this behavior to their sales performance training.    Just look at companies like Amazon and Zappos who have created an atmosphere with the “right” attitude for converting the mundane and making it exciting.  Cultivation this experience is what moves your products/services from ordinary to an extraordinary experiences that keeps your consumer coming back for more!   Interestingly, caring really does not take much additional effort or dollars to in order to create a huge impact.

Imagine what little things you can do to boost the value of the products and services your sell.  How would those little deeds of kindness motivate your buyers to shorten the sales cycle?  What would your work place be like if your staff and customers alike were untroubled and energized about doing business with each other?  In a market that has become so competitive and where every dollar seems to count, unscripted caring is the fine line between struggling for success and actually achieving success.

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.

"Deliver on your ideas.  Nothing silences critics like success.  Raise the bar for yourself and project a greater vision for those around you.”  When Tony Paragas shared this statement with me, I felt challenged to seize the moment and share a sales performance training strategy for success that I have been undertaking now for over a decade.  Being authentic might not always be popular, but it has dramatically altered my personal and professional life for the better.  Hopefully what I have to share can impact your life as well.

Which is more important, being right or being real?  I see examples several times a day of individuals committed to being so right, that they lose sight of being real.  Losing sight of being real is a dangerous path.  Not being real becomes a downward spiral into a space that leaves you out of touch with reality.  How often do you see people so obsessed with “rightness;” having the “right” answer, doing the “right” thing, acting the “right” way, winning arguments to prove how “right” they are, etc. that they get side tracked from the real issue at hand.  It is not only impossible to be right all the time, it's exhausting, stressful and all around not fun for anyone involved.  Even an illusionist can have a hard time keeping up the illusion...just ask Houdini.

When you find yourself needing to be right, ask yourself what is really going on.  Check into your emotions.  Usually there is some level of being vulnerable that you are trying to avoid.  Being right seems like the easier path than being real.  You might discover when you self-investigate that being right is actually a roadblock on your pathway to success.  What do you gain by being right?  What are you losing by not being real?  How is being right leading you away from accomplishing what is really your goal?

Being authentic is where the magic is.  It gives you access to real power, freedom and connection in your life.  Those who interact with you will be able to tell the difference.  Individuals that you do business with, will find it less challenging to engage with you, giving you credibility and access to their trust and their interest in what you have to offer.  If we stay focused on being right all the time, we will win some and lose some, but ultimately will lack the ability to achieve beyond our expectations.  Being real verses being right is the difference between a professional and an amateur.

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.

"Deliver on your ideas.  Nothing silences critics like success.  Raise the bar for yourself and project a greater vision for those around you.”  When Tony Paragas shared this statement with me, I felt challenged to seize the moment and share a sales performance training strategy for success that I have been undertaking now for over a decade.  Being authentic might not always be popular, but it has dramatically altered my personal and professional life for the better.  Hopefully what I have to share can impact your life as well.

Which is more important, being right or being real?  I see examples several times a day of individuals committed to being so right, that they lose sight of being real.  Losing sight of being real is a dangerous path.  Not being real becomes a downward spiral into a space that leaves you out of touch with reality.  How often do you see people so obsessed with “rightness;” having the “right” answer, doing the “right” thing, acting the “right” way, winning arguments to prove how “right” they are, etc. that they get side tracked from the real issue at hand.  It is not only impossible to be right all the time, it's exhausting, stressful and all around not fun for anyone involved.  Even an illusionist can have a hard time keeping up the illusion...just ask Houdini.

When you find yourself needing to be right, ask yourself what is really going on.  Check into your emotions.  Usually there is some level of being vulnerable that you are trying to avoid.  Being right seems like the easier path than being real.  You might discover when you self-investigate that being right is actually a roadblock on your pathway to success.  What do you gain by being right?  What are you losing by not being real?  How is being right leading you away from accomplishing what is really your goal?

Being authentic is where the magic is.  It gives you access to real power, freedom and connection in your life.  Those who interact with you will be able to tell the difference.  Individuals that you do business with, will find it less challenging to engage with you, giving you credibility and access to their trust and their interest in what you have to offer.  If we stay focused on being right all the time, we will win some and lose some, but ultimately will lack the ability to achieve beyond our expectations.  Being real verses being right is the difference between a professional and an amateur.

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.

Sometimes our focus on growing profits can lead us to make decisions that have us working harder and not smarter. For example, cutting corners in regards to recruiting and training sales personnel. The fear of loss of investment if the employee leaves, can spiral into an evolving sales team in which more and more members lack the necessary skills to increase profits.

The best resource for improving your investment in personnel is a smart automotive sales staff recruiting coupled with a sales performance training program. Dealerships that have accepted that attrition is part of the retail sales process have developed a 90-day or more often if needed recruiting program. This program is designed to replace those salespeople who have left or are no longer productive. A recruiting campaign should be coupled with a fundamental sales training program. Automotive Fundamental Sales Training is not the end-all-be-all, but it should lay down a solid foundation for on-going development of salespeople to occur.

When recruiting salespeople, make sure you provide a clear and attractive pay plan. The motto “You Get What You Pay For” rings true when recruiting quality salespeople. If you want the best of the best, the fairly deserve from you the best of the best. In your job postings, proudly display the benefits of working with your organization along with expected income amounts. The little bit extra taken from profits to pay the people creating your profits, is dramatically cheaper than paying a price tag to recruit new people who have yet to affect your profit margins.

Sales teams need and deserve the opportunity for on-going training, even intensive programs from time to time. Keeping them up to date on policies and current best practices, will keep your staff fully equipped to increase profits, have strong customer service skills and maintain a positive work ethic. Unfortunately, the value of training on a regular basis is highly under-rated by most managers because it appears to be time consuming, but there are few things as demotivating to a salesperson than to be given a task and not have the right tools to produce the expected outcome. Would you expect your service department to be able to repair a car if you took away their tool boxes?

A sales team requires strong leadership to be successful. Evaluate your existing management to determine if your dealership profits are being driven by leaders or bosses (See The Difference Between a Boss and a Leader). Bosses should be replaced with leaders using a separate management recruitment program. Leaders are team players that form complementary roles with your sales team to deliver on the collective goals of your organization. Leaders should be evaluated to ensure they are provided reasonable expectations for the team that they lead. Expectations that your team should be doing more than they are reasonably required to perform over a long period of time will lead to upset. The game is not win at all cost, the game is to lead at all cost so that winning becomes a natural part of the culture.

Invest in your people and not only will you limit turn-over, but you will effectively influence your ROI and increase profit margins!

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.

Sometimes our focus on growing profits can lead us to make decisions that have us working harder and not smarter. For example, cutting corners in regards to recruiting and training sales personnel. The fear of loss of investment if the employee leaves, can spiral into an evolving sales team in which more and more members lack the necessary skills to increase profits.

The best resource for improving your investment in personnel is a smart automotive sales staff recruiting coupled with a sales performance training program. Dealerships that have accepted that attrition is part of the retail sales process have developed a 90-day or more often if needed recruiting program. This program is designed to replace those salespeople who have left or are no longer productive. A recruiting campaign should be coupled with a fundamental sales training program. Automotive Fundamental Sales Training is not the end-all-be-all, but it should lay down a solid foundation for on-going development of salespeople to occur.

When recruiting salespeople, make sure you provide a clear and attractive pay plan. The motto “You Get What You Pay For” rings true when recruiting quality salespeople. If you want the best of the best, the fairly deserve from you the best of the best. In your job postings, proudly display the benefits of working with your organization along with expected income amounts. The little bit extra taken from profits to pay the people creating your profits, is dramatically cheaper than paying a price tag to recruit new people who have yet to affect your profit margins.

Sales teams need and deserve the opportunity for on-going training, even intensive programs from time to time. Keeping them up to date on policies and current best practices, will keep your staff fully equipped to increase profits, have strong customer service skills and maintain a positive work ethic. Unfortunately, the value of training on a regular basis is highly under-rated by most managers because it appears to be time consuming, but there are few things as demotivating to a salesperson than to be given a task and not have the right tools to produce the expected outcome. Would you expect your service department to be able to repair a car if you took away their tool boxes?

A sales team requires strong leadership to be successful. Evaluate your existing management to determine if your dealership profits are being driven by leaders or bosses (See The Difference Between a Boss and a Leader). Bosses should be replaced with leaders using a separate management recruitment program. Leaders are team players that form complementary roles with your sales team to deliver on the collective goals of your organization. Leaders should be evaluated to ensure they are provided reasonable expectations for the team that they lead. Expectations that your team should be doing more than they are reasonably required to perform over a long period of time will lead to upset. The game is not win at all cost, the game is to lead at all cost so that winning becomes a natural part of the culture.

Invest in your people and not only will you limit turn-over, but you will effectively influence your ROI and increase profit margins!

Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.