Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tim Pendergast on August 24, 2010 at 12:56pm

I give all of my salespeople a printed list of their responsibility's to start with! Every morning I am here waiting for them to show up. We go over the day before, and what they have planned for the day. We discuss deals that we made and deals we lost. It is an open discussion so everyone can chime in. We also do save a deal, If a salesperson has a deal for more than three days we pass them around to another salesperson. This helps them see how someone else works the same customer. Our sales meeting so to speak is every Friday morning an hour before we open No distractions this way! We supply breakfast and do all different types of training. Role playing, walk arounds, negotiation, collecting down money, pretty much anything that can come up in a deal, We end meeting with 15 minutes of open discussion, this can be on problems, attitudes any topic is open. I believe this helps our people feel like they have mental ownership in the store. I rarely have to ask them to move lot or park cars. They just do it. One last thing, When I interview a new salesperson I also have them talk with the other salespeople in the store, this way for the most part all our people work as a team. We are a small lease her pay her store. But we have been running 60 to 70 a month since we installed these systems. We are now looking for a 4th salesperson to get help us get to that magic 90 to 100 number. Interviewed 8 people so far, not one has made it to second interview. one more week and then I guess i will have to call Craig Lockerd! The days of going from store to store to store are pretty much over.

aaron kominsky said:

aaron kominsky said:

Craig Lockerd said:

agreed....now the challenge is....how do you get the "check signer" to make that investment? I mean how much pain do they need to go through till they understand?

Bill Harrell said:

A salesperson is a mirror of his mentor or managing partner. I have said this time and time again, If you have average in house managers you get below average salespeople. I think instead of training the sales staff, you as trainers start with training the managers. This has been a snowball effect for the last few years. Good people move up, but in order to move up they have to find a replacement. They look for a 10 to 12 a month salesperson instead of an 18 to 25 a month salesperson because they do not want to lose his or her volume. So we end up with average or below managers. Which intell leads to below average salespeople. The easy thing to do is blow the below average out, the right thing to do is look in the mirror and ask yourself how did I fell with this salesperson.

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on August 24, 2010 at 6:13pm

Good job Tim and thanks for the "props" on needing AutoMax perhaps in the future...keep your people engaged,working as a team,"save a deal"...I love it!

Tim Pendergast said:

I give all of my salespeople a printed list of their responsibility's to start with! Every morning I am here waiting for them to show up. We go over the day before, and what they have planned for the day. We discuss deals that we made and deals we lost. It is an open discussion so everyone can chime in. We also do save a deal, If a salesperson has a deal for more than three days we pass them around to another salesperson. This helps them see how someone else works the same customer. Our sales meeting so to speak is every Friday morning an hour before we open No distractions this way! We supply breakfast and do all different types of training. Role playing, walk arounds, negotiation, collecting down money, pretty much anything that can come up in a deal, We end meeting with 15 minutes of open discussion, this can be on problems, attitudes any topic is open. I believe this helps our people feel like they have mental ownership in the store. I rarely have to ask them to move lot or park cars. They just do it. One last thing, When I interview a new salesperson I also have them talk with the other salespeople in the store, this way for the most part all our people work as a team. We are a small lease her pay her store. But we have been running 60 to 70 a month since we installed these systems. We are now looking for a 4th salesperson to get help us get to that magic 90 to 100 number. Interviewed 8 people so far, not one has made it to second interview. one more week and then I guess i will have to call Craig Lockerd! The days of going from store to store to store are pretty much over.

aaron kominsky said:

aaron kominsky said:

Craig Lockerd said:

agreed....now the challenge is....how do you get the "check signer" to make that investment? I mean how much pain do they need to go through till they understand?

Bill Harrell said:

A salesperson is a mirror of his mentor or managing partner. I have said this time and time again, If you have average in house managers you get below average salespeople. I think instead of training the sales staff, you as trainers start with training the managers. This has been a snowball effect for the last few years. Good people move up, but in order to move up they have to find a replacement. They look for a 10 to 12 a month salesperson instead of an 18 to 25 a month salesperson because they do not want to lose his or her volume. So we end up with average or below managers. Which intell leads to below average salespeople. The easy thing to do is blow the below average out, the right thing to do is look in the mirror and ask yourself how did I fell with this salesperson.

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on August 24, 2010 at 6:15pm

well you need to break it down to them,thats for sure

Bill Harrell said:

In my opinion, the check signer only comprehends through his money. If you were to sit in front of the signer, I bet you would here. But Craig I am already spending all the money I can on advertising etc... to get the customers here. If they can't get the job done I will find somebody who can. If I could show you, the signer a way to take 10,000.00 of your ad budget and make it 50,000.00 by showing his current staff the right way to do business, wouldn't you agree this is the right investment? Find out when his advertising hits be there for the sale take a group of average producers help catch the ups show them the right way to close a deal. You my friend will be the signers investment for life. I do this with my direct mail every weekend. I catch ups, I take turns , I pencil deals. One because I love the car business, and two I want to make sure their success is my success.

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on August 24, 2010 at 6:17pm

Amen to the one on ones....how about "teams"...shifts,coaching,training each day each shift?...CONSTANT one on ones!!!!

Jeff Johnson said:

Outstanding Tom. Thank you. I believe that turnover is directly related to the desk managers. You don't see alot of one on one anymore.

Thomas (Tom) Wiegand said:

When you look at businesses and look at our country, don’t they kind of match up? We’ve been sucked up into a WIIFM culture, where God, community, others are all irrelevant to the “me” wants and needs. The first law of leadership I look for in hiring and retaining the best people is ‘Character’. I’ll be clear here: “good moral, virtuous, honorable character.” Unfortunately, when we look at the examples of our country’s leaders can we find any, if but a few, with “good moral, virtuous, honorable character”, standing up for and protecting our 1st Amendment rights? This mirrors why we must be steadfast in not hiring what we recognize as ‘vice character traits’. As a certified professional coach, I find it irresponsible for managers and trainers to make inaccurate accusations and hiring and firing assumptions about people that can’t and shouldn’t be hired or retained, such as those with ‘attitude’ issues, or ‘lacking confidence’, or ‘self-worth’. Did you know that a study recently completed by the ‘California Task Force for Personal and Social Responsibility’ stated: “80% of people are hurt by words. Research shows that only 20% of children and adults are able to handle put downs without emotional pain and psychological damage.” So, let’s be clear here. What you are all trying to do here is find needles in haystacks, with only 20% of us wearing bullet-proof vests protecting (or disguising) our hurt from within the quote: “…but words will never hurt me!” Horse....! Words hurt and this study is alarmingly telling! You give me someone of virtuous character and low self-esteem and I’ll coach the leader in them to be all they can become. You give me someone of virtuous character and a down-attitude (even an attitude of glass half-empty), and I’ll coach the leader in them to convert their glass to half-full. When you hire someone with virtuous character you are already assured you hired a winner, yet like all, these people need love and positive coaching to bring out and lift up the best in them. Throughout history, people of virtuous character are always the ones that make positive differences in others lives and in the world. Can you name one with vice character flaws that ever made a positive difference in the world? I’ll take everyone with virtuous character over any egotistical WIIFM world-view person any day. Doing what we’ve always done, expecting different results is insane, right? Well, “80% of people hurt by words” in our U.S.A. tells me it is time to stop this culture of death negativity and reverse course! That 80/20 statistic should scare any of you. It needs reversing. And it starts with me and you making absolutely certain we are making a positive difference in every life we encounter, in our every word, in our every deed; in the virtuous character example we set and build up in others. Hire people of virtuous character, "train to coach" them with all the love, dignity, respect and professionalism they deserve (and more) and help develop the leader in each of them, and we'll look back someday and say: "we made a positive difference in bettering our world within our virtuous character leadership." I know businesses out there practicing virtuous character hiring and retaining. They tend not to be hiring for the sake of hiring, but for fitting in to virtuous character traits of a virtuous team. You see, vice character traits are always the negatives that divide and pull down, put down and disrupt, that causes the chaos circle to expand that causes hiring and firing to never cease. Are we part of the problem or part of the solution? Hire and retain people with virtuous character!

Permalink Reply by Wendell Hardy on August 24, 2010 at 9:41pm

Most dealerships make a 1/2 ass attempt at "forcasting" results. I really believe that the managers do this "exercise" to just make upper management, or the dealer happy."Look BOSS, I'm doing MY job as a MANAGER!" Most managers never look at the forcast again until the end of the month/the next forcast.. A forcast needs to be reviewed weekly. Are your forcasts "real?" If there is a salesperson that states they are going to sell 20 units this month..what is the 1st question that should be asked?? My question is always based on a few things..They start with HOW? How many customers do you need to talk to daily based on your closing %. How many days are you going to work this month? How are you going increase your up count,How are you going to increase your demos, How are you going to increase your write ups, How are you going to increase your closing %?
The car business is a #'s game..period and end of conversation.

If a manager is not managing the "customer/ salesperson"..then the store is doomed. Managers don't manage the customer on the lot..they "manage" the salesperson helping those customers. In my humble opinion!

The only time that anyone needs to be "turned around" is when they have been ignored and thown to the "sharks" to sink or swim. If a salesperson/manager is held accountable DAILY, there is NEVER a time that they need to be turned around(unless they don't have the heart for the business)...people want direction and to be led! How can anyone assume that they are doing the job..if they are not told what the "job" is?? Most will fail without a job discription that explains what is required to keep the position.

What if a salesperson fails??
Hire slow..do your research, and have more than one interview. Find the "heart" of the person..is there passion and a will to WIN?? Challenge them before hiring them!!
I have seen a ton of people give a GREAT interview..but fall into the "coffee club" quickly! Shame on the person that hired that person, to allow that. TRAIN..TRAIN..TRAIN... Not just on "what to do"..but as important.."what NOT to do!" I have ALWAYS taken it personally when a salesperson fails! I NEVER question what "they" did wrong! I ask the question "what did I do wrong, and how did I fail them!"
Just my .02c --- Wendell
What's acceptable, is "what's allowed!"..The speed of the TROOPS is based on the speed of the GENERAL!
I wrote this based on the questions..so it is broken up with no real "flow"..but to lazy to re-write it! Sorry Craig..But such a great post on your part!

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on August 24, 2010 at 10:44pm

No need to be sorry I love it!

Wendell Hardy said:

Most dealerships make a 1/2 ass attempt at "forcasting" results. I really believe that the managers do this "exercise" to just make upper management, or the dealer happy."Look BOSS, I'm doing MY job as a MANAGER!" Most managers never look at the forcast again until the end of the month/the next forcast.. A forcast needs to be reviewed weekly. Are your forcasts "real?" If there is a salesperson that states they are going to sell 20 units this month..what is the 1st question that should be asked?? My question is always based on a few things..They start with HOW? How many customers do you need to talk to daily based on your closing %. How many days are you going to work this month? How are you going increase your up count,How are you going to increase your demos, How are you going to increase your write ups, How are you going to increase your closing %?
The car business is a #'s game..period and end of conversation.

If a manager is not managing the "customer/ salesperson"..then the store is doomed. Managers don't manage the customer on the lot..they "manage" the salesperson helping those customers. In my humble opinion!

The only time that anyone needs to be "turned around" is when they have been ignored and thown to the "sharks" to sink or swim. If a salesperson/manager is held accountable DAILY, there is NEVER a time that they need to be turned around(unless they don't have the heart for the business)...people want direction and to be led! How can anyone assume that they are doing the job..if they are not told what the "job" is?? Most will fail without a job discription that explains what is required to keep the position.

What if a salesperson fails??
Hire slow..do your research, and have more than one interview. Find the "heart" of the person..is there passion and a will to WIN?? Challenge them before hiring them!!
I have seen a ton of people give a GREAT interview..but fall into the "coffee club" quickly! Shame on the person that hired that person, to allow that. TRAIN..TRAIN..TRAIN... Not just on "what to do"..but as important.."what NOT to do!" I have ALWAYS taken it personally when a salesperson fails! I NEVER question what "they" did wrong! I ask the question "what did I do wrong, and how did I fail them!"
Just my .02c --- Wendell
What's acceptable, is "what's allowed!"..The speed of the TROOPS is based on the speed of the GENERAL!
I wrote this based on the questions..so it is broken up with no real "flow"..but to lazy to re-write it! Sorry Craig..But such a great post on your part!

Permalink Reply by gene diehm on August 24, 2010 at 10:50pm

How often should daily training be? Every contact a manger has with a salesperson, is a training opportunity. i have some very strong opinions about this exact situation. managers have to be carefull, once the "play" has been run, not to correct or discipline the saleperson during live action. second, if the manager is behind the desk he is pushing. If the manager is on the salesmans side of the desk he is leading. Salespeople
need to be led not pushed. Pushing builds resentment, anger, depression and death.

Very few and i mean very few, salespeople have a daily work plan in place that would allow them to even come close to succeding. And, quite frankly most of those front line managers were average salesmen themselves at best. I do not believe the average manager has the people skill or the fundamental knowledge to design a workplan to enable the salesperson to grow, because he has little or no professional training himself.

The quickest and most cost effective solution is two fold paradigm shift from event driven
store to management driven store. Mandatory daily training for the manager first, and then the salesperson every day without fail. Reduce advertising budgets and require managers and salespeople to become responsible for themselves instead of relying on a large volume of trafick that we butcher 80 percent of to produce a 20 percent result.

Put your ego's back in your pocket, Self generated customers close at a rate of 67% and pay higher gross. Start managing the activity that creates the RIGHT RESULT...not the easy result. Stop making excuses, and do your job.

The quickest most dead bang best solution? call me at 260 460 7950....i will come to your dealership personally and put it in place for you! most sincerely.
gene f diehm cst.

Craig Lockerd said:

Well there is no question about that Gene...so what's the answer then?....What can WE do?

gene diehm said:

Dude it starts with manager. A manager thats a 5 or 6 can never handle a salesman thats a 7 or 8 let a lone a 9 or10. manager lacks credibility, and will never succeed with salespeople that have no respect for him in that position. Under performing salespeople?
Ususally stars with underperforming manager. Dont get me started......

Permalink Reply by Terry Gibson on August 26, 2010 at 12:01pm

Hiring salespeople is a time consuming and costly exercise, so it's important to get it right and keep it right. Unfortunately, not all salespeople are equal and managing poor performers is a common (and stressful) problem for many businesses, no matter what their size.

There are many reasons why sales people stop selling and why some just don't work out and it's usually not the ones that they are telling you. Personally, I think the main reason salespeople fail to perform are due to lack of direction and little to no accountability. Salespeople, no matter how professional or how experienced need direction and need and expect accountability.

Salespeople can be your best asset or your worst asset depending on how you manage them. If you have a salesperson that is not performing, here are some reasons that might shed some light on the situation:

All care, no responsibility.

This is where you as the Manager or Business Owner don't take responsibility for the success of your sales person and you simply dump everything into your salesperson's lap, hoping they will miraculously turn things around. You provide no leadership or support to the salesperson - just set and forget which is an extremely risky thing to do. I see this a lot in smaller businesses where the owner has little to no interest in sales or salespeople. If you employ salespeople, you need to be ask questions, be interested and be involved.

The Business Saviour.

Many business owners secretly hope that a salesperson will be the answer to their prayers; the saviour who will quickly start generating sales and increasing profits. While a good salesperson can make an enormous difference, it won't happen overnight. You still need to invest considerable time and resources to market your company and to manage and develop your salespeople.

Not communicating expectations.

Salespeople need direction and they need to know exactly what is expected of them. Unfortunately, many Owners and Managers fail to communicate expectations clearly to their salespeople. When that happens, it's common for salespeople to think they're doing fine, whilst the Manager/Owner sees them as under performing and starts to get very frustrated. Communicate expectations (also known as KPI's, key performance indicators) in writing from day one. Setting KPI's on sales activities, customer meetings & networking events in addition to sales revenue, will ensure that sales remain consistent month to month.

Lack of Accountability.

When you are reliant on your salespeople to generate sales, why would you risk your business by not knowing how much and when the sales will come in? Holding a weekly team meeting to discuss the sales pipeline and sales activity is a simple way to introduce accountability. If your salespeople aren't making sales at least your aware of it and can do something about it. Don't wait until it's too late. At the beginning of each month, have a performance review with each individual salesperson and discuss their performance for the previous month against expectations. If you have poorly performing salespeople, ask them to achieve specific revenue targets or tasks within a specified time frame. It will help you know whether to keep them or get rid of them.

Remember, if no-one cares what the salesperson is doing or whether they are making sales, why would they?

Hiring the wrong type of salesperson

There are two types of salespeople: those who can win new business (Business Development Manager or Hunter) and those who grow existing accounts (Account Manager or Farmer).

Most businesses want to employ salespeople who can generate new business, because they're already good at developing relationships with current clients. They want the type of salesperson who can make cold calls, build new relationships, and close a deal with a new client. This is much harder to do, requires different skills and has higher salary expectations.Be clear on what you want your salespeople to do so you can match the skills, experience and salary accordingly. If your salesperson isn't selling, ask them what they have done in the last month to add to the sales pipeline and generate sales. This is where the majority of mistakes are made with salespeople - hiring an account manager find and close new business sales. They rarely have the desire or the skills to do so.

How much is enough?

Coming up with a fair and equitable commission scheme that works for everyone can be challenging. Giving away too much, too easily can make salespeople lazy and lose their hunger (not to mention frustrate the business owner or manager). Others can be too stingy or hard to achieve which does nothing to attract or keep the best performers. Remember, salespeople that win new business should be paid more than those who manage existing accounts. A commission scheme with an emphasis on commission rather than just a base salary will help to retain, reward and motivate 'hunters' whereas the security of a higher base salary will retain, reward and motivate 'farmers'

Poor marketing and tools to support the salesperson.

Study after study shows that having a single approach to sales (such as cold-calling) won't work on its own. Salespeople need solid marketing collateral, messages and campaigns that get prospects interested to meet with them. A well-ranked & effective website, email marketing and social media are great tools to generate leads that are completely free. They also need training and a solid understanding of the services and benefits you offer. The more time you spend training them and supporting them with marketing efforts, the quicker you will see them succeed.

Permalink Reply by Ernie Kasprowicz on August 26, 2010 at 8:41pm

Reject 1. put aside, send back, turn down 2. refuse to accept or believe in 3. rebuff or withhold affection for (a person) 4. thing or person rejected as unfit or below standard.

I find the comments within this discussion to have been helpful and insightful. I believe an overlooked hurdle on the road to retail automotive success is the ability to handle rejection. Yes, a burning desire to succeed combined with meaningful individual commitment goes a long way. Selling is a learned behavior. Practiced at it's best you find top performers.

Yet, how many otherwise first rate people with all the criteria we seek, fail to prosper? How does someone new to the business prepare for the rejection they undoubtedly will receive. How does a solid performer deal with rejection and not lose belief in themselves?

I believe it's one of the more difficult aspects that confront salespeople. Consider some of the forms of rejection faced: A person new to the business for the first time in their life will now be treated as a "car salesperson". O MY! Yesterday they were the neighbor next door, today.... How about spending hours with a prospect only do have that person say no, not going to purchase - rejection. Or, maybe the customer "buys" the car and the financing doesn't get approved - more rejection. Maybe the salesperson faces rejection from a well intended sales manager that perhaps expresses their displeasure in no uncertain terms in regard to how the salesperson has interacted during the process of working a sale. And last but probably not least, how about the rejection received by loved ones who aren't appreciative of the hours being wracked up weekly in pursuit of an income. These are but a few. But to be sure, significant.

I have found setting and working toward my goals to be one way to overcome the sting of rejection.

I am curious to know what people are doing to help new and existing salespeople, or even yourself, overcome rejection.

Permalink Reply by Stanley Esposito on August 27, 2010 at 2:35pm

This is the case in many stores. The Salesman takes on the personality of their manager Just like the dog takes on the personality of his owner. At my store many of our managers were top salesman with huge followings. These people still come in and buy from them. The management at my store thinks out of the box and it works. How many stores do you know that have more then half of their floor with 10 plus years of experience. People at other dealers aspire to work here. We have a great pay plan and a big inventory with credible managers with track records who can sell a car if they had to.

gene diehm said:Very few and i mean very few, salespeople have a daily work plan in place that would allow them to even come close to succeding. And, quite frankly most of those front line managers were average salesmen themselves at best. I do not believe the average manager has the people skill or the fundamental knowledge to design a workplan to enable the salesperson to grow, because he has little or no professional training himself.

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Craig Lockerd said:

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