Developing Standards

I am committed to never say a number is bad without providing processes to improve it. It amazes me that when people are trained on ways to improve and want to, how quickly the result goes to the next level. You must develop standards for your company and measure them against historical performance. Then compare your actual results against industry standards. It won't take long and your areas of needed improvement will show themselves. Whatever numbers you find need to improve create a new standard or goal to reach for. Ask yourself what is the best process your team can implement that will assure the result. Now start your journey to the next level and don't look back except to reflect and learn. Always invest in training and take time to learn best practices for your dealership and customers. Someone else might even have a better way to take care of the customer and be willing to share.

What is your take regarding training? Do you find that it is worth the time for your career? What feeling do you have when you complete training? Everyone has different philosophies regarding training and I would love to hear what everyone has to say.

Rob Gehring is the President of Fixed Performance
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Comment by Rob Gehring on April 5, 2011 at 7:07pm: Stephanie thanks for sharing the wisdom from your Grandmother! I would have loved chatting with her and listening to her stories. Please stay in touch and have a super day!

Comment by Stephanie Young on April 5, 2011 at 4:17pm: My Grandmother use to tell me when I was a young child and far more interested in recess than classroom activities, that the day you stop learning is the day you take your last breath. It is amazing now that I am an adult how wise my Grandmother has become. I never seem to be done learning. Today, I don’t call it going to school. I am now engaged with on-going education and training is just one element of this never ending learning cycle.

Like many managers, my schedule is packed full of things to do, but I always make room for on-going educational opportunities. These opportunities become the backbone not only for my professional and personal growth but the inspiration to keep the team that I manage alive and in the game. Learning is infectious when you can take what you learn and teach others.

In order to avoid sales team complacency, I take on the role of learning tour guide. I happen to be the Marketing Manager for The Manus Group, who works with a sales team that is no different than the majority of sales teams out there. They only want leads that are hot, developed and ready to make a decision. In my role as educational tour guide, I like to play what I call the Marketing Game. I take something I have learned and start asking leading “what if” questions. “What if …..? What would that be like? What would need to happen to make that a reality?” I then sit back and listen before I share about my new secret “thing” I learned about and how it could be the access point for making those “What ifs” a reality. Then I ask for their assistance. Learning has now become infectious because they are enrolled in something they can relate to and have a stake in.

My next tour as the learning guide is my fellow Managers. Managers like stats and numbers they can line up and compare while watching profit margins grow. Another seed of wisdom from my Grandmother, a problem is only a problem if there is a solution otherwise it is just a complaint. I agree that a “bad” number is only bad if there is no follow through as to why, how and what can be done to resolve this concern. Therefore, I bring historical stats to our management team and start with leading “what if” questions. “What if….? What would that look like for our organization? Can you imagine the ROI?” I then sit back and listen before I share with them the new “thing” I learned about. Once again, learning has become infections as the management is enrolled in something they can see happening.

Like any competitive game, keeping and comparing stats is vital. You can compare historical with new data. You can compare month to month, year to year or even week to week. You can compare and compare and compare and no matter what the numbers demonstrate, there will always be more room improvement and a new learning curve will be put to the test. For those that are enrolled with an opportunity, comparing will only generate their own “What if?” questions and a new possibility. Learning then becomes a living breathing entity in your organization and access to greater and greater growth.