How low will you go?? - Minimum acceptable standards

Does your organization have minimum acceptable standards…for your salespeople and Managers??

Standards… that are the very least amount that is acceptable…and still retain your job?

Now…every good organization has goals and aspirations…

And every good organization… has the statistics on what the benchmark numbers are and what the average numbers are…

But do they have minimum standards…that all employees must adhere to??

Let me give you a couple of examples…

Let’s say you have a Salesperson selling new and pre-owned vehicles…

Nationwide…the average amount of vehicles sold per salesperson ranges from 8 to 10 vehicles per month…

You have given this salesperson all of the training…motivation…and inspiration… you can possibly give them…

But they cannot sell more than 4 vehicles per month??

Why do organizations keep them…if they cannot perform their jobs??

Or what about a service advisor…after all…they are salespeople too…

What if they can’t meet the minimum standards of hours per repair order…or dollars per repair order…

What are the minimum amount of “upsales” that are required over a month’s period of time??

How about your management team??

What are their minimums???

Total sales??

Average gross per sale??

A percentage of increase in business??

And is there minimum acceptable Customer Satisfaction numbers…required for continued employment??

This is why an organization needs to develop…minimum acceptable standards…within the frame of their pay plans…

The minimum standards perform a couple of tasks…

Number one…it clearly states to the person…what the minimum standards are…to remain in your organization…

Number two…with the standards in place…and a constant review of the employee…there will be no surprises when we have to eventually let this person go…

Number three…the standards will not discriminate…between race…religion…or gender…it is simply the minimum amount that is acceptable over a certain period of time…

It plays no favorites… is completely black and white…and easy to understand…

The minimum standards… should be just that…the minimum that is required to remain in your organization…

It provides… just the right amount of pressure to perform…

And are clear and easy to understand…

It is very important to share all of the pertinent numbers with your people…

So that they have an understanding of how the organization has set the minimum standards…to where they are…

The employee needs to see what the industry average numbers are…and what the best of the best are able to do…the benchmark numbers…

Only by sharing and explaining…what your minimum standards are…and how the organization derived those numbers…

Can the employee then know… what the responsibilities…and requirements… of the job are…

These minimums must be reviewed on an ongoing basis…to make sure that they are fair …and timely….

Minimum acceptable Standards…isn’t it time you had them???

To see a video of this blog, please go to the following link:

Jim Kristoff Video - Minimum acceptable standards

About the Author: With 30 years in the retail Automotive Industry, from a Salesperson to a Dealer, I have a vast amount of experience in all areas of the automotive environment.

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Comment by Stephanie Young on August 16, 2011 at 12:03pm: I was a high school teacher in my early twenties. Being the new kid on the block, I was given two classes out of five that were "at risk" students. High school students don't usually relish in the idea of math class and "at risk" kids seem to see math as a total waste of their time. The challenge was to bring these students up to a standard set by the state of California so they could graduate. Being a bit like Peter Pan, I like to play games. The game I created for myself and my students was a bit like limbo. I would set the bar for the minimum standard and once they got close, I would move the standard. Over the course of a year, not only did they meet the standard set by the state of California and graduated, some of them even exceeded the standard and went on to college. Lesson learned, never settle for the minimum standard....always be moving the standard for what is acceptable to what is possible.

Comment by Jim Kristoff on August 16, 2011 at 11:16am: Amen to that Bobby!

Process IS the key to success!!

Comment by Jim Kristoff on August 16, 2011 at 10:51am: Thank you Tony!

All too often Dealers let "5 car Fred" keep his job because he goes and picks up lunch for the managers....

Comment by Tony Provost on August 16, 2011 at 10:46am: jim- Camp is in session!!! How about having tryouts once a quarter? Each quarter they build points. total vehicles sold. total gross made. how many write-ups. WRITE-UPS-TO-SOLD-UNITS. Service walks to ups taken. Walkarounds to deals written. Now, HIGH scores get increased profit percentages. Which ever way the store is run. THIS WORKS!!! Nice job, JIM!!!

Comment by Jim Kristoff on August 16, 2011 at 10:09am: Thanks Marsh!

Give them a roadmap for success!

Comment by Marsh Buice on August 16, 2011 at 9:27am: Jim, I totally agree. We have many latchkey salespeople and advisors due to a mgrs guilt; bc they were not properly trained and given minimum stds in which to adhere to many mgrs keep them onboard hoping they can get them to see the light. If we do a better job equipping them with the necessary skills in order to be successful it will leave no doubt if they are "cut out" for the position.