In visiting and consulting with hundreds of dealerships over the last 40 plus years I've come to the realization that success boils down to four things...
- Hiring. Always be interviewing! Your best people are most often recruited and usually be employed. Dealers will make the mistake of waiting until they need someone and then place an ad to fill the position at that time. The problem with that is that they are tapping into the available labor pool at that specific point in time and those people are reading an ad because they are unemployed, not always, but ask yourself if you would read a want ad. What type of person does? Always be interviewing. The best time to hire someone is when you are not under pressure to fill a position.
- Training. Train your new staff in YOUR processes. Too often a dealer will hire a new GSM or Sales Manager and because that manager has experience they will let them do what they want. If left to their own devices the new manager will change all your systems and processes to what he believes will work. Then six months to a year later when he leaves the new guy will change everything again and so on and so on. Pretty soon no one knows what the heck to do. Stick to your plan and don't allow new staff to reinvent the wheel all the time.
- Track the data. I love data. Numbers, if they are accurate, have no personality, no gender, no ethnic background, no age, etc. They just sit there and speak the truth. You must hold people accountable using data or you will be making decisions based on whether or not you like the person. Sometimes the guy with no personality is the real worker. Holds the most gross, sells the most product and is the real worker bee. For the sales floor it's ups, demos, write-ups and closes per salesperson, team or however you organize your staff. You can pinpoint individual and group areas for improvement by doing something as simple as having a paper log sheet with the sales managers. Someone also needs to check CRM entry. You must hold your people accountable instead of just wishing things will work out.
- Motivate. I was at a large dealer group the other day and spoke with one of the sales ladies who set a company record the previous month for Mercedes sales. When I spoke with the Director he had no idea that this had been done and no plans to give her an award or recognize her achievement in any way. Bonuses, plaques, lunches, newsletter announcements of employee achievements are all ways to highlight someone's success. Employees work for more than just money. Peer recognition is more powerful than money. Not only does it get the employee who is being praised to continue their behavior but it gets the other employees to understand that if their coworker can do it, they can do it.
See you soon.