Comment

Comment by Craig Lockerd on August 20, 2010 at 6:22pm

Marc thank you for your comment and with the possible exception of your last statement to NOT spend any money on recruiting {thats what my company does}.....lol.....I agree 100% that those are oustanding places to prospect for potential salespeople we always need to look for and approach people that treat us properly and professionally,they of course are more likely to be trainable into our industry.I think one of the key things you said was that we need to be better "selling" people on our business.....some dealerships think that with 30,000,000 out of work in the U.S. they would have an endless line of people waiting to work at the dealership and of course that just isn't the case. Lets impress the people we want about our business and then back it up with ongoing development,coaching and training.

Comment by Marc Burley on August 20, 2010 at 5:56pm

Finding New sales people for any business is hard but to find them for a Car Dealership has to be one of the hardest things to do.

Lets face it all the good Salesman for the auto trade all ready have a job if they are good and the only way you would get them to join your dealership is pay more than where they are on already and this just does not make sense.

You can advertise for sales people but then you rarely get the right person from that and the expenditure on advertising for staff through agencies and local newspapers for me has proved over the years to be a complete waist of money and we don't want to do that.

Finding the right Sales person for your dealership is no different to finding the right customers, you want to keep them for life.

So how do I find my sales people?

It's simple we all have great Electrical superstores in our towns in the UK we have Comet, Curry's etc in the US you have Circuit City, now here is good place to start. Take a couple of hours out on a Saturday or Sunday or in the evenings when the part time sales staff are working and watch and listen to the what these sales staff are saying to their customers. They all get targeted to sell extended warranties on all the products they sell as like the auto industry service contracts, they are the most profitable part of the sale. Like in your dealership only 3 out of 10 will think of after sales products because they are so relieved to get the sale they just want to get the order signed take the money and move on to the next. It's the same in these superstores.

Now this is were your skills come into it once you have seen and heard one of these stores salesperson go through the sale and attempted the extended warranty routine even if he has failed to do so it is your time to strike. Go straight to this sales person and call him by his name they all where name badges and tell him how much you liked the way he tried to sell the extended warranty and try and find a little about the person.

He or she will be pleased that some one has No1 complemented him on his sales skills and No2 taken and interest in him. His own boss will not do this as usually this sales person is just another no on the stores payroll. They are paid by the hour and if they are on commission they are capped so they can never earn great money unless they make it to management, they will most probably be driving an old clunker so they will want to take time out and talk to you.

Tell them what you do and tell them what you are looking for. Feed him or her with the way your dealership runs, what the earning potential is and the fact he could be driving a new car instead of his old clunker and tell him the story of how you started in the motor trade. Lets face it most of us got into it by accident (we did not know what else to do). 9 out of 10 of these guys or girls you meet will be interested believe me. I have done this for over 10 years so much so that I was barred from going in one of the local stores to me, in one year I poached 7 guys from the store and I am pleased to say that out of that 7, 5 are still working in the motor trade today and earning great money.

The reward you feel from taking a person out of a store and training them is so good they have no bad habits they don't know how to cherry pick they are not judgemental when a customer walk's on to the lot they are a walking talking learning machine and they will always look up to you as you took them out of a place where they did not want to be.

DON'T WASTE MONEY SPENDING ON RECRUITMENT GO AND SELL YOUR DEALERSHIP IN THE SAME WAY YOU SELL TO YOUR CUSTOMERS.

Comment by Craig Lockerd on August 20, 2010 at 4:01pm

Outstanding point of view on the subject,with your permission I would love to copy asnd paste this to our Face Book page...everybody should see this.
SOOOOO now the question is how does that culture change? What "state change" needs to take place?....It must come from the head down...correct?

Comment by Geoffrey Veit on August 20, 2010 at 3:54pm

This is such a huge subject. It’s like getting on a train and trying to figure out which window has the best view. Training, interviewing and coaching are all paramount in the development of a great sales force but I believe the forces we use to motivate our people are an even greater cause for their success or failure. I think this helps explain "where they have all gone". We want salespeople to truly care about their dealership and the prospect, learn all that is available about their products and work the hours of a job and a half. We pay them when it goes down the road but seldom pay them when it doesn’t. We surround them with management that in many cases lacks respect for them or the situation. The environment, in many cases, is a seemly narcissistic opera, me, me, me, me. Every one is motivated to get units down the road whatever way they can.
The environment is the Pay plan, bonuses, schedules, the management, the CSI throughout the dealership and the sales process. No matter who you hire or what their potential is or how successful they are at what they do now. The environment at the dealership will determine how they develop.
I believe that if the dealer sincerely cares about the employee and the prospect, then the salesperson will care about the prospect and the dealer. If that attitude comes across to the customer, the customer will in turn care about the salesperson and the dealership. “The circle to success.” This of course isn’t the whole story, people need coaching and informational development but they accept that coaching and information development as a direct result of their environment.

Comment by Fred G. Slabine on August 19, 2010 at 9:53pm

Craig, There are plenty of highly motivated, inspired sales people out there. And, there are a lot more people who would love the chance to earn an above average income, feel good about themselves and their accomplishments, and take pride in offering a great service to their customers.

What separates the best base ball players from the average? Practice, commitment, and tenacity. Great salespeople need these too. In addition, they need to develop relationship and communication skills, product knowledge, an understanding of how to add value during the sales process, and a willingness to engage in continuous learning. All that can happen with the right training and ongoing development.

Feel free to download our free guide: How You Can Develop a GREAT Sales Team, Avoid Costly Turnover, and Accelerate Sales and Profits at www.automotivetraining.us

Thank you.

Comment by Craig Lockerd on August 18, 2010 at 8:44pm

I agree Jere,selling one person one time is NOT what it's all about.

Comment by Craig Lockerd on August 18, 2010 at 8:43pm

Right you are Aaron, potential salespeople are EVERYWHERE!

Comment by aaron kominsky on August 18, 2010 at 7:56pm

Somewhere inside your circle of influence are great sales[eople waiting to find the right fit. Whenever you visit the mall , you have clothing salespeople, shoe salespeople. furniture store salespeople they are everywhere , right under the nose, but most mgrs and even salespeople themselves don't take the time to converse about the oppurtunty

Comment by Jere Conover on August 18, 2010 at 7:56pm

You need customers that REALLY feel good when they leave your dealership the first time and FOREVER if they buy or not! I train salespeople to create these feelings in customers each week. Lots of salespeople can sell them the first time but a real pro gets them back...

Jere Conover

Comment by Craig Lockerd on August 18, 2010 at 7:44pm

Terry love to have you move your outstanding comment into a discussion...like Ernie said you are right on the money!

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