In our business helping veterans improve can be a challenge.  

They know what they are supposed to know.  Usually they think they are actually doing it.

Poke around in the cupboards of the average dealership and you will find training cassettes from the 70's, training videos from the 80's and 90's and DVD's from the last 15 years.  You could reforest Colorado's wildfire area with the trees that made the workbooks from seminars that are stacked in there.

Your veterans have seen it all.

But there is one video they probably haven't seen yet.

I recently met with a dealership to help their staff improve rapport and information gathering skills based on the desk manager's observance that the salespeople just didn't seem to know their customers that well.  The staff is almost exclusively veterans with 8 to 20 years experience most of them at the same dealership.

After a two hour classroom session I met with each sales person for a 30 to 45 minute one on one.

Step One:  Role play the greeting and information stage on VIDEO

Step Two:  Review the video. 

What do you think the average time between "Welcome to ABC Motors" and "I'll get the keys" was?

45 seconds.

This after a two hour class that included examples, input from the participants and roleplay.

Education does not equal execution.

Step Three: Review the material from class, role play it without the video.

Step Four: Make a new video.  Observed VAST improvement.  Instantly.  In fact, after 3 or 4 minutes of newly discovered rapport building skills it was obvious that we could just turn the camera off.

If you have not used video training with your sales staff there are a few things to keep in mind.

Ground rules:  I am well aware that video makes you look fat,  that you are much much better when you are with a real customer and that I make you nervous.

1.  Make it private.  It's not going to be pretty at first.  So it needs to be just you and the salesperson.  

2.  When you are reviewing let the salesperson lead the review.  They will point out the rough patches.  

3.  Let them tell you how to improve first.  Then if they missed something you can chime in.

4. Role play again without the video.

5.  Make a new video and review it.

The improvement with be rapid and almost miraculous.  Try it and let me know how it goes for you! 

Images courtesy freedigitalimages.net