Recently I’ve come to know a professional football player named, Jacobbi McDaniel. Jacobbi is an undrafted free agent from Florida State University that joined the Cleveland Browns last year. I attended a training camp session last week as his guest in the family and friends tent. I think we can all learn something about car dealerships through this experience. 

Understand that an undrafted free agent has a contract however there’s no guarantee. If he doesn’t make the team this year he doesn’t have a job. Obviously the entire team does whatever they can do to impress the coaching staff as they make decisions on who will make the roster this year. The effort and energy involved in the preparation for practice is substantial. I really believe some of this structure would benefit our daily efforts in our dealerships. 

What if dealership employees had an annual renewable contract and must qualify to make the roster for this year? Would your management coaches tolerate individual performances as easily, if they were not productive? I am sure they would look at drafting team members from other dealerships and recruiting upcoming stars to become a part of the team. The dealership environment must be based on the realization that we are a professional team. Everything to improve the team should be a constant desire and motivation. The professional team understands the importance of training, coaching for improvement, and preparation. 

It is easy to understand professional teams have a playbook they study and learn. They don’t deviate from the playbook as individuals or the team result suffers. We can learn a lot by studying the professional teams that we follow. It would be wonderful to implement some of this structure into your dealership operations. I understand we will never go to annual contracts or training camps required to make the teams. However, to improve your professionalism, training standards, and individual coaching you’ll take your team to the next level.

Sincerely,
Rob Gehring, President
Fixed Performance Inc.
rgehring@fixedperformance.com
1-888-205-8718

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