Performing these regularly occurring sales manager activities will insure we are investing enough in our dealership’s most valuable appreciating assets – our people.

● Have a notepad when desking deals 
– Take notes for debriefing our sales associates, don’t rely on memory alone.

● Debrief each deal 
– During a deal is NOT the time to train. We don’t stop in the middle of the big game to practice. Either we are ready for the game or we’re not. Afterwards, whether the deal is made or not, after the emotions have subsided, and while the experience is still fresh, THAT is the most ideal time to train our staff. Reinforce the behaviors we want repeated, and redirect the ones we want changed.

● Hold brief daily pending deal meetings at the start of each shift
– This is essential to insuring no income opportunity slips through the cracks. This meeting is also essential in covering the basic deal completion topics (follow up contacts, updating CRM, chasing stipulations, checking inventories, etc.), and holding each team member accountable for them.

● Ask three questions at the beginning and end of each shift
– The three questions that should be asked of each team member at the beginning of their shift are; 1) What appointments do you have scheduled for today? 2) What contacts do you have scheduled to make today? 3) What do you have scheduled to learn today? The three questions that should be asked of each team member at the end of their shift are; 1) What appointments did you set today? 2) What contacts did you make today? 3) What did you learn today? In very short order, this simple practice will change the culture of our sales department to one of growth.

● Perform weekly one on ones
– This is simply five minutes, done in private, to share how we feel about our sales associate and how they are performing, and for them to share with us how they feel about us and how we are performing. This allows us to connect with each sales associate, to discover what motivates and how to motivate each associate we are responsible for, and it also fosters loyalty, thus reducing turnover.

● Perform monthly evaluations
– At the end of each month, EVERYONE needs to get written up, whether they are doing well or are needing to improve. This is where we go over the rolling 90 day averages of their sales activities. This is where we put in writing the action plan to get their results at or above the minimum performance standards established in our department. This fosters accountability in both sales associates and sales managers alike.

● Establish minimum performance standards
– Sales associates must understand what each team member needs to produce in order for the department to reach its accepted profit margin. Minimum performance standards must be the same for everyone and they need to be calculated on a rolling 90 day average.

● Hold regularly scheduled weekly sales training meetings
– These are required attendance by ALL sales team members (sales associates and managers alike). This allows for team progression by sharing individual experiences. This also insures all team members are operating from the same base points. Again, either we are ready to perform or we are not. In the middle of the play, is NOT the time to rehearse.

● Hold regularly scheduled weekly sales meetings
– Different from training meetings, these are for covering inventory changes, current bank or manufacturer programs, current sales contests or bonuses, and house keeping issues.

● Reconcile the floor rotation list with the CRM
– This is one other daily sales manager activity that prevents income opportunities from slipping through the cracks and insures data management compliance.

© 2016 by Michael D. Hargrove and Bottom Line Underwriters, Inc. All rights reserved.

Michael D. Hargrove is the founder and president of Bottom Line Underwriters Inc. and and My Success Company, which are success coaching firms serving the automotive industry for over two decades. You can find more of his work here: http://bluinc.com/free-stuff/articles/selling-skills/. He can be reached at Facebook,Twitter, YouTube, Amazon, or e-mailed at mhargrove@bluinc.com.