Baseball season is back in full swing. (See what I did there?  Yes, very cheesy, I know). And spring training for the teams is coming to an end.  They’ve spent well over a month preparing themselves and their minds for the day-to-day responsibilities that go along with a season of baseball.  Trainers, managers, and coaches get together to evaluate their personnel and to get them ready for action.  Several dealers do the very same when they seek out training for their team.

Dealers seek out trainers because it is necessary to have experts of different disciplines take a look at what you are putting out on the field of play.  You often need a skilled tactician to analyze your team, pinpoint opportunities, address concerns, teach fundamentals, build up your strengths, and eliminate your weaknesses.  Most importantly, it is the extra set of eyes from an outsider that helps shape a team into a successful bunch of athletes.
The problem is, far too many unemployed, out-of-work Internet Managers are calling themselves “consultants” and muddying the water of best practices.  (I’m only saying this because all season I’ve been doing my own “spring cleaning” where we clean up the mess made my another ill-prepared “consultant” the dealership mistakenly brought on before us.)  Just because someone reads the blogs, comments on the social networks, and attends conferences while achieving mediocre to slightly above average results at a non-descript dealership does not make someone a consultant…let alone a trainer.  These people are turning around and regurgitating articles they’ve read of best practices written by others, passing them off as their own ideologies, and implementing them into dealerships with no understanding of how to actually “teach” someone the philosophies behind it.  This is why the power of a Trainer or Consultant only goes so far.

Any respectable, “true” consultant or trainer will tell you that they can only take you and your team so far on their own.  We, as “true” consultants can get your team up-to-snuff on the fundamentals, help you set the best line-up and put the best people out on the field together.  We can recommend what type of equipment to use and give you a plan for attack, but we can’t manage.  A trainer can surely review the outcome of each game and help plan for the following day (as we do with our Virtual Dealer Training program by listening to phone calls, monitoring email correspondence from your team, and analyzing reports with the team’s management), but we can’t be on-site all the time.  You need a manager on the field watching over each game that can call plays on the spot and make quick decisions based on the situation in-store.  We, as trainers, need someone on-site – our advocate – that can continue to deliver our message and carry through on the collective game plan.

Spring training time is upon us.  The summer season is right here at our doorstep.  Have you made sure that your team is trained by the best?  If they are up to bat more often during the summer months, are you making sure that there is an on-field manager watching each cut they take?  Do your managers have someone they can rely on to discuss performance opportunities?

It’s time to play ball.  Have you prepared your team to take the field and win?