Being a GM for an automobile dealership has it's normal everyday responsiblities, One of which is my routine of sitting in on daily sales training. It amazes me ( i don't know why after 19 years) that i have salespeople who sit through training and act like we are wasting their time and that they could be doing something better. These are the same people who want to be treated like pro's, paid like pro's and they honestly feel that they have nothing more to learn!

 We teach,closing, if i could would you, build value, demo demo demo!, Well they are going to take what they are told and apply it in the least painful way for them. We need to make sure that they are well rounded and skilled at all of the steps in the sale not just certain sections. The rah rah meetings are not building skills.....and Skills make the dealership profit, Good CSI, and make life much easier for them and us!

Most of them are good people who really try hard, but in this enviroment trying hard is not going to cut it...The "Good Ole Days" are in the past and now they actually have to perform at a high level to make it in this business and make it worth the long hours that they put in. So i took a look around to see where this thought process arrived from. These guys are not all to blame for what has come their way... They first have to take a hard look at themselves and answer the question..."would i hire myself"? Do i look professional, do i act like a pro, do i do everything in my power to sell a car each and everyday.

The answer hopefully is NO if they are being honest with themselves. Now it's not entirely their fault because what the business has done is to breed a weak generation of Sales Managers who have limited skills themselves and they are the ones that are teaching these folks what it takes to sell cars??? You know, they show them how to work the perfect deal with the perfect scenario like they used too when they were on the floor!

So this leads me to the above title of this blog..."When all you have is a hammer...Everything looks like a nail" It is time for us to look around and quit blaming the economy, the weather, and the news channels on our bad luck and bad business. Make sure the salespeople are not getting one dimensional training (the Hammer), We have to make sure our team is getting the whole tool box they need to succeed and make sure that the pace of the pack is set by the speed of the leader! and all of this starts with ME! It is easy to get complacent...Time to circle the wagons and make it happen!