The Grass is Greener Down the Road

 Turnover is an epidemic in the auto industry. Now I do realize that there are times where turnover is a symptom of other

 internal issues. I concede that point. However, when virtually every dealership in America suffers from the problem, there

 must be something more. Salespeople, by nature, want to be in the action. If traffic has been slow at their current place of

employment, they check around town and find out which dealership has been busy. If it stays slow where they are, after a

few days or weeks in “dope rings” and “coffee clutch groups” talking about everything that is wrong with the employer for

whom they work, they move to where the grass is greener. Six months or a year later they are at it again. Bouncing around

 from store to store, never building a client base, always dependant on fresh traffic for their entire career. After ten or more

years in the business they are in the same position they were their first year in the business: completely dependent on

fresh floor and phone traffic. So, they are not really 10-year car-guys. They are 1-year car-guys, ten times over. They will

suck your store dry of fresh opportunities and then move on to the next lot. Can I be really critical here? I guess I already

 am so, why stop now? For the most part, fresh floor traffic should be for green-peas and should be looked at as gravy for

veterans. If you’ve been selling for 5 years or more in the same place, fresh traffic should be almost an inconvenience for

you. You should be taking fresh ups only if you have to because nobody else is available. Your primary sources of business

 by that time are repeat, referral and circle of influence. The best way to get to that point is to stay put! Take it from a guy

who has done his share of bouncing around. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. The only thing that changes in

this business is your address. Every store has its issues, its politics, its ups and its downs. I did spend almost all of my

time selling on the floor at one dealership and made much of my money on the phones. Staying with that store helped me

build a client base that reduced my dependency on lot ups. Most of my movement has been as a Manager, which has

different ramifications. My point is this: The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because the people there are

watering it! Take care of your own lawn and it will be green. Water, feed and weed your lawn by calling, following up and

prospecting * (You’ll notice I didn’t mention fertilizing here, most salespeople have plenty of fertilizer wherever they are).

This is the difference between sales being a job or a career. It would be interesting if the auto industry adopted the mindset

of many real estate offices or even barber shops. You pay rent for the space you occupy. How much more would we work

the phones and work for repeat and referral business? In those businesses the new hires (green-peas) get the chair or desk

closest to the door to get the fresh traffic. After you’ve been there a while you move further back because you should be

less dependent on the natural traffic of the business. You are expected to build a client base. Why don’t we do the same

thing? OK, I’m going to put together a proposal and pitch it to dealerships. I bet I can close some Dealer Principals and

GMs on this program. Look out, I may be talking to your boss next. As an added note: The “dope rings” to which I referred

earlier, are never productive. The best you’ll get is a movie review or an in-depth analysis of the “bad pass interference call”

from last night’s game. That’s the best you can hope for in a dope ring. Most often it is an informal gripe session about why

it’s so slow and everything else that’s wrong with the business. These guys have all the answers as to why things are slow.

 It usually is directly linked to: not enough advertising, wrong inventory, the global economy or the weather. None of which

they control. I realize during “down time” we need to relax for a minute, blow off some steam and have a conversation. I’m

not opposed to that. But the best advice I can give you about dope rings is: avoid them like a kissing booth attendant with a

 “cold sore”. Just stay away. Watch those guys cycle through the revolving door and keep a good eye on them. Chances

are they’ll be coming to you for a job some day.

 Brad Alexander

Author "The Paint Won't Lick Itself: Simple Truths for Selling Cars"