Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on November 25, 2010 at 10:30am

cAs Managers perhaps our biggest opportunity is with inspiring our sales force.....maybe it should start something like this..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugO3z0KWSpI&hd=1

Permalink Reply by Abe Hopper on November 25, 2010 at 10:55am

Sales Meetings do not have to be negative. Our biggest challenge is training Dealership management to utilize positive motivational tools. "Dr. W. Edwards Deming, PhD, who transformed the thinking of Don Petersen at the Ford Motor Company and transformed the entire Japanese automobile industry, taught us that to succeed in this business you must first transform management thinking. It starts with the respect for the human being and the understanding that we are born with intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, dignity, cooperation, curiosity, yeaning for learning. Today's top performing managers now understand that intrinsic motivation, that comes from inside an individual, rather than motivation that comes from management is key in motivating people. People want to do a good job and they get pleasure working on a task that produces a common goal with others. Top performing Management recognizes their personnel's contribution to that common goal."

Permalink Reply by Rick Bryant on November 25, 2010 at 11:23pm

Abe Hopper said:

Sales Meetings do not have to be negative. Our biggest challenge is training Dealership management to utilize positive motivational tools. "Dr. W. Edwards Deming, PhD, who transformed the thinking of Don Petersen at the Ford Motor Company and transformed the entire Japanese automobile industry, taught us that to succeed in this business you must first transform management thinking. It starts with the respect for the human being and the understanding that we are born with intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, dignity, cooperation, curiosity, yeaning for learning. Today's top performing managers now understand that intrinsic motivation, that comes from inside an individual, rather than motivation that comes from management is key in motivating people. People want to do a good job and they get pleasure working on a task that produces a common goal with others. Top performing Management recognizes their personnel's contribution to that common goal."

Permalink Reply by Rick Bryant on November 25, 2010 at 11:26pm

Joe,
I agree with you, the smart managers are tyring to turn the situtation. I believe however most sales meetings are just the ra ra go team go, without teaching their staff's who to actually get there

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on November 26, 2010 at 1:24pm

The feeling of being in on things...Managment understanding a salesperson's "Why"
Abe Hopper said:

Sales Meetings do not have to be negative. Our biggest challenge is training Dealership management to utilize positive motivational tools. "Dr. W. Edwards Deming, PhD, who transformed the thinking of Don Petersen at the Ford Motor Company and transformed the entire Japanese automobile industry, taught us that to succeed in this business you must first transform management thinking. It starts with the respect for the human being and the understanding that we are born with intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, dignity, cooperation, curiosity, yeaning for learning. Today's top performing managers now understand that intrinsic motivation, that comes from inside an individual, rather than motivation that comes from management is key in motivating people. People want to do a good job and they get pleasure working on a task that produces a common goal with others. Top performing Management recognizes their personnel's contribution to that common goal."

Permalink Reply by Fred G. Slabine on November 26, 2010 at 2:17pm

I agree with everything you said and loved the eloquent way it was written. One of the reasons that the Japanese auto industry became so successful was that it encouraged its workers to collaborate, empowered them to identify and solve problems, and promoted continuous learning and improvement. Of course, since management typically follows the lead of the owner/dealer, that is where this change in mindset should start. Unfortunately, too many dealer owners and managers still believe in and practice the outdated, hierarchical model of management they learned from those who came before them. They haven’t yet learned that this kind of top-down thinking, which is usually coupled with negative reinforcement, limits rather than enhances productivity.

I used to know a leadership expert whose favorite expression was, “No one comes to work each day wanting to do a bad job.” That’s especially true for automotive salespeople, whose income is totally dependent on the quality of their performance. If management assumes that sales staff are highly motivated, treats them with respect and dignity, and gives them lots of opportunities for development, they’ll see how quickly their sales and profits improve. The same is true for owners and their managers. These simple steps help reduce the revolving door in personnel and improve customer relations as well. Everyone loves to visit and work in a dealership that exudes positive energy and camaraderie.



Abe Hopper said:

Sales Meetings do not have to be negative. Our biggest challenge is training Dealership management to utilize positive motivational tools. "Dr. W. Edwards Deming, PhD, who transformed the thinking of Don Petersen at the Ford Motor Company and transformed the entire Japanese automobile industry, taught us that to succeed in this business you must first transform management thinking. It starts with the respect for the human being and the understanding that we are born with intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, dignity, cooperation, curiosity, yeaning for learning. Today's top performing managers now understand that intrinsic motivation, that comes from inside an individual, rather than motivation that comes from management is key in motivating people. People want to do a good job and they get pleasure working on a task that produces a common goal with others. Top performing Management recognizes their personnel's contribution to that common goal."

Permalink Reply by Paul Hardy on December 6, 2010 at 5:55pm

If more sales meetings were like that Craig then we would be in less dealers from month to month! Let me rephrase that. We would be in different dealers. The old ones we were in would be fully staffed with motivated fresh HAPPY sales people! Their retention would go way up and they would not have as much of a need for us to do New hire training. We would get a ton of new testimonials which would help us get a bunch of new dealers that needed the same!

Craig Lockerd said:

cAs Managers perhaps our biggest opportunity is with inspiring our sales force.....maybe it should start something like this..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugO3z0KWSpI&hd=1

Permalink Reply by Craig Lockerd on December 6, 2010 at 8:40pm

...right you are Paul...Bottom line is the better dealers are...the better our industry is...and the better off AutoMax and everyone in our wonderful industry is...is ok by me
Paul Hardy said:

If more sales meetings were like that Craig then we would be in less dealers from month to month! Let me rephrase that. We would be in different dealers. The old ones we were in would be fully staffed with motivated fresh HAPPY sales people! Their retention would go way up and they would not have as much of a need for us to do New hire training. We would get a ton of new testimonials which would help us get a bunch of new dealers that needed the same!

Craig Lockerd said:

cAs Managers perhaps our biggest opportunity is with inspiring our sales force.....maybe it should start something like this..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugO3z0KWSpI&hd=1