If you want your sales people to start doing the job you hired them to do, then as managers, you need to do the seven most important parts of your job first!
1. Create the rules and procedures for your sales department, and define their job.
One of the biggest reasons salespeople aren’t doing their jobs in most dealerships is because management never clearly defined the job or clearly defined how they want the job done.
In real life, the porter gets a clearer picture of what he is supposed to do at work every day than a typical salesperson. It’s time to tell your salespeople what you want them to do and then show them how to do it. Don’t make this tougher than it has to be. Keep it simple – get together with all of the managers at the dealership and make a list of everything you expect them to do. Next, explain to your salespeople how you want it done, and then teach them how to do it.
2. Properly staff your sales department.
Once you’ve decided exactly what a job in sales at your dealership requires, it’s time to find the best salespeople who are qualified to do the job. And it’s the word “qualified” that’s the catch here, because the biggest mistake managers make in hiring is that they hire nice people, instead of qualified people. And unfortunately, a bunch of nice people who can’t sell, will break you. Where can you find more qualified salespeople? Two tips:
1) Always be recruiting – everywhere you go.
2) Set up a referral bonus program with all of your employees to help bring in great candidates.
3. Properly train everyone on your sales team.
You defined the job, wrote the procedures, and hopefully, hired qualified salespeople with the desire to succeed. Now it’s time to train them properly. Daily training is the secret to success. Three keys to holding the best training in town: Keep it interesting, informative, and valuable. Here is a short list of topics to train on: The basic steps of the sale; closing; overcoming objections; follow-up; prospecting; and handling incoming sales calls.
4. Track and evaluate everyone on your sales team.
You’ve spelled out the job, you’ve hired the right salespeople, and you’re training them daily. Now, to make sure they’re doing what you spelled out and taught them to do – you need to track, chart, and monitor their progress every day. You also want to track so you’ll know what specific training each person, and the team, needs to improve. What to track:
1) Sales activities – the minimum: ups, demos, write ups, and deliveries.
2) Sales results – units and gross.
3) Repeat and referral customers.
5. Motivate the sales force.
Do you know why people quit your dealership? Because they didn’t like it there. You know why most salespeople don’t sell more? Because there are more de-motivating things going on than there are motivating things. To make up for it, managers toss up a few bonuses and can’t understand why nobody likes being in “sales.” The easiest way to motivate your salespeople is to sit down with the other managers and come up with a list of what’s demotivating your staff right now, then start making the changes you know you need to make.
Remember, everyone likes two things:
1) Their (correct) paycheck on time.
2) Positive recognition for a job well done.
6. Set the goals for the sales team.
Management sets the goals for the dealership. Once you’ve decided on the goals for the store, then you do the trickle down thing with goals for each individual on the sales team. Their goals must equal your goals. And then you need to make sure they hit their goals.
To achieve your goals:
1) Always write them down.
2) Always have a clearly defined written plan of attack – success is always in the details.
7. Lead your sales team.
This is actually the easiest of all. In fact, leadership isn’t a separate responsibility, it’s really just the end result of doing everything we covered. When you help your team succeed through good management and coaching skills, don’t worry, you’ll earn their respect and you’ll be seen as their leader.
Once you’ve decided exactly what a job in sales at your dealership requires, it’s time to find the best salespeople who are qualified to do the job. And it’s the word “qualified” that’s the catch here, because the biggest mistake managers make in hiring is that they hire nice people, instead of qualified people. And unfortunately, a bunch of nice people who can’t sell, will break you. Where can you find more qualified salespeople? Two tips:
1) Always be recruiting – everywhere you go.
2) Set up a referral bonus program with all of your employees to help bring in great candidates.
3. Properly train everyone on your sales team.
You defined the job, wrote the procedures, and hopefully, hired qualified salespeople with the desire to succeed. Now it’s time to train them properly. Daily training is the secret to success. Three keys to holding the best training in town: Keep it interesting, informative, and valuable. Here is a short list of topics to train on: The basic steps of the sale; closing; overcoming objections; follow-up; prospecting; and handling incoming sales calls.
4. Track and evaluate everyone on your sales team.
You’ve spelled out the job, you’ve hired the right salespeople, and you’re training them daily. Now, to make sure they’re doing what you spelled out and taught them to do – you need to track, chart, and monitor their progress every day. You also want to track so you’ll know what specific training each person, and the team, needs to improve. What to track:
1) Sales activities – the minimum: ups, demos, write ups, and deliveries.
2) Sales results – units and gross.
3) Repeat and referral customers.
5. Motivate the sales force.
Do you know why people quit your dealership? Because they didn’t like it there. You know why most salespeople don’t sell more? Because there are more de-motivating things going on than there are motivating things. To make up for it, managers toss up a few bonuses and can’t understand why nobody likes being in “sales.” The easiest way to motivate your salespeople is to sit down with the other managers and come up with a list of what’s demotivating your staff right now, then start making the changes you know you need to make.
Remember, everyone likes two things:
1) Their (correct) paycheck on time.
2) Positive recognition for a job well done.
6. Set the goals for the sales team.
Management sets the goals for the dealership. Once you’ve decided on the goals for the store, then you do the trickle down thing with goals for each individual on the sales team. Their goals must equal your goals. And then you need to make sure they hit their goals.
To achieve your goals:
1) Always write them down.
2) Always have a clearly defined written plan of attack – success is always in the details.
7. Lead your sales team.
This is actually the easiest of all. In fact, leadership isn’t a separate responsibility, it’s really just the end result of doing everything we covered. When you help your team succeed through good management and coaching skills, don’t worry, you’ll earn their respect and you’ll be seen as their leader.
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