Hey I’m Brian Maxwell, and I want ask you a question: have you ever had anybody on your sales team that had what you considered to be tremendous amount of potential, a really good upside, but they just couldn’t seem to get out of their own way, and so What I want to do, because that is very common at dealerships all right.
It’s that person that sells that comfortable between eight to ten units a month they make anywhere between twenty seven hundred and maybe thirty two hundred dollars on average every month and that’s their sweet spot, no more or no less.
So what I want to do is I want to share five ways that you can help those team members that you really see have real good value for your store and you just want to help them be able to get out of their own way.
So number one is you want to help them transition or you want to understand what their financial mindset is.
Here’s, what I see happening is in dealerships in different pockets of the country in different regions, where income levels are greater and then some are much lower.
You run into this.
You run into a person, that’s at a dealership and they’re making $ 36,000 a year, they’re making $ 3,000 a month now to a genome, to a sales manager to a GSM.
It’s like hey, come on.
Man, hey, listen! We want to get you from that eight to ten to that 12 to that 15.
We want to get you want to increase your income per vehicle sold.
You know maybe from an average of $ 1,200 up to 15 or 18 or whatever it is, but every month they just keep being right there and here’s.
What I found out to be the reason – and then this is by speaking with over 900 sales professionals at different dealerships nationwide over the years that are making in between $ 30,000 and $ 40,000.
And what I found is that most of them are making more money than anybody else in their family before them.
If you have someone whose mother or father never made more than $ 25,000 a year, which is far more common, then what we may think of – and it is unfortunate, but it’s a reality of life – and you have this person – is making 36 in their mind in Their reality and in their world they are successful.
We all want to outdo our parents in their outperforming their mother and their father.
So there’s a calm of a mental of a mentality on one leg.
They feel like they’re doing great, but yet the management always seems to be getting down their back, so you want to begin to expand or help this person grow.
What their financial mindset is, what their expectations are begin to expose them to different things.
Maybe you want to start offering for hitting certain numbers trips, certain nice, restaurants or maybe refering.
Certain articles sit down with this person and going to step two.
So first part is their financial mindset number two to help them increase? Their financial mindset is identify what their goal or what their pain is no different than when we’re sitting down and qualifying a customer.
Remember a management customers are their sales team members and you want to treat them the same way.
You want them to treat the customers coming in to dealership management needs to remember that they need to treat them as their customers, meaning greeting them.
The right way, um qualifying them identifying where their pain is or what they’re trying to get accomplished, providing them with the solution, giving them a demonstration of how to how to use that solution and in executing so first you want to identify.
I mean you want to, you know, help me with their finance.
They didn’t identify with their goal or what they’re paying is people get into the business for one or two reasons? Number one either they’re just hoping to get a paycheck to pay rent or a light bill or number two they’re sick and tired of walking over two dollars.
To pick up dimes and I’d say, a lot of dealerships are hiring I’d, say over 80 % of people that are literally just looking for a paycheck and they’re waiting on that first phone call from the so called real job.
So let’s do some mathematics, real quick.
If a dealership is paying, let’s say a $ 1,500 a month draw and they only hire two people and let’s say those two new people only deal with five customers, each total of ten – and let’s say it, only calls the dealership 70 farming’s of $ 100 for Each person that they got in there per customer that came in a store, so that’s $ 1,000 worth of potential customers and 3,000 dollars have paid out drawers and at the end of the month, these two people they get cut out and go to this customer service.
Job that another company is offering or go to Walmart or whatever it is that they go to okay right there, that’s 4,000 dollars thrown away, not to mention whatever it costs to certifications and background check.
As you can see, and that’s just with two people – there are some stores that are going through five, six, seven, ten people every sixty days and so there’s wonder what monthly cash flows don’t go up.
So you want to begin to identify what their goal is.
What is it that you want? What is your? Why? Because then, why is what’s going to keep them in the game when they, when they’re having some tough days or tough moments or whatnot, but if we don’t know what that way is how can we put it in front of them? How can we dangle that carrot to keep them motivated to keep them driven? If it’s that kid, if that child, I want to picture that baby, and I want to know what it is that you like to get for the child.
What it is you hope to see of this child have or or do or whatever it is, and we’re going to use that if it’s for your spouse, if it’s for a new car, what kind of it let’s get a picture of it in here and every Time you fall it off.
Let’s go talk about it, let’s go set to put together, and this is one step ahead a little bit, but we’ll get it till the start.
Identifying.
What they’re looking for from the third thing is: what are they willing to sacrifice if you have management at the dealership? You know that there were plenty nights, especially if you’re a GM GM sales matter.
How many nights did you have to explain to your loved ones? Why you were still at the dealership to 1:00 in the morning, if you’re, a male, just from a male perspective? How many times did you have to keep calling or texting that significant other to? Let them know I’m really at the dealership and yet I know it’s 12:30 at night, but I am really here.
Please trust me and believe me.
Ladies same exact thing, you know how many books are trainings or resources.
Did you go through and get to where you are and there’s a reason why you saw so many people on your way to where you are right now fall by the wayside? It is not a natural thing for people to be willing to give up anything, which means that we need to help people identify it.
If you want to lose weight, you got to work out and eat right.
If you want to get better in math, you have to sit out, study and understand formulas selling it the exact same way.
You know I’m sick of hearing sales.
People say how good they are, but then they’re barely making any money.
I don’t care how many sales you’re closing if you’re not making any money you’ve given it away.
So that’s not a good salesperson if you barely able to pay your bills, but you call yourself a closer know: your best closers or able to make the most money fact period and those people are willing to sacrifice.
So what are your team members? What is that person willing to give up to achieve that goal for that child for that car? For that house or whatever it is? It is our responsibility as management to identify that too many people that stores believe that when these folks come in, it’s on them to succeed or fail, no, they entrust their livelihood and their lives and their families for us to be able to give them the resources.
For them to be successful, but what’s really unfortunate that too many managers go untested, they got to where they are, but sometimes that those skills get a little dull.
Those nerves get a little bit a little bit greater.
They don’t want to go out there and face that difficult customer anymore either.
So I highly recommend you view a GM, a GSL make sure you keep, checking and checking your management checking your manager skills, see where they are our ace to end up to date on cutting edge technologies, okay, but identify what it is.
Your team yeah that team members willing to sacrifice number four help them create a plan.
I like to call it breaking things down a reduction of ridiculous, where you ask a person.
What is your yearly go divide that down into a monthly go? Then you break that down divided by 22 workdays or whatever it is your schedule is that your dealership, you divide that monthly go by those days.
So now you give this person what their daily target is.
It’s just like dealership to feel safe, make sure you make 30 phone calls a day and I always whenever I go in and I’m brought into a store.
The very first question is when I hear people talk about the phone call method.
I say how many people will call you randomly you pick up and you talk to him.
How many phone calls do you duck a day and so you’re telling your team members to go out and do something that you don’t even like you don’t even respond to and we’re more different folks than we are more similar than we are different.
We may vary externally, but on the inside, what more I like that we are different.
So if you don’t want to take the call you don’t enjoy, making the calls, what makes you think they are and with today’s technology prospecting has evolved, social selling is real.
Imagine a customer comes to your dealership that did not buy, but immediately that sales rep goes online, finds more Facebook or LinkedIn or Instagram and shoots them a friend request.
Now they can just maybe send a nice little picture of the vehicle or some a little later or just hey.
Thank you for coming.
They really appreciate it and in the very next message, then, could be the either to set up another appointment or scheduling a phone call.
Or maybe is this a question about you know of any anything that they may want more information or whatever it is, but it’s evolved it’s much wider than the phone, the one issue with our business.
It has been a male-dominated industry for so long that the Eagles are, but they just it’s difficult for people to get out of the old mindset.
This is not the 80s.
There was no internet, there was no social media when most of us got in the game, but it’s evolved.
So you want to help you, people create a plan of execution and the fit one is executing helping them execute.
Are you meaning? Is someone on your staff meeting with team members every day to see what they did to achieve the goals the day before, where they were with it and what is their plan for that day? I believe, personally, what I believe – and I see as a wasted opportunity, is when a sales meeting is used as an actual session.
That is the most counterproductive thing I’ve ever seen.
So you take people that are coming in fresh in the morning.
They woke up they’re ready to go, get money, you go in there.
You start blasting people, so everybody’s in there scarier, hoping that they’re next, not next.
The person who got blasted is pissed off, want to come up there and punch some money in the mouth.
Then it says all right team, let’s break and go out there have a great day.
You know those people are walking on that beating saying boy, I’m glad you ain’t said that to me because i mighta beat days.
You know you know what I’m saying or, oh my god, can you believe they did that now in the other person who was exposed like that is embarrassed, a sales meeting should be used just for that sales, training techniques to get them pumped up.
I truly believe it’s more effective and I have this in practice at different stores.
If you’re going to happen, I have children meeting is better to have it at the end of the day than at the beginning of the day.
What’s the difference make it brief? Don’t have to linger, these are adults and if they not, if they’re, not willing to work and do what it takes and they’re still on your staff, did you know.
Shame on that person is not willing to do what it takes for the business and get rid of, but these five things so you want to.
I didn’t you know, helping with their financial mindset, number two identify the goal and the pain identify it find out.
What it is in detail fits a car mechanic.
Oh you know what color is it? What features does it come with a bit of home? Where is it, what does it look like if it’s a person if it’s to get married, what’s the day? When do you plan on a public beach, Pacific and have them write it out print it out post it up in your cubicle? If it’s a family member bring that picture in number three sacrifice: help them write out.
What are you willing to do to achieve this before you give up on yourself? What are you willing to give for it before you say it failed you? What are you willing to do to ensure the highest probability of your success, because, if you’re not willing to give anything, I can tell you right there.
You know you’re, not gon na get anything so help them identify what it is.
Many people never have these thoughts.
They never listen most folks.
The next step is planning most folks plan more for vacation in the barbecue.
They say well, hotels.
Think I’m going well highways D.
Take what I always need to be on well, one day, they’re, leaving when you’re coming back, how much money to take it on the cookout they know who’s coming what’s on the menu will always have the drinks they’re gon na have on it, but ask them: hey! Listen what’s your objective at your place of business for the next thirty days.
Tell me I don’t have time for that.
The next six months the next year and remember, failing the plan is planning to fail.
Okay, so make sure that they have that plan and then number five its execution talk is cheap and I get can you imagine I deal with thousands of dealerships nationwide.
You know here’s another thing about that: real, quick and I’m gon na get off here.
There’s my wife is, you know when I’m off the road and I’m home I’m supposed to be committed to to family time, but listen we in this business y’all know we don’t sleep and I love this game.
I love this industry.
It’s open more doors for men and women and anything else.
I’ve ever seen, and I want you to why helping me watch out for these posers out here.
You’ve got a lot of folks jumping in our business and they are selling people dreams and delivering them nightmares.
You know telling people off you’re going to make a hundred grand when you can start in this business.
Do you know what you have to do to make hundred thousand dollars a year selling vehicles? Is it possible yes, but you’re telling the green Peter came from Walmart that that’s what they’re going to do? They’ve never made more than twenty thousand dollars in a year and all of a sudden, that’s $ 80,000 increase they’re going to believe that come on these posers.
I’m gon na give you two things to look out for the next time.
You consider it.
You know, you know, listen, let’s face any smart person in the business know you can never have enough good salespeople and let’s look, let’s face it.
A GM and a GSM and the sales managers time is spent on so many different aspects of the business.
The GM is in multiple departments must do.
Multiple reports have a multiple meetings.
On-Site and off-site the GSM is overseeing all of the data.
You know he’s also.
Looking or she’s looking at reports and things like that, then the sales manager is consultant with working deals and putting out fires and all of that so how much time do they really have to commit to screening and going through people where they should or they do Some sort do what I’ve seen there and they have people that have never sold a vehicle of daily life that are screening through resumes scheduling, appointments and are literally given people aptitude tests and basing that on their ability to come in and be successful.
Let me tell you if that’s something that you consider some of the best sales people, I’ve ever met, have no degrees come from the school of hard knocks might even had a little scratch on their criminal background before, but they come in hard and those people with Those degrees and those crazy-looking resumes.
You know what a lot of those turn out to be job jumpers.
Why? Because they have all those great credentials and they look so good everybody’s willing to give them a shot and they know it.
They know it.
You got to see what’s within that person, look them in the eye, put them through a little little little test and things like that to see how bad they really want, because they make it in this business.
You got to want it and listen.
I paid my dues, I started out selling at the dealerships.
I remember getting started with my company, not making a dollar for the first six months nine years ago.
What I was building my reputation and look now.
I work with some of the biggest dealer groups nationwide, because general managers and general sales managers are beginning to see.
It saves us more time and money having somebody that specializes in that come in and help us that it is us spending our man-hours and our resources.
Constantly funneling, through twenty fifty or hundred people to fire 120 unit of my producer, that’s consistent! So take this approach.
Do what you can help your team? Don’t give up on people so quick.
If you see they got the potential.
Sometimes it’s just just planting the seed and show them a little.
Something can tweak them and turn them on hey, listen.
I held your little too long.
I apologize I’m Brian Maxwell, I’m the owner and founder of sales professionals of America recruiting and listen shoot me a message: let’s communicate if you are looking for sales consultants in your area with big ticket sales experience and automotive sales experience you want to brought in you Want your management to be able to meet with them to be able to select them for them to be trained up, educated on the road go to the cell, at least so that, when they’re added to your team, their return on investment can come back.
Much quicker and they’re much better prepared.
Give me a message to me a message: let’s look at each other check your account I’ll check mine, let’s put something together other than that hey, I hope, you’re having a great month hope the team is rockin out and I look forward to seeing you at the Dealership, alright yeah .
