Successful dealers have a different view, a different attitude, a different swagger
about them and a different way of managing accountability.
This time of the year reminds me of spring training for major league baseball.
Optimism is running high, as it should be, but in a few months, reality will start to
set in.
The stronger teams will have started to pull away and the weaker teams will be
asking themselves, “What happened, where did we go wrong?”
A number of my articles recently have been prodding you to get ready for the New
Year.
Here are a few thoughts to get you moving a little faster toward your goals and
some suggestions for changes you might need to make.
Observe-Spend a Saturday just sitting in the tower observing. Say nothing. Take
notes. Of course, you’re not going to see the true picture, but you will see enough
to give you an idea of where the loopholes are.
Ask Questions-Meet with your GSM/Sales Manager and ask him/her to review
with you what the selling process is. Better yet, prior to the meeting, ask them to
write out the selling process to bring to your meeting. Make this a regularly
scheduled activity.
Get After Them-Tell them what you observed and how far off track they are
compared to the list and the discussion you just had. Of course, first, tell them all
the things you observed that they are doing well. Do your best to end the meeting
on a positive note and create a plan of action to improve. That last sentence
would seem to be common sense and something I shouldn’t have to say. I said it
because we all need to be reminded of what’s important once in a while.
Re-Commit-Get them re-committed to what they say they are supposed to be
doing. Reviewing the processes is the single most effective way to do this. A lot of
people talk-the-talk, but very few walk-the-walk.
Re-Deploy-get them on a mission to get back on track through renewed focus,
training, disciplines and processes. Get a commitment for the training they intend
to do with the sales force over the next 30 days. Training requires an investment
of money. Invest some money.
Create Accountability-create a daily checklist to review what they are doing as
compared to what they said they were going to do. Continue to observe and
whenever it’s not right go back to step one and start over again. Your number one
job is to “Guard the Processes,” and therefore eliminate evaporation.
Raising expectations is in part about raising your level of intensity and creating
accountability within the team. Human nature being what it is, people will do what
little they have to do to get by.
I hope you’re off and running. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs