First I want to make it perfectly clear the amount of respect I have for those who have been in this business for many years. Those that have grinded it out, those that have street savvy, and those that at times made chicken salad out of chicken poop. There is no adjective to describe the admiration I have for you.
That being said I want to speak to those of you that are in charge of the hiring and struggle to find that superstar used car manager. The used car manager you need may very well be right under your own roof, and you’re walking right by him or her a dozen times a day.
For whatever misconceived reason, when you need a used car manager, the first thing you want to do is find a used car guru that works someplace else and lure them away.
I don’t have to tell you the challenges of hiring from the outside. I don’t have to, but I will.
1. The person you hire isn’t going to have the same culture that you’ve been working so hard to develop.
2. Their thinking about the used car business isn’t going to necessarily align with yours. That doesn’t mean either of you has it right or wrong. It just means it’s going to be frustrating and more than likely expensive.
3. If you’re running an ad in Automotive News, most of the respondents are going to be from outside your area. I’m not even going to attempt to list all the issues tied to bringing someone in from afar. If you don’t understand those issues then you’ve got a lot more problems than I can help you with.
4. When you hire from the outside you are looking for a miracle worker to fix the mess left from the last miracle worker. Most likely the mess will get bigger. All you’re doing is rinse and repeat.
5. You’re doing nothing to encourage people to want to grow and develop within your organization when you keep going to the outside. You need to promote from within.
The real answer is that you don’t need someone from the outside with a bunch of experience. What you need is to commit to giving someone from within a chance and a whole bunch of your personal time and energy.
What you need is:
1. Someone that’s a young “thinker.”
2. Someone that has high energy.
3. Someone that believes in your culture and store.
4. Someone that’s coachable.
5. Someone that has common sense.
6. Someone that understands technology.
7. Someone that has integrity.
8. Someone that has a strong work ethic.
9. Someone that has good communication skills.
10. Someone that’s hungry.
If you don’t have someone or multiple someones like this in your organization then you need to rethink your organization. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs