Right Under Your Nose

Not a week goes by that I don’t get several requests from dealers looking for a used car manager. The actual question is whether I know of an experienced used car manager that they can hire.

While there may be some short-term gain by going outside to hire, generally speaking it’s not going to be a long-term gain. We all know we are better off to develop our own team rather than going outside.

Either way, there’s going to be some pain involved.

If you promote an insider and you do some things right, you will reduce the pain and have a lot of long-term gain.

As the GM or Dealer Operator, the first thing you need to do is to commit yourself to the used car department. Regardless of what you think you know or don’t know about the department, you and the new used car manager need to become co-used car managers.

The two of you need to learn this job together.

This is important for a bunch of reasons, none more important than the two of you figuring out where the obstacles are that have been holding your department back. If you will absorb yourself in the used car department you will see amazing results.

Attributes of the right candidate:

1. A strong work ethic.
2. A coaching “receiving and giving” attitude.
3. A young thinker. They don’t have to be young. They have to think young.
4. An understanding of technology and the role it plays in our business.
5. Great confidence, tempered by a small ego.
6. Team player. They have to be able to get along with members of all departments. Most important they have to be respectful of others.
7. A burning desire to learn and succeed.
8. The will to win by being willing to prepare to win.
9. Passionate about car business.
10. And of course they have to be honest. Duh…but, honesty also includes that they are honest with themselves and they don’t look to blame others when things don’t go their way.

Think about it this way. If you have to keep going outside to find people to fill management spots maybe the real problem is that you haven’t spent enough time developing the staff that you have.

If you’re doing the right things, the person you should promote will be right under your nose.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs