A Goal Without a Plan is Just a Wish

It’s a brand-new year and with that comes a chance to start over. New dreams mean bigger goals and for some of you, this is your shot to hit the reset button. No looking back, just charging forward! But what are the right steps to take? In this blog, I wanted to give a quick high-level overview and some key steps to take so YOU can become a better manager at your dealership and help your team learn how to be successful car sales consultants.

The sad truth is that many of us lose steam once we hit our first roadblock. Or someone else pulls us in another direction and our goals end up getting pushed further and further away. The momentum wears off and we struggle to just do the minimum. So, how do you help your team overcome the classic burnout?

Car sales training is important. But for many sales reps, proper training and management weren’t available or they didn’t plan on being in the car business for that long. Due to lack of training or poor follow-up skills, many sales reps start each year just like newbies and end up relying heavily on the dealership’s inbound sales leads. Alan used to say, “Many veterans don’t have ten years of experience. They have one year just repeated ten times over.”

There is tremendous opportunity in the retail car industry but merely standing on the front line waiting for the next deal to come your way is not going to bring your team or your dealership long-term success. Many dealerships are experiencing their best months ever right now but bad habits are created during these great times. And bad habits are — you guessed it, extremely hard to break!

This January the focus should be on going back to the fundamentals. What are your team’s exact goals and how can they achieve them? What specific activities should they/the team be doing daily to remain on target?

Today more than ever, it’s not about who sells the most or spills the least. Focus on good habits for your salespeople. To establish the best habits, you should put in some car sales training for your team — preferably with an experienced manager or trainer. Then they can each learn how to be a good car sales consultant. But how do you get your salespeople to hit the phones and get results?

Here are 3 steps in the car sales business to set you up for a successful year:
1. Set Goals
It’s important to set goals for yourself and your income so you don’t experience the ups and downs in your paychecks. Taking some time now to review your goals and dreams for the year can help inspire you and keep you motivated in the 13th hour. You might be putting in some long hours so, keep the goals visible, create a vision board or declare your goals to your partner.

Now is the time to ensure that you have the right team in place to achieve them. And for goodness sakes, don’t wear yourself out trying to keep your team motivated. Hire motivated people from the start! Your job as a manager is to manage the team’s activities between customers and provide them with the tools and training they need to succeed. Download a FREE Hiring Checklist!

2. Create a Plan
You have a clear vision of your goals so now what? What things will you need to achieve these goals? Review your team’s pay plan and determine how many vehicles the dealership needs to sell to make your desired income. This is where you will need to put some thought into your everyday habits.

How can you be the most effective and convert in high numbers? It’s easy to work hard and put in long hours but mastering the most effective methods, word tracks and strategies can help you work smart and will yield more buck for your bang.

How many calls will you need to make per day? How many customers do you need to talk with to close X number of deals? How will you follow up with your unsold customers to ensure you are staying in touch? What about retention? How will your salespeople stay in touch to ensure they set themselves up for referrals? When do you plan to ask for referrals and how? These are just some of the things you will need to consider.

Creating processes for your team and setting clear expectations from the start is key. Salespeople will always look for shortcuts, so, inspect what you expect and stay consistent. Don’t let up on managing those activities that you know are effective and needed for your team’s success. If they win, you win.