You don’t always see the damage right away.
A few missed ups.
A toxic whisper from the desk.
Turnover that “just happens.”
But over time, untrained managers create an invisible tax — one that shows up on your balance sheet, your floor traffic, and eventually, your culture.
Let’s break it down.
1. Promotion ≠ Preparation
In most dealerships, management is earned by performance — not capability.
A high-performing salesperson becomes a desk manager. A desk manager becomes a GSM. And somewhere along the way, we stop training them.
The assumption?
“They’ll figure it out. They already know how to sell.”
But managing people isn’t just selling at scale. It’s a completely different skillset:
- Coaching vs. closing
- Systems vs. scripts
- People development vs. personal performance
And when that skillset is missing, things start to crack.
2. The Real Price of Inexperience
Let’s talk numbers. What does an untrained manager really cost?
- Lower closing rates: Without training, they over-rely on price drops instead of coaching negotiation.
- High turnover: Great salespeople leave when they’re micromanaged or unsupported.
- Underdeveloped teams: Rookie managers don’t know how to mentor — so no one grows.
- Toxic culture: Insecurity at the top spreads faster than any policy can fix.
These aren’t hypotheticals. These are realities playing out in showrooms every day.
3. Why This Isn’t Their Fault
It’s easy to blame the manager. But most of the time, they weren’t given the playbook.
They were promoted into pressure.
They were told to “lead,” but never shown how.
And now they’re managing a team using instincts instead of systems.
We don’t fault a tech for not knowing diagnostics without training.
Why do we expect more from the desk?
4. Training Isn’t an Event. It’s an Operating System.
Sending a manager to one workshop doesn’t fix the problem.
Real training requires:
- Behavioral coaching over time
- Clarity on expectations and feedback
- Leadership modeling from senior roles
- Accountability systems that don’t feel like punishment
This isn’t about overcomplicating. It’s about consistency.
Your best managers didn’t get that way by accident — they were shaped.
5. Where to Start (Even If You’re Late)
Here’s how dealerships can course-correct without losing face:
✅ Audit your current leadership team. Who’s thriving? Who’s barely treading water?
✅ Create a simple development plan for each manager. One skill. One quarter.
✅ Model what great leadership looks like. This might mean you need training too.
✅ Normalize training. Make it a badge of investment, not a sign of weakness.
Final Thought
The problem isn’t that managers are untrained.
It’s that we keep pretending they don’t need it.
If you’re serious about growing gross, reducing churn, and building a store that people want to be part of — this is where it starts.
Train your managers.
Everything else follows.
