The average salesperson turnover rate in automotive dealerships is nearly 50 percent. And according to Delta Trends, a retail industry employee compensation and retention consulting firm, it takes about three years for a salesperson to become fully trained and develop their skills. What, then, does retaining a sales staff for three or more years do to a dealership's bottom line? Aside from the costs saved in recruiting, hiring, and training new workers, it improves customer loyalty, drives more repeat and referral business, and increases profits.

The best sports teams spend a great deal of time preparing for their next game - analyzing past performances, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and creating a game plan for success. The best sales professionals do the same thing. They know what they're good at, what they need to work on, and where they stand in relation to their goals. Most importantly, they plan for success rather than wait for it to come to them. In short, they have a game plan.

Hiring and maintaining a strong sales staff can be one of your greatest challenges as a manager. And with the available pool of talent shifting to a new generation - Generation Y - the old ways of doing business are changing. Gen-Y employees require different approaches to attract, retain, and motivate them within your dealership.

Did you wake up today and realize that you don't have a plan in place? Are you too busy recovering from the end of March to begin worrying about April? One of the things that separates good salespeople from great ones is planning. Salespeople who set a game plan for the month know exactly what they have to do in order to achieve the results they want!