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.
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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!
Last Friday, my good friends Tom and Tina asked me to help them lease a new car. The plan was to turn in their leased 2010 Acura MDX with the tech entertainment package for a new Honda Odyssey Touring Elite to accommodate their growing family. Having been a sales manager for eight years at a top-100 dealership before starting Daily Gameplan, I agreed to tag along to make sure they were getting a good deal. This is what happened:
One of the most overlooked components of the sales process is knowing which vehicles are in your dealership's inventory. Your lot probably changes daily with new stock, trade-ins, and vehicles that have been sold. Being efficient and creating a good customer experience may just come down to knowing what you have on the lot.
Every dealer competes on price. The store down the street will do all they can to beat your price and you'll do everything to beat theirs. While price is always relevant, it is far from the only factor. Customers want a great price, but they also want to buy from a salesperson and dealer who are honest, reliable, and offer quality service and follow-through well beyond the sale.
Marketing to referral customers is the most sure-fire way to build your sales today. It's much cheaper than advertising to cold prospects, referral customers are generally more satisfied with your services, and the closing ratios are much higher. But most importantly, IT'S EASY TO DO! It is vital to turn as much traffic as you can into appointments, since more appointments means more sales. How effective are you and your team at handling inbound phone traffic?
The process by which you set, confirm, and follow-up with appointments is vital to your store's success. Having a consistent and visual method makes sure that everyone is on the same page and can add a few extra deals each month.
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