Is your sales process a hit? Or hit and miss?

Louis Pasteur said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” When it comes to sales, this is the most important driver to long-term success.

By Scott Bergeron Adapted from article published in multiple state issues of NIADA, 03-2017  PDF VERSION

Selling a vehicle comes down to two essentials. First is having someone to talk to who can buy. Second is being prepared so you don’t ruin your chances when you do have someone to talk to. All of this means being organized in how you manage your sales process. The ultimate goal is to turn every opportunity into a sale. And since a 100% closing ratio never happens, the goal is to increase your batting average by consistent and correct execution of the basics.

Shooting from the hip strategies never work as a game plan for success. Here’s why: Off-the-cuff processes typically rely on force of personality, which can be hit-and-miss depending on the salesperson’s mood. Charm may captivate one prospect and turn off the next, feeling as if it’s a put on. It can enthrall and entertain people in short bursts, but it will only seal the deal with a select number of people. Salespeople accustomed to this type of selling may achieve a certain level of success, but it won’t ultimately rival what a well-organized and prepared salesperson can accomplish over the long term.

Another analogy helps drive home the point even further. We call Denver home.And the Denver Broncos are as close to a religion here as a sports team can be.In January, the Broncos coach Gary Kubiak resigned, citing health issues creating an inability to put in the amount of preparation time necessary for his standards. For him, that was a 5 AM-10 PM regimen. The results of this approach are significant—in his first year as head coach, the Broncos won Super Bowl 50, proving the guy definitely knows his stuff.

That said, there are likely very few salespeople that want to spend 17 hours a day preparing to sell cars. So, it’s important to find ways to help sales teams achieve. Here are a few important tips to develop an effective preparedness plan that doesn’t micromanage salespeople or make them feel like they’re stuck doing unnecessary hours of “homework”:

1. Clarify objectives and goals by quantifying a sales funnel featuring prospects, sales, and activities needed for both. While this can get really detailed, the basics are straightforward. First, look at the forecast. To hit a certain forecast, the first step is to reverse-engineer the process.  Second, determine the historical average of how many prospects (UPs) it takes to make a sale. Let’s say it’s 4:1 or a 25% closing ratio.  If that’s the case, you’ll likely need 100 prospects to make 25 sales. Third, determine historically what you have averaged per sale in commission (or gross if you’re the dealer) to determine how many prospects (UPs) you’d need to hit your forecast.
   
   So, in the real world, a salesperson that wants to earn $5000 consistently each month needs to know exactly how to do that. If a salesperson historically earns $280 per sale, then he needs to sell 18 cars to make over $5000.If his closing ratio is historically 29%, then he needs to talk to 62 prospects (UPs) to sell 18 cars.The key here is getting accurate data to be able to do the math.
   
   
2. Look at how to improve on historical numbers. For example, sales training can improve closing ratios.  So can listening and learning body language.  The key is to be able to give the salesperson all the tools they need to be consistently successful. Many email prospecting campaigns, as an example, fail miserably because of over-communication or coming across as pushy and self-serving. Today’s prospects want to know what’s in it for them and how you can help them get there.   
   
   
3. Use a CRM tool to track and help assess your sales team’s opportunities.  I always try to get consistently better whether I’m managing or selling directly, and to do that I need real data on my capabilities.  Creating a doable plan is only half the battle.  Fulfilling it is the other half. How many New Year resolutions are kept? Therein lies the difficulty…and the challenge. Keep the plan on track. Identify ways to improve it. Spot and repair weak links (e.g., sales team members not following through either with their objective or reporting of it). Streamline processes further to make it even easier for your team to follow.
   
   
4. Avoid the traps of assuming “there’s an APP for that” syndrome. When processes, especially sales processes, are overly complicated, technical, or not easily inspected, it almost always leads to failure. Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best—particularly when they gain easy acceptance from the team.
   
   Two major considerations outweigh all others: a) does the system provide basic key performance indicators (KPI) that managers can easily pull up and track?; b) is it easy for salespeople to learn, adopt and use consistently? Installing any new or exciting sales process can be tricky.The first step is to make sure it fits your dealership’s current selling style.There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here.Just make sure it fits. For example, older salespeople may be more inclined to use paper-based sales management systems, while digital processes via smartphones or workstations may be the overwhelming millennial preference. Keep your options open as both have strengths and weaknesses.
   
   
5. Balance all this out by maintaining consistency.  Sales processes and systems are all about improving the customer and salesperson experience so nothing is left to chance.  Overall, make sure your processes are workable and well thought out, so they can become a cornerstone of your success.

By deploying a consistent, balanced, and inspected sales system, you can steadily increase your bottom line and build a solid sales team for the long haul.

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Former dealer executive Scott Bergeron is the founder and principal at Daily Gameplan (www.dailygameplan.com), a sales team performance company. Daily Gameplan’s “Red Book“ and cloud-based CRM have been used in thousands of dealerships throughout the United States. Bergeron can be reached at 303.918.3169 or scott@dailygameplan.com.