Hiring to get the body count up can be a recipe for disaster. Personnel expert explains why dealers and managers need to hire character first and credentials second.
As a dealer or manager working in today’s market, you have more work to do and trends to follow than ever before. Your sales team and their performance are critical to your continued success. The goal of this article is to help dealers make smart hiring decisions to reduce turnover and costs associated with rehiring and retraining.
As any NFL team owner knows all too well, a high number in the draft does not guarantee a Super Bowl win. Football history is filled with draft busts. Most dealers aim to hire “first-rounders” with strong credentials, but few look at the big picture. While a top performer at one dealership is a good indicator of future production, the costs for hiring the wrong person — experienced or not — can cost you more money than if you’d never hired them in the first place.
Character First, Credentials Second
I’ve had the great opportunity in my career to observe the way different dealers make hiring decisions. Many have been the victim of their own knee-jerk reactions. You know the kind: They find a stray customer on a Saturday and end up hiring him or her just to “get the body count up.” Hiring for the sake of math is part of the recipe, but it’s not the main ingredient.
“Body count” sales reps tend to fall into two categories: green peas with zero to 90 days’ experience and veterans who have plenty of credentials but not the right character. Either way, your work is cut out for you. You have to get your new teammates acclimated to your culture and your systems.
The main thing to consider is how each new hire will work with your customers. The selling process has evolved from one targeted to a less-educated buyer to a system built around today’s better-educated and Internet-savvy buyer. More than 80% of all consumers research their purchases online, so they’ve got more ammunition about pricing, trades, rates, and payments. Is your top performer used to working with this type of customer?
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