Here is the point. To ensure successful and effective production from your team, changing the way you and your employees do business has to be in your foundation. I particularly like the quote from Herbert Kaufman:
“Failure is only postponed success as long as courage ‘coaches’ ambition. The habit of persistence is the habit of victory”
Persistence is what you will have to have to ensure total team success. You will be leading your team where no one has gone before in your store and you will most likely encounter sizable resistance. Do not compromise your position, be persistent and charge forward with unwavering leadership. Leaders know the way, go the way and show the way. It is your job to take the vision and make it reality. I feel a leader’s number one duty is ‘constantly growing individuals on their team’. If they are growing so is the dealership. However, this requires a leader who is also growing in order to grow people. What have you done for the first time recently to grow yourself?
“Good leaders are always striving to become better leaders.”
-U.S. Army Field Manual
A true leader understands they have to usher in fresh, professionally inclined ideas and concepts ranging from relationship development skills to closing.
Recently I went car shopping with my oldest son who is in the market for a new vehicle. Since he is not certain of what make or model he wants to buy, we had to visit several stores. He immediately told every salesperson upon being greeted that he would be looking to purchase in around 60 days and was comparing several makes. Not to my surprise (but to my son’s), dealership after dealership all sounded exactly alike with minor variations: “What do I have to do to earn your business today?” and “If I could get the numbers just right would you buy today?” Not one inquired into my son’s buying criteria (wants and needs), not one offered a presentation of the vehicle other than opening the driver’s door. All of them could not wait to get going on a test drive and that is all it was. Notice I did not say demonstration drive.
These guys were simply perpetuating the slogans that were previously taught to them, like family bad habits passed from generation to generation. None of these salesmen were being taught and/or encouraged to break out of that nasty cycle of behavior. Why? Because the leaders in charge of this team are living in the past. You would not arm a Ranger team with flintlocks when M4s are available. Fresh ideas and communications skills create a huge gap of differential when comparing your store to your competitor’s. My son’s opinion of this experience was, and I suspect much like other customers as well; “They seem to only care about making a sale and that felt a little sleazy.” You know what he said that was most important? “The way they treated me gave me the feeling that this entire process is just about giving the best price to get me sold.” And, that is a high price to pay as a dealer attempting to make gross profits. Care more about your customers and they will care more about doing business with you. But you have to start with the care of your team before the customers ever receive it.
Key directive: Once you adopt the decision to do things differently, you must consistently be disciplined with your accountability in seeing it through. It is ok to make adjustments along the way but in no way should you compromise your new processes.
The most important element for success is making good decisions and this has no real value without the second, which is practicing a ‘consistent’ discipline in everything you do.
Fact: Everyone wants to be thin; but few want to eat right.
Fact: We want to live long; not many of us exercise and take care of ourselves.
Fact: Most people want to be rich; few are willing to work hard and smart to get it.
Fact: Every Dealer wants to grow the store: Few form the habit of doing things unsuccessful dealers do not like to do; recognize that there are two types of pain. There’s the pain of disciplined training and accountability and the pain of regret.
Accountable decisions help us begin the strong team building journey, being accountable and consistent to our new processes and endeavors encourages and allows us to finish. The pain of disciplined accountability is momentary but the payoff is monetary. Cast a clear vision as to where your dealership is headed.
“Vision is the ability to take what is and determine what could be.”
– U.S. Army Ranger Officer
If you would like a few more Ranger ideas send me an e-mail at [email protected] and I will send you some of my favorites. Thanks for reading and growing your people!
By the way, if you are looking to expand your team you will rarely go wrong hiring a Ranger.
