Advice > SALES MANAGEMENT
Build Processes to Keep Top Performers I
n November, I spoke at the RVDA Convention/Expo about how to retain top performers at your dealership. Let’s take a deeper dive into some ideas I addressed at the convention. First is hiring and retaining quality people who have the right character traits. During my class, we covered numerous attributes such as communication, listening skills, staying current with techniques, dressing and behaving professionally, having a game plan, showing a positive attitude and more. All are equally strong traits, with none more important than the other. Top performers have all these characteristics, but if one is missing, the consequences of that core trait’s absence can be glaring. As an example, consider a salesperson with an outstanding attitude who is a notoriously poor listener. Despite their other strengths, such salespeople will consistently fail to help your customers.
The Opportunity
When you are creating a list of desired core traits, one characteristic that may not immediately
70
RV News | January 2022
come to mind is a respect of the opportunity given. Long-term top performers respect the potential their position provides. They strive to maximize the opportunity’s results. This often-overlooked employee trait is rarely evaluated or considered during the hiring process. Managers often ignore the characteristic’s absence when a candidate appears extremely talented. Many managers have experienced past employees who, despite checking all the boxes on core traits, failed to transform the position into a career. They left for other opportunities when things became tough (whether that is a dramatic market shift or a personal issue). Rather than trying to hire the perfect salesperson or manager who believes your job is similar to any other position available, seek out and hire a person with strong moral character who you can develop into a long-term performer. Remember, you can train someone to make a better follow-up phone call. You cannot train someone to care enough to follow through on their commitments.
Putting in the Time
Top performers want the opportunity to work and will strive to excel. Show job candidates the upside your position offers, and you will attract top performers to work at your dealership. They will work harder because the effort will result in making more money. You must teach them how to make more money, and then give them the resources to consistently follow through. The challenge is most managers were not $200,000-per-year sales performers before becoming managers. Having never been top salespeople themselves, some managers struggle to meet their top performers’ needs because they do not recognize what those needs are. In addition to learning their managerial job, managers must also learn and master the jobs of employees who report to them. Managers need the same training as the salespeople they oversee to recognize when staff are performing tasks correctly. Managers must know and be able to fix incorrect behaviors, if necessary. These skills
come from attending the same training the sales staff does. As an example, managers log and track sales behaviors/tasks to gather the information required to compile accurate numbers. Those numbers indicate the remediation areas where struggling employees need help to improve. Top performers want a good coach who will push them further than the performers push themselves. Logging and tracking statistics and behaviors help coaches do that. Consider professional baseball players who, at some point, were taught to swing a bat really well. When they arrive at the major leagues, they still want a batting coach, despite knowing how to hit. The batting coach does not teach them how to swing but how to recognize the need for a swing’s approach angle adjustment. Professional baseball players rarely spend time editing game films and using protractors to scrutinize their swing. That is their coach’s job. Top performers want a coach to have accurate data to determine where they are and how to improve. Avoid showing them the store’s
rvnews.com
