Pub. 15 2016-2017 Issue 1

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 31 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G “But It’s Hard to Hire Good People…” I hear it all the time — one of the biggest problems is that there isn’t enough good talent. Some fault millennials as being unmotivated by money and therefore uninterested in sales positions. When I hear this, I think of a presentation during our DrivingSales Executive Summit when aDisney theme park executive told the audi- ence that he hired fromthe same talent pool as us. Disney consistently finds some of the best peoplewilling towork inhot conditions, dressed in ridiculous costumes, and dealing with lots of children while keep- ing a smile on their faces. Disney puts every hire through immersive training before they ever step in front of their “guests.” There’s another example that is even closer to our industry. This company requires their employees to work inconvenient hours, deal with temperamental customers in high stress situations, focuses on upselling, and has strict sales quotas. Sound familiar? This company also rates second in hiring graduates straight out of college. The com- pany is Enterprise Rent-A-Car and is highly recognized for its hiring and training programs. These examples don’tmean it is easy to find goodpeople, it is still hard, but it is possible. In both cases, Disney and Enterprise, the companies invested to make sure that they were recognized as great places to work. Secondly, they invested in making their people better and offer a path to grow within their organization. Developing New Compensation Plans If your sales representatives are the head of your sales team, then compensation is the neck.Where youpoint the compensation iswhere your team will follow, so the question to ask yourself is “Do I have a compensation plan aligned with the best interests of my dealership?” Dealers must rethink their compensation plans to focus more on the long-term benefit of the dealership as a whole. That comes down to incentivizing sales teams to make sure the customer experience and the dealership’s brand are more important than closing any one deal. As an example, some sales teams are not paid on a pure commission basis. Theymaybe compensatedbasedoncustomer experience gauges, department goals and their progress in developing sales skills. There isn’t a single “perfect” answer for what a compensation plan looks like, but many current compensation plans reward actions that can hurt the customer experience, the long-term profitability of the dealership, and push new employees out before they have a chance to perform. The trickwill come inyour teamaligning your compensation with organizational goals. Invest in Onboarding and Long-Term Training Themodern buyer has changed and has newrequirements. Have your sales processes reflected this? Sales team leaders need to take a look at their current processes and determine if they are adapting to the modern buyers’ needs. DrivingSalesUniversity released research this year onwhat customers are looking for in a buying experience. The findings are based on a survey of more than 1,000 active buyers to find out what drove them to buy from one dealer versus another. Out of all of the factors that impact buyers, there was one that stood out andhad the strongest impact: Trust. The biggest factor of whether a customer would buy from one dealer versus another came down to how much they felt the dealer was trustworthy. Trust canbe adifficult concept toapply indealerships, sowedugdeeper to findout howbuyers perceived trust. It came down to four principles: 1. Flexible Steps to Sale: Sales people had the ability to adapt to the needs of the customer and were not restricted by stringent sales processes. 2. ValuableCommunication: Sales people used active listening and created a connection with the customer. 3. Transparency - Everywhere: Pricing strategies were clear and consistent from the website to the sales person to the dotted line. 4. Consistency inBrand: Buyerswere presentedwith an experience consistent with dealer advertisements, website, brand promises and references they got from friends and family. Some of these findings go in direct contrast with what has been tra- ditionally known as the “path to the sell” sales techniques that have been in place for years. Customer expectations have adapted, and we need to as well. The Right People, The Right Training The perfect sales team is made up of people, supported by technology (not the otherwayaround). Eachmember is directly invested in—through extensive training and a career plan. This investment becomes a foundation for the sales people to be confident in adapting to buyer demands. Everyone from the general manager to the sales representa- tive to the service technician understandswhatmakes their dealership different, and live it. Jared Hamilton is the founder and CEO of DrivingSales. He grew up working at his father’s dealerships in the Silicon Valley and has over 10 years of dealership management experience. Jared educates dealers audiences about how to invest and implement technology solutions. He can be reached at 866.943.8371 or via email at jared@drivingsales.com.