 Do you really believe that it's easier to sell a car in California than it is to sell one in New York, Florida or Arizona? Do service customers in Texas expect to be treated differently than those in Illinois or Minnesota? Is the way your dealership is designed mean that you can't do your job as well as someone else? It all sounds so petty and ridiculous, doesn't it?
But try going into a training class and teaching folks that there's a way to do their job better and at least 10% of the people in the room will tell you why it won't work at their dealerships. Another 10% won't say it, but they'll be thinking it. With all the push back trainers get, you'd think they were trying to promote selling refrigerators to polar bears.
No, it doesn't matter that we've been to the dealer up the street and they're now setting records with the new processes. And it also doesn't matter that we've seen these processes work across the U.S. and now in other countries. Forget about the fact that we have testimonials from large dealers, small dealers, domestics and imports, because that doesn't matter either.
The good news is that 80% of the people do want to learn and are willing to give the new ideas a chance. The challenge is the 20% of the team who don't want to hear new ideas. These are often the people with the most experience (you old dog you), or with the ability to negatively influence the rest of the team on their return to the dealership. And these folks know who they are!
But in case you're not sure if you're the one about whom I'm writing, just ask yourself if what I'm saying is getting you upset, even just a little bit. If so, then you can bet you're one of the 20%, so please read on.
This past week I sat with a Vice President from a major manufacturer who told me an interesting story. He said there was a dealer who fired his entire management team every 3 years and promoted new people into those management positions. "He did it," the VP said, "because it would take each new management team 3 years to develop the attitude that accomplishing difficult things wasn't possible."
While I'm not the type who would suggest firing a whole team of managers, I do think there's some good logic behind that idea. New blood is open to fresh ideas and more willing to listen and implement culture change in the dealership.
But for those of you who think it can't work, or you don't want to change, all I ask is that you would consider doing the following:
- Keep your negative attitudes and comments about the possibilities for improvement to yourself. The younger and less experienced will appreciate it when they become more successful.
- If you can't keep your attitude in check, consider a new line of work. Find something you don't know how to do and get a job doing it. You'll be happier because you're actually learning something new, and the team will be happier because your downer attitude will be gone.
"Misery loves company" is an old saying that proves itself too true. But things in our industry are tough right now, and your coworkers and employers don't need your misery in their company. Either change your attitude, or move on to something else or somewhere else where you can improve yourself and be happy. |
