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By: Will Parquette - Training Director, Gates Automotive Group
Every month it’s the same old thing- scratch, claw and scramble to hit the
numbers; rush around like maniacs trying to complete dealer trades, send drivers
to customer’s homes to get contracts signed, and burn out the F&I managers with
an over-promised delivery schedule. The dust finally settles on the closed
month, usually a few business days into the next month, and the sales staff
tries to rest up to get ready for the new month, which, like an interrupted
television show, is “already in progress!” Here are some strategies to get your
new month off to a smoother start:
- Start the new month sooner by closing the old one! Almost sounds too
simple, doesn’t it? If the last calendar day of the month falls on a
business day, that’s it. If it falls on a Sunday or holiday, the next
business day will do, but no more that that. Painful at first, but do it and
stick to it. Swaps, paperwork, contracts, deliveries, etc must completed no
later than the following business day. Don’t steal future business to put
into the prior month- it will all wash out if you close the month properly
on a consistent basis.
- Bury the bad ( results, deals, attitudes) quickly. MOVE ON! Learn from
lost deals and other mistakes, but do not dwell on that which smells!
- Get the closed month’s stats STAT! Managers and salespeople need this
information quickly to set new goals. It is really hard to believe that each
salesperson wouldn’t know exactly how many units they sold and delivered for
the month. Each salesperson knows where they stand (units) - put it all
together and you have the dealership total for talking purposes. Your
accounting department will verify everything later.
- Have tracking in place ( daily ups, demo rides, presentations, etc) Can’t improve what we can’t measure. Every salesperson needs to know how
much “raw material” and activities are needed to produce sales.
- Salespeople must have a daily work goal, (i.e. ups, follow-up, mailers,
presentations, etc) not just a unit goal for the month. The new month starts
at day one- not the following week. Daily goals mean just that.
- Each salesperson should analyze their best success deal from the prior
month and find a way to emulate it for the new month. The feelings of
satisfaction or accomplishment from a good sale can be used to “jump start”
a salesperson’s attitude and enthusiasm for facing the new month.
- Managers could put on a spiff for first fresh deal written or delivered,
along with other “fast start” bonuses such as for the highest total of deals
or deliveries at end of first week.
- Schedule mailers and promotions for earlier in the month as opposed to
later. This will allow more time to sell, deliver and follow-up additional
unsold traffic and really turn the sales event into plus business instead of
relying on it to carry the month. A side benefit- less pressure and mistakes
later in the month
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