Mark Gilbert understands the role of the manager in a car dealership. Many managers just sit at their desks and gaze at sales numbers instead of actually engaging their salespeople. However, this management style leads to high employee turnover and a lack of control over sales. Mark Gilbert suggests that car dealership managers adopt the following habits:
1. Daily and weekly check-ins. Daily check-ins take less than a minute per employee and focus more on sales operations. As a manager, you are responsible for reviewing completed tasks and those that are pending in the CRM. Mark Gilbert suggests that by 5 PM, you should call each salesperson into the office, review what has been accomplished for the day, and alert them of any discrepancies. Weekly check-ins, in contrast, involve discussing weekly sales, reasons for missed sales opportunities, and how you could save those deals from going down the drain. They are also ideal opportunities for asking employees about their life at home and how they are affecting their performance.
2. Process and Product Training. Process training discusses workflows, sales tactics, ways to deal with disputes and objections, and other operational matters. Product training, on the other hand, involves educating your team on the specifications and features of the vehicles that you sell as well as categorizing your vehicles according to price range, features, seating capacity, and others. Mark Gilbert also thinks making comparisons between the products that your competitors carry and those that you sell will help prepare your sales agents answer questions from prospective clients and close the deal.
Getting yourself familiar with operations and products will help you and your team increase product knowledge and the chance to get the sale done. Management is all about keeping these meetings light yet informative, leaving each sales representative with a positive outlook and the drive to do more for the team and the dealership.
Mark Gilbert ATN 