The following message was sent to my friend Troy Atwater, a new car manager at a domestic brand dealership in St. Cloud, MN. He thought I would like it and I thought you would like it! I’ve added a few of my own thoughts in ( ) where I felt clarification was needed. I’m naming this email “The rant of the successful”
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The rant of the successful-
If I hear one more person (manager or sales) give another reason why they can’t sell cars I am going to punch them in the mouth.
“The banks aren’t buying” – Yes they are idiot(I don’t like to call people idiot, but, if the shoe fits), just not like they were, so change what you are doing (or keep getting what you’re getting).
“There are less customers looking” – So get out of your office and work the ones you have harder.
“The deals aren’t as good” – Says who? Cars have always been expensive and they have always cost more than the customer told you they wanted to pay… so now you are going to start believing the customer? (someone is always being sold, the salesman or the customer)
“We cant lease anymore” – yes you can idiots …there just aren’t giveaways that any no talent order-taker could give away, so maybe you should quit and we’ll get a salesperson who can do the job.
Guess what… We sold cars when interest rates were 18%… We sold cars when they would blow up…we sold cars that flipped over…we sold cars in recessions…we sold cars that were uglier than a monkey’s armpit and broke down on delivery…we sold cars from empty showrooms…we sold Yugo’s, and Daewoos, and Pinto’s, and K-cars for god’s sake, and Suburbans when gas was $4 a gallon.
How? Because we SOLD them. We inquired about our customers needs and wants, their budget, their family, their jobs, their travel habits. We made friends and sold the snot out of the right vehicle that met all of their needs. We didn’t sell the deal, we made the deal. We didn’t believe them when they told us the car was too much…because we selected a vehicle that wasn’t too much; and, when they chose a more expensive model…we told them it was more expensive and they would have to pay more (and some always do). We sold them on the idea of putting money down so they wouldn’t be buried with debt so that cash down wasn’t a burden but a benefit – and they always found more money for the car we made them want…because we made them want it…we made them need it…and they loved us for it. (that which is gained to cheaply is esteemed to lightly)
We didn’t lie or cheat, we didn’t fudge the numbers, and trick them into paying more…we sold the sizzle…and we made money doing it and our customers loved us when we were done. And they told their friends how great we were to do business with.
When I was a salesperson I loved the rain. I loved it because the other salespeople would hide in their office convinced that they were not going to sell anything because nobody was going to come out in the rain. So I stood on the lot under my umbrella and waited, ’cause I knew that if somebody did show up…they were there to buy something.
Today the news media is pumping bad weather into everybody’s living room and it is raining bad news. Today I want to be a salesperson again standing in the showroom waiting for the customer who is going to walk in despite everything they have heard because they are looking for someone to say, “its OK to buy,” and I would be there in my tie with a warm handshake and a smile ready to make it OK to part with a few thousand dollars…and I would make it fun too.
Yes, it is true that dealers will close. Banks will go under. The car business is changing. This is the time when we will undergo an economic housecleaning. We will see the weak salespeople who survived in this business out of sheer dumb luck find their true place… dunking fries in McDonalds. We will see the sales managers who forgot how to sell, and who never knew how to motivate and train professionals, move on to telemarketing gig’s (mortgage lending) or make that career change they have “talked” about for so long.
Good riddance. This business is not for the weak or feint of heart. Here only the strong survive. When all is said and done only the best will be left standing. We will be sipping our coffee, and cashing our big checks, and rolling steel.
I will be here with my umbrella, my tie, a warm handshake and a smile. I say bring it on!
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I believe this rant with every fiber of my being! Do you?
As you were reading this did it feel like someone was slapping you in the face or patting you on the back? Did you feel like defending with; “yeah but…”, “you don’t understand…”, “easy for you to say…” OR did you read this with pride swelling up in your chest and a smile in your face because you know that you know you are one of the “strong” that will survive.
If someone at your dealership is looking online or in the paper for “other opportunities”, they’ll find them. People can find opportunity whenever and wherever they are determined to find it! One of my mentors in the car business said; “If you are checking out the car business, you’ll check out of the car business.”
I believe it was Zig Ziglar who said; “Sales is either the easiest, funnest, most rewarding job you could ever have, or it’s the toughest, frustrating, and most disappointing job would could ever have. The good news is you get to choose.” And again he said; “Frightened salespeople raise skinny kids.”
That’s wisdom.
What about solutions? If the pie is getting smaller what can your dealership do to get more of it than the guy down the road?
The answer is to CHANGE a lot of things and not to CUT everything. Expense control is important but in a storm like this you can get into a panic mode throwing everything off the ship including the crew, the wheel to steer the ship, and your food supply.
What is your greatest asset/strength?
Dealers / Managers
Is it your people? Then invest into and train them. The basics are great but if the market has changed so much, have you changed the way you train?
Is it your reputation? Then market it. Focus your marketing message on your strengths not that you’re the cheapest guy around.
Is it your customers? Then reward them and invest into them. Host a customer appreciation dinner. Spend money on your customers instead of the newspaper.
Salespeople
Is it your ability to get to the customer first? Then get there. Let everyone else pay their own mortgage payment.
Is it your customer base? Then get on the phone and talk to them. I know a top performing salesperson who tries to make 100 phone calls a day. Don’t complain about down time with one hand then say you don’t have the time with the other. Which is it?!
Is it your ability to make a friend? Then don’t wait for them to come to you. Get you customers to send them. Ask for referrals from everyone you meet, including the person bagging your groceries.
80/20 Rule Universality – “vital few and trivial many”
In 1906, Italian economist and sociologist, Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the uneven income distribution in Switzerland at that time, observing that eighty percent of the wealth was held by a mere twenty percent of the families. Because Pareto’s initial discovery involved a distribution of 80% of wealth to 20% of families and it’s inverse, the Pareto Principle is often called “The 80/20 rule“. The 80/20 Rule means that in nearly all cases, a few (20 percent) are vital and many (80 percent) are trivial.
In this market may in fact become the 90/10 rule but again the good news is you get to choose. It hasn’t been predetermined that you will succeed or fail. Choose to focus your energy and efforts on the “vital few” today and this week.
Whatever your strengths are they will be enough to keep you afloat. But to really thrive you must invest into them. When 90% are running a way you push through.
Warren Buffet said; “To be successful I look at what everybody else is doing and do the opposite. When everyone is selling I buy, when everyone is buying I sell.”
Maybe that’s faith, or maybe that advice is stupid. But Mr. Buffet isn’t stupid!
Be encouraged my fellow salespeople, “this to shall pass”. I intend to be here and I hope to see you on the other side of the storm too.
If I can be of assistance to you as a dealer, manager, or salesperson please contact me.
Jonathan Dawson
Cell: 612-387-7776
Email: planb@helloworld.com
Main: 866-769-8083
