I Never Met a Struggling Sales Person That Wasn't Their Own Worst Enemy
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I Never Met a Struggling Sales Person That Wasn't Their Own Worst Enemy.
Every dealership has the 25-car salesperson and the 6-car salesperson. The dealership has the same inventory, same advertising, and same door swings for both people, yet one does 25 a month and the other does 6. After talking to both for a few seconds, I can tell who’s who… How? Attitude!
Attitude Comes 1st!
It all starts with Attitude. To be at the top of your game you must possess a great attitude and work hard to protect it.
“People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.” — F.M. Alexander
Let’s talk about habits and what you can do daily to achieve and maintain a great attitude.
Don't Have Down Time - Sales activities beget Sales, and looking out the showroom window doesn’t count as a sales activity. If you’re going to be at the store anyway do something to make appointments or fill your funnel because when you’re idle things go negative. When I managed I used to make the sales people rearrange the lot if they refused to do sales activities. At least they could take pride in a good-looking lot. Even though it made them no money it seemed to keep them busy and attitudes up.
Stay Away from Negativity - I never understand how negative people always seem to find each other and then go to great lengths to hang out together. In a dealership, they are all standing together just outside the door. This is where you can learn how to sell 6 cars a month. STAY AWAY FROM THIS GROUP! Every store in America has some version of this group and nothing good comes out of the negativity."The dealer doesn't stock the right cars”, “The dealer doesn't advertise right”, and “Damn it if he would just paint the building I would sell more cars." You know who is NOT in this group? The 25 car guys. They are busy working! You’ll make more money through sales activities than BITCHING!
Enjoy The People/Customers - Even on a bad day (No Sales) I enjoyed meeting the people. I sold cars to the Amish and thought it was a joke at first, but after selling them and their friends I learned that some could drive cars and vans that met certain criteria. We meet people from all walks of life and a lot of them are great, fun people to know. After you earn a relationship through owner follow-up, these people can become loyal, life-enriching friends.
Exercise - They say sitting is the new smoking… Since I’m the last smoker in America, I’m not sure I would go that far, but there is a lot to be said about getting the heart rate up. The endorphin rush does help. When I first sold my store I thought I would get healthy, so I started training for triathlons (short ones) and became addicted to the endorphin rush. Sometimes it would last for days. Add exercise to a daily routine even if it’s just a brisk walk around the lot a couple of times a day. _By the way I always won my division -_the over 50, smoker division.*
Learn Something New - I know what we do isn’t rocket surgery but that doesn't mean we’re proficient in everything. It doesn't mean that things are not changing quickly. That our approach to sales and leads can't be changed or enhanced to leverage some of the new tech available today. There are now vast resources easily and quickly available on the internet. Where I used to pay $500 to $2500 for a seminar back in the day, now one can hop on the internet and get some great information for free. Use your imagination and all the tools you can to become passionate about the sales process.
Respect the Honest Effort - I don't care if you did or didn't sell a car today! Did you have a plan for the day and did you honestly work it? Did you get in front of three people, perform 3 - million dollar presentations, get 2 demonstration drives and then get 2 to write-up? Even if this yielded no sales - you did a good job! You performed the right effort and that always comes 1st. If we could guarantee that everyone will sell a car a day, there would be a line around the building for this 6 figure-a-year job. As long as you did the effort and didn't get in your own way I am good with it. Come back tomorrow and let’s go again. It will happen...
Attitude of Gratitude - You’re in an industry that still respects and values good value oriented salesmanship. That is not true in a lot of companies today. We’ve watched the accountants become in charge and dismantle entire sales divisions. Look at companies that owe their entire legacy to great salesmanship and what they have become today. I am talking about the IBM's and Xerox's of yesteryear. Remember you could be in a position where someone else gets to decide what you’re worth, you could be hawking satellite dishes in a Walmart aisle, or you could be in the 6-car guy group standing outside the front door...
Your attitude is contagious and this is going to be your choice. Your manager or peers are not responsible for your attitude. Change up some daily habits and see if you can't get the ball rolling to achieve your goals and aspirations.
> “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”> — John C. Maxwell
Good Selling.
