Blog

*updated 3/15/2022

The Vehicle Personalization beast is growing—and it needs more room. Your showroom isn’t big enough to contain the accessory sales mammoth anymore. Vehicle customization is stretching its limbs into F&I sales, and your finance manager ought to receive Godzilla with open arms. While it’s a widely known fact that accessorizing vehicles at the point of sale benefits your bottom line and your customer, the benefit to all departments is less commonly agreed upon; especially when it comes to F&I benefits.

Imagine walking to the back of your lot and discovering a new vehicle from your inventory, literally picked up and put IN the dumpster. You stare in amazement trying to figure out how one of the most expensive cars on your lot is literally in the trash. Your blood pressure rockets as you realize that’s about $70,000 your dealership is about to write off to salvage...gone.

Now, apply that reaction to watching another sales person quit. According to recent studies, dealerships literally lose $70,000 to $100,000 per year on expenses related to sales staff turnover.

If you thought middle school gym class was nerve wracking, how about your first day in car sales?

Being the fresh face on the sales floor can be intense. There’s a lot to be learned and plenty of competition. While healthy dealerships foster a team atmosphere that builds each individual up, a desire to prove oneself is prevalent in the showroom.

With incentive checks, recognition, and promotions at stake, it’s no wonder that every good salesperson wants to be number one. When that need to achieve is nurtured in a good-natured environment, these highly motivated salespeople lay a sturdy foundation for profitable dealerships to build upon. But how do dealerships acculturate the new guy (or gal) to the competition without discouraging them?

Becoming a successful salesperson requires thorough training. While many pursue a sales career to complement natural people skills, even the best salesperson requires training specific to the dealership’s process. Think about your new employee training. What’s the length of the training, and what does it entail? How do you invest in your new sales staff to ensure a return on investment? Who supports new hires as they acclimate to the job? Most dealers can agree on a few key points when it comes to inducting staff, particularly on the sales floor. Proper training is essential, as well as support and follow-through from the employee’s manager.

No matter how you slice it, your sales team is paramount to your success as an automotive dealership. As the dealer, it’s your responsibility to create a favorable work environment where your floor team has an opportunity to make a living for themselves with the support of the management team. Qualifications to sell cars at your dealership should require more than willingness and a pulse. Too often a store succumbs to high turnover, and, in haste, hires Tommy Boy. Is there a way for dealership morale to thrive while front end gross increases?