How To Create An Executive Sales Team by Jim Ziegler, the Alpha Dawg

There's Been So Much Conversation Recently About Sales Persons Branding Themselves.

As an executive manager, and later as a consultant, One thing I always created, or Tried to Create is a "Multi-Tiered Sales Force."

 I am not sure if anyone is doing it today, but, at one time, I had as many as 30 Dealerships that adopted this philosophy. Today's sales models would even demand this concept more than ever.

First of all, let's assume that all Sales Professionals are Not Created Equal.

 6-Car Fred will always be 6-Car Fred and You can’t prop him (her) up enough to make them what they are not. It's just not part of their personal aptitude or work ethic.

 If most sales people in your Dealership are selling 15 cars a month each, then, you are losing business. Some Sales people are naturally 15, 20, 30-car a month sales performers … BUT Most of Them, and Certainly Not All of them are Not 15-Car Performers Naturally.

If They're All selling more than 15 Units You are Blowing Out a Lot of Business.

So, if You have an excess of “Ups” or “Leads” and you've propped up 6-Car Fred so he/she can artificially sell 15 units a month, Then You are wasting UPS and Buying Customers are being blown out by the Cherry-Pickers..

 That is the one fallacy I read. So many People are posting when they really do not have a clue how to run or manage a dealership.

Unfortunately, many of these cerebral theoretical experts have a management title or, worse yet they are GM's or Dealers. Even if you are a GM or a Dealer, or You were born into an heir-apparent management position, that doesn't mean you are qualified to manage a sales force. AND OF COURSE, it doesn't mean you are Not Qualified.

Your only real 'Qualification' to be called a Manager is the results of your management on the bottom line. An under-qualified manager believes that everyone can be a great sales professional, which is totally false. I hear it all of the time from those who are clue-challenged ... "Well, if we trained them, they wouldn't perform that way, or do the things they do."

Training is NOT necessarily the answer. There are 4-E's in Zieglerism management philosophy. They are ...

Evaluate - Educate - Elevate - or Exterminate

What I mean by that is that managers' first duty is to Evaluate the capabilities and the aptitude of the applicants. Some people's personality is Not amenable to a career in sales.

I firmly believe that "Firing Someone" is a result of "Bad Hiring".

As an executive manager, and later as a consultant, I gave every applicant a personality profile analysis, and if they don't pass, they don't get hired, period.

A "Sales Professional's Aptitude" is directly opposite of that of a "Service Advisor's Aptitude".

I use a company called Omnia out of Tampa which I have been working with for 25 years, constantly producing aptitude profiles for every position in a dealership.

My Dealer Contact at Omnia is Emma Boersma at 800.525.7117, [email protected]. Disclosure, I am financially involved with Omnia.

Once I have "Evaluated" the Sales Persons, the next step to "Educate". YES, Training is important BUT only to people with the right aptitude and the right receptive attitude.

Sales Persons with Bad Attitudes are most dealerships' problems. You hang onto Whiners, Complainers, and Troublemakers. If You have Sales people who refuse to follow dealership’s guidelines, then they are infecting the rest of the players on the team. My goal as an executive manager is to put together a Team Like "Seal Team Seven", not a bunch of disorganized wild children.

Even if they sell a lot of cars, get rid of Bad Players on your team. Sales will not suffer if You cut out the Cancer that has an effect on the team.

Your problem is that YOU as a manager are Hiring out of Desperation.

AND, You are NOT Firing People who should be Fired out of Desperation, and You are making excuses about both situations, when Your management style is weak.

Once You have Evaluated and Educated, there must be a way to Elevate. What I mean by that is that most people view Car Sales as a Dead-End Job. There is very little management promotion opportunity, especially if the dealer has a family. That's reality.

SO, here's where it gets good. I Created the Executive Team.

 Why Not, have a level above Entry Level Sales that we call the Executive team. I’ve done it many times, although I don’t know of any dealership continuing to do it currently. When Prestige Ford in Dallas was selling 1000 units a month back in the early 2000s, the Executive team was unbelievable. Dana Ford-Lincoln in Staten Island was rocking. I was working with both of them at the time.

 What if, You created a Sales Level that required say 30 Units a month to qualify for Executive. I am just making up a number here, it could be 25 units. AND, what if to stay on the Executive Team, that person had to perform at that level two out of every three rolling months? AND they had special earned privileges and they were given a full-time clerical assistant and a personal advertising budget of say, $500 a month that must be used to promote sales and themselves (and the dealership)? By the way, that full time clerical, minimum wage employee eventually becomes a full-time Sales Person, call it a Sales Apprentice Position. They help get ready cars, do paperwork, and record the CRM on deals working. The Executive Team gives every Sales person something to shoot for other than management. AND, Executive Team must be achieved if You want to be a manager.

 Of course, if the word Execute sounds a little harsh, that’s just my sense of humor. BUT seriously, too many dealerships are hanging on to spoiled brat prima-donnas that deliberately undermine the managers.

The excuse I always hear is … “Damn Jim, I can't fire them. The man (woman) sell 30 Cars a month.”

That’s Your problem, You are Not Firing Bad Attitudes or Bad Behavior out of Desperation.

 There’s people here on LinkedIn that have worked with me as a manager and as a consultant that will tell you that I always launch Bad Players regardless of production.

 By the way, Most High-Volume Sales Professionals DO NOT Act That Way. Most of the best Sales people are indeed Team Players and they are loyal to their company that made it possible. Some of those Top Sales Professionals in the Country are close friends of mine. BUT the Bad Players are out there, there’s one in almost every dealership and top management tolerates them. 

I don't particularly care if You agree with me. Just see that I said and try it on for size and see if it fits. #AlphaDawg