We all work hard because commonly, we share a belief that hard work pays off. The idea that personal success is based on a solid work ethic and consistency is a pretty universal thing. In the dealership world all this is absolutely true.
Sales reps may be competing against their colleagues to take credit for leads. Some of these colleagues may even be managers or people who are generally above you on the dealership chain of command. One of the hot button discussions on the auto BDC management side these days is, what really qualifies as a lead a salesperson can take credit for?
This is a difficult line to tow as a GM. You have to motivate your sales reps to work as hard as the guys on the floor do any given day, and most of them do. Your sales team has to hustle, whether it’s on the lot or on the phone. We reward the hustle and try to take the stakes higher when we see we have a great rep. Good reps tend to move through management quickly because they’re not easy to find. The key is to reward those super star reps without burning them out.
So how do you do that? You create positive morale and a nurturing environment that rewards and benefits everyone from the super star rep to the new guy. And how do you boost morale?
Incentivization.
If you’re going to stick to a strict stop-the-clock way of grading and leveraging sales leads and if you’re going to award credit to reps based on kept appointment times only, you have to reward them handsomely when their work sells cars. Giving them limitations on what will qualify as lead credit gives them motivation to perform at a higher level and to innovate. Help them innovate.
There are static incentive programs you can create that we’ve already set up out of the box. Let’s talk about it. But whatever you do, keep the morale high. In an industry where a good sales day changes everything, it’s just crazy not to.
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