Every sales manager and dealer in the country desires to have an all-star sales team. Unfortunately, most cannot say that they have the caliber of people they would like or that they like the production that they are getting from their sales staff. What can a dealership do to recruit and create an all-star sales team?
First, a dealership has to create an ideal profile of the individual they would like to hire. What would be the specific qualities that you would like to have in a salesperson? Every dealership has its own personality, based upon the dealer, management, location, type of vehicles sold, etc. Those factors will influence what you might be looking for in a salesperson. A Saturn dealership requires a different type of salesperson than a Mercedes store. Your operating philosophy greatly impacts the type of person you need. A manager must know all the traits you desire before you can find your ideal employee.
Second, you must create a game plan to recruit your ideal person. Many times a manager waits until they need two or three salespeople and then runs an advertisement in the paper. Probably, the advertisement will be the one that was run the last time salespeople were needed. The advertisement will probably look much like the other ten to thirty advertisements that are run by other dealers needing people at the same time and will be run traditionally alongside of those other ads in the local newspaper. Why? Don't follow the crowd. Make your ads different and place your ads differently. Try using flyers as inserts in the newspaper. You can use a bigger size and utilize both front and back of the flyer to got your message across. You may pay more, but your bang for the buck will be greater. The flyers stand alone from the clutter of the other ads.
The next part of your recruiting game plan involves your message in recruiting people. Try running blind ads that don't even mention sales. By creating strong interest in the benefits you have as a business, you will attract people who never would have considered selling vehicles. Bingo! The key is to look for the right person, not the right salesperson. Salespeople are created, not born. If the benefits of your position offered are strong enough, you will pull people from all types of fields that never would have considered selling vehicles because of the stigma attached. Look for people, not salespeople.
In creating an ad, you must remember the acronym, WIIFM - What's In It For Me? So often, the advertisements for salespeople are all about what the dealer is looking for and not about what the candidate is looking for. Ask yourself, what would a great candidate that would not normally consider the auto business want from another type of employer? Training? Positive work environments? Professionalism? Freedom to perform their job without being treated as if their manager has to perform all of their job functions? Normal weekly working hours? Guaranteed salaries? Does your dealership offer those types of benefits?
Once you have attracted this type of person to an interview, you must ask questions that will further identify if they are the right person after all. A 15 minute interview that asks if they like cars and people will not cut it. A good interview may consist of 30 to 50 questions and will make the candidate give specifics, examples and put them on the spot to react. Hiring on the spot is not acceptable. Two, three and four interviews are the only way to attract the right person and to make the right decision if they are the right candidate. More intensive interviews remove the emotions and keep us from being sold by a good interview from a lousy candidate.
Profiling for personality, IQs and performance indicators are a great way to round out your game plan and your decision-making process. Personality profiles and testing devices have become accurate and give you insights that can't be gotten in an interview. People often wear masks to convince you that they are who you want them to be, and reality can be quite different. The more ways you can view a person, the better off you will be in deciding they are the right candidate. The profiles and tests also help you find out how to coach them when you do hire them. People can be effectively motivated by many different things depending on their personality and desires.
Third, once you have hired the individual, a commitment to intensive education must be made. Good people desire training. A person without initial training will have an 80% greater chance of failure. Why work so hard to get a good person and then set them up to fail? People need to know what to do, how to do it and how to review it. Without those parameters and a clear set of expectations, even good people fail. Make a commitment at your dealership to do what the majority won't. Put the pieces in place and then take action to get the all-stars you want and deserve.