- Jul 7, 2016
- 187
- 111
- Awards
- 4
- First Name
- Chris
If training were that easy, we'd all be doing it, right? The thing is – not all training or trainers have the same approach. Most of us can recall an experience meeting that "self-made" trainer whose head-shot resembles that of an 80's glamour shot. The shades, the watch, the pen, flexing, etc. Almost like it's a formula. The idea that an image of what training is or could be is enough to sell a dealership those magical band-aid fixes they've been dreaming of. The problem is these "solutions" are most often not solutions. More like "tips" & "tricks." And they're just that, "tips" & "tricks."
To increase your dealership's performance, you need to have recurring Active Coaching and Training. Active Coaching that's built on a core foundational approach. Without a solid foundation, these "tips" & "tricks" will more than likely disenfranchise your team. Think about it, if someone comes in charismatic and flashy – offering the "world" to your team – and they aren't seeing the results, it must be your Sales Consultants & BD Agents fault, right? They just aren't applying the "method" correctly? That's just it, though. There is no method to this approach, and that's precisely what's wrong with it.
This reminds me of an experience a colleague had. A “trainer” came into their dealership and deleted all of their CRM email templates. Yep. You heard that right—every single email template. Mind you, the trainer did so without having first looked to see if the templates were attached to a workflow or which emails were performing, etc. That's reviewing the open-rate, click-rate, and overall response rate. The idea was that the trainer's email templates were the solution the dealership needed. Offering that their response rate and overall engagement would "sky-rocket" using these magical (misspelled) templates. Well, as you might imagine, the only result from this "trick" was a substantial increase in their overall opt-out rate.
Those flashy templates wound up being PDF files – turned jpegs – inserted as one image on the entire email template. So not only did this disenfranchise their BDC Manager, who spent countless hours A/B testing emails and building workflows using a core foundation built with Active Coaching – it more importantly hurt the dealership's performance. This could have been avoided. And you, too, can prevent this scenario from occurring at your dealership.
Look, when it comes to Active Coaching and dealership training, make no mistake – results don’t happen overnight. As your teams continue to complete Active Coaching sessions and work on their word-tracking, their results will follow. But you see, this is most certainly a collaborative process. Not something a trainer can fix by coming in hot and heavy with the "tips" & "tricks."
Before you look to hire a trainer, it's imperative to first have a goal in mind, which sounds "redundant" or silly, right? I mean, the goal is to increase performance, yes? But the same could be said for those who buy that gym membership yet never make it to the gym. Or worse, buy the gym membership, and go but don't have the right form, which means their results might not be what they hoped for. There are no shortcuts, and "flash" training is a shortcut that is short-lived. When you pair a tangible goal and buy-in on the dealership level regarding training, the results will follow. But make no mistake, there must be an internal process in place. One that encourages active coaching and training sessions. Where your GM & Sales Managers encourage your Sales Consultants to use their new-found knowledge as a means of acknowledging their professional growth and development. Telling them to keep at it. The notion that there's nothing wrong - even those with years of experience - participating in Active Coaching sessions. We all have something to learn, no? There's nothing quite like the experience of breaking a record with total units sold with increased profitability. Knowing that your encouragement and buy-in to Active Coaching and Training impacted those record-breaking results!
If there’s one thing to take away from this, it's having a plan in place paired with solid Active Coaching and Training. Ensuring that the training is aligned with what your team needs assistance with. A plan that focuses on the development, offering a path to success versus relying on “flash training” also known as “tips" & "tricks," which are no better than the next fad workout! Anyone still use that "Balance Board…” *asking for a friend
To increase your dealership's performance, you need to have recurring Active Coaching and Training. Active Coaching that's built on a core foundational approach. Without a solid foundation, these "tips" & "tricks" will more than likely disenfranchise your team. Think about it, if someone comes in charismatic and flashy – offering the "world" to your team – and they aren't seeing the results, it must be your Sales Consultants & BD Agents fault, right? They just aren't applying the "method" correctly? That's just it, though. There is no method to this approach, and that's precisely what's wrong with it.
This reminds me of an experience a colleague had. A “trainer” came into their dealership and deleted all of their CRM email templates. Yep. You heard that right—every single email template. Mind you, the trainer did so without having first looked to see if the templates were attached to a workflow or which emails were performing, etc. That's reviewing the open-rate, click-rate, and overall response rate. The idea was that the trainer's email templates were the solution the dealership needed. Offering that their response rate and overall engagement would "sky-rocket" using these magical (misspelled) templates. Well, as you might imagine, the only result from this "trick" was a substantial increase in their overall opt-out rate.
Those flashy templates wound up being PDF files – turned jpegs – inserted as one image on the entire email template. So not only did this disenfranchise their BDC Manager, who spent countless hours A/B testing emails and building workflows using a core foundation built with Active Coaching – it more importantly hurt the dealership's performance. This could have been avoided. And you, too, can prevent this scenario from occurring at your dealership.
Look, when it comes to Active Coaching and dealership training, make no mistake – results don’t happen overnight. As your teams continue to complete Active Coaching sessions and work on their word-tracking, their results will follow. But you see, this is most certainly a collaborative process. Not something a trainer can fix by coming in hot and heavy with the "tips" & "tricks."
Before you look to hire a trainer, it's imperative to first have a goal in mind, which sounds "redundant" or silly, right? I mean, the goal is to increase performance, yes? But the same could be said for those who buy that gym membership yet never make it to the gym. Or worse, buy the gym membership, and go but don't have the right form, which means their results might not be what they hoped for. There are no shortcuts, and "flash" training is a shortcut that is short-lived. When you pair a tangible goal and buy-in on the dealership level regarding training, the results will follow. But make no mistake, there must be an internal process in place. One that encourages active coaching and training sessions. Where your GM & Sales Managers encourage your Sales Consultants to use their new-found knowledge as a means of acknowledging their professional growth and development. Telling them to keep at it. The notion that there's nothing wrong - even those with years of experience - participating in Active Coaching sessions. We all have something to learn, no? There's nothing quite like the experience of breaking a record with total units sold with increased profitability. Knowing that your encouragement and buy-in to Active Coaching and Training impacted those record-breaking results!
If there’s one thing to take away from this, it's having a plan in place paired with solid Active Coaching and Training. Ensuring that the training is aligned with what your team needs assistance with. A plan that focuses on the development, offering a path to success versus relying on “flash training” also known as “tips" & "tricks," which are no better than the next fad workout! Anyone still use that "Balance Board…” *asking for a friend
