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Recruiting new talent

Aimee

Green Pea
Feb 5, 2021
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First Name
Aimee
Where do you go to find new talent for your dealership? How do you recruit from other industries and what industries have you found the best people from? I am referring to sales, but this could be for any department really.
 
Where I've had success finding quality sales and BDC agents (that tend to strive toward and achieve management positions in their departments)...
1) Military - typically very disciplined and willing to listen to and follow process to the letter.
2) College grad with journalism/theatre background (Great for creative writing, responding competently, and, as it comes with a theatre background, great with scripts, inflection, tone, and body language).
3) Event management companies - great at preparation and thinking about the client experience.
4) Hospitality (specifically, at upscale resorts - great with customer service)
5) High-end retail outlets (think Nordstroms) where face-to-face interaction with customers and making suggestions is necessary, rather than someone at Kohls who just stocks racks or is a cashier
5) Bartenders and waitstaff, one where they serve a variety of customers, and not just regulars.
 
Once upon a time I worked at a used truck dealership and I was the first sales person that was not previously an automotive sales manager of some sort. They had a great payplan, decent benefits and a good schedule. Macromanagement but high expectations. Rather than training people from scratch with no prior industry experience, they poached the best from other dealers in the area.