I struggle with endorsing personal branding. I have a strong fundamental belief that people want to grow. Engagement is positively correlated to empowerment, accountability, and complexity. Becoming proficient in sales and earning the business of your customers provides a unique high. Reaping the financial rewards of that success makes it even more attractive. However, at some point the effort and sacrifice required outweighs the benefit. The long hours are difficult to sustain. The challenge that used to excite becomes monotonous and frustrating. Even the most highly engaged employees will begin to disengage at some point.
When this happens one of two decisions is made by the employee. They either identify another role they believe will bring the engagement back OR they find another store that has an environment or total rewards program more attractive then their current situation.
In either scenario the employee moves on from sales. The fact is automotive retail has notoriously high turnover in sales. Only 33% of sales reps will reach their 3 year anniversary. The number continues to diminish in years 4 and 5, just when their customers are coming back to buy another car. So where does this leave the customer? If they connected with the sales person but not the dealership they will most likely follow that person to the next store. If they are a loyal brand enthusiast they will return to the original store with a little more distrust. They have probably worked with multiple sales reps and have learned to not fall in love with anyone because they won't be there when they return. If they fall into the last category of 'I have no brand or dealership loyalty, I just want a good deal', they probably have done 90% of their research online and will buy based on price and convenience.
As a human capital strategist, I am all about improving the customer experience by strengthening core values, total rewards and opportunity for every employee. I would rather take the longer road to success if it means addressing (and correcting) the bigger problem. I believe it is the Dealers responsibility to generate traffic by making appropriate investments in technology, marketing, pricing and inventory. The employees are responsible for creating an exceptional customer experience. This takes a team effort. Everyone from the lot tech to the General Manager should be focused on improving process to put the customer in control. Executing this consistently will improve customer retention and strengthen the brand. More importantly it will drive more traffic.
Rather than having the sales reps build a personal brand for a position they most likely will not be in in 5 years, I'd rather see the Dealer take responsibly for reducing turnover and create an environment that promotes growth and development. Happy employees will create happy customers and double the number of advocates you have for the business.
Encouraging personal branding, in my opinion, reinforces to the employees that they operate in a silo. It takes branding ownership and control away from the dealer, and worst case scenario causes the dealer to lose an entire book of business if their top sales reps jumps ship to the competitor.
I would prefer to see an investment made by the dealer to the employees career development and growth. Similarly the employee should be investing in their employer by owning the customer experience for all customers, not just theirs. (Obviously I'm a proponent of small teams but that's for a later discussion).
