All salespeople do. The ones that really cost, the dealership, are the weak ones that don't clear their draws and close a low percentage of the customers.
Super Star Salesperson
- Thread starter ddavis
- Start date
- Oct 23, 2011
- 262
- 118
- Awards
- 5
- First Name
- Kelly
Given the responses back & forth, I read the thread again and Doug's opening a second time.
So Doug's friend seems to work as a contractor; setting his own schedule, working his own people and cleaning house. Most of us responded with the idea the most "superstars" trip themselves & their dealer up in their ego.
If we had a guy that never had to do balloons & flags at 2 hours after closing on a friday night, came & went as he pleased, high grossed and outsold most guys on the floor he would be ostracized.
I see 3 points made so far: truly great sales people are rare, most "Stars" could be better if they didn't get in their own way and it takes a great management team to corral/support a real star for the betterment of the dealership as a whole.
Doug said this friend is very oldschool. So in this digital age do you think we have room for dogmatic & independent outliers?
So Doug's friend seems to work as a contractor; setting his own schedule, working his own people and cleaning house. Most of us responded with the idea the most "superstars" trip themselves & their dealer up in their ego.
If we had a guy that never had to do balloons & flags at 2 hours after closing on a friday night, came & went as he pleased, high grossed and outsold most guys on the floor he would be ostracized.
I see 3 points made so far: truly great sales people are rare, most "Stars" could be better if they didn't get in their own way and it takes a great management team to corral/support a real star for the betterment of the dealership as a whole.
Doug said this friend is very oldschool. So in this digital age do you think we have room for dogmatic & independent outliers?
Kelly, he works his schedule. This means that he puts in less hours than he would as a manager. His customers know his schedule. He is off on Wednesdays and Sundays. He worked for me for about 6 years. I am about as demanding as it gets but he never failed to do anything that I asked of him. I promise that I wouldn't waste his time putting out balloons.
He comes to work. He is either in front of a customer or on the phones. Customers love the guy.
He works his files but he puts his appointments into the CRM.
He comes to work. He is either in front of a customer or on the phones. Customers love the guy.
He works his files but he puts his appointments into the CRM.
Jumping on the baseball bandwagon (man I love that game).....
Look at ARod... At one point 10 years/$252m seemed like a bargain for the production. Now you've got an admitted PED user who is hurt and a distraction to the team. After being benched in the playoffs he was taped tossing a ball with his number on it to a female fan in the stands.
Dealership superstars are just like sports heroes. At the start nothing seems better and all the media headaches and locker room drama are worth it. Once they age a bit they become detrimental to the team's success and often clog up a large part of payroll (aka management attention). The owner of the ball club can't see past the MVP seasons of a decade ago forcing the GM to trade a young player of the same position to keep the aging vet happy.
Where does that generally lead the team? You guessed it, the bottom of the division.
Again, this is a generalization and not specific to the gentleman that Doug wrote about.
MLB has shown that even the great Yankees are able to be beaten. Our business is a money ball business. Billy Beane would make a helluva Dealer Principle.
Play ball!.
Look at ARod... At one point 10 years/$252m seemed like a bargain for the production. Now you've got an admitted PED user who is hurt and a distraction to the team. After being benched in the playoffs he was taped tossing a ball with his number on it to a female fan in the stands.
Dealership superstars are just like sports heroes. At the start nothing seems better and all the media headaches and locker room drama are worth it. Once they age a bit they become detrimental to the team's success and often clog up a large part of payroll (aka management attention). The owner of the ball club can't see past the MVP seasons of a decade ago forcing the GM to trade a young player of the same position to keep the aging vet happy.
Where does that generally lead the team? You guessed it, the bottom of the division.
Again, this is a generalization and not specific to the gentleman that Doug wrote about.
MLB has shown that even the great Yankees are able to be beaten. Our business is a money ball business. Billy Beane would make a helluva Dealer Principle.
Play ball!.
- Dec 2, 2009
- 1,047
- 720
- Awards
- 9
- First Name
- John
I agree. I remember the 04-05 LA Lakers with Kobe Bryant -- arguably the best player on the planet. They went 34-48 and DNQ'd for the playoffs.
You need more than a Superstar to build a legacy.
Give me that non-team player that told you to kiss his ass when you told him to go to Starbucks for coffee, to pick up lunch or his laundry.
I said it earlier, sales isn't a team sport. Give a an internet department or a used car department with five people, like my friend, and we will all be happy.
It has always been about attracting, retaining and motivating the very best. Yes, I will take all those guys and will pay them extremely well but still a low salesman's compensation as a percentage of gross. I won't have to settle for a 30% closing ratio. These will be my "first line" closers. These are the ones that you send in first to close green pea deals (for half). They have the time to re-sell the car or put them on the right one.
I'm talking about real talent, not con artists and thieves.
I said it earlier, sales isn't a team sport. Give a an internet department or a used car department with five people, like my friend, and we will all be happy.
It has always been about attracting, retaining and motivating the very best. Yes, I will take all those guys and will pay them extremely well but still a low salesman's compensation as a percentage of gross. I won't have to settle for a 30% closing ratio. These will be my "first line" closers. These are the ones that you send in first to close green pea deals (for half). They have the time to re-sell the car or put them on the right one.
I'm talking about real talent, not con artists and thieves.
Couldn't agree more....Just think of where my beloved Chicago Bulls would have been without Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, and the list goes on.
Michale Jordan was able to be the one man show who could win any game at anytime against anyone. He didn't win a ring until a cast of surrounding characters was put in place.
MANAGEMENT- Phil Jackson sure seems to have been able to manage his superstars as well as roll players. He did not have the same rules for all players but made sure that each followed the rules given to them by the team. Doug would agree with that!
Equal treatment is not required to be successful. A couple of team members that will be cut-throat and a surrounding cast will get you to the promise land IF and ONLY IF they have a strong leader.
I'd like to think that this year's Lakers team would be much better off with Phil Jackson.
John Wooden, is the best that ever lived. There is the guy that could take the problem children and make superstars.
