To answer the question, NO - they (the sacred cows) are not worth it. Sure, I will be the first one to say that in a meeting I will *surrender* saying - yep, let's keep the 30+ guy. Letting 1-2 good *new* sales consultants leave. At least, I say that in a sarcastic tone. BUT, that does not mean that I do not continue to argue against their clouded judgement.
That is that the *sacred cow's* have more power than the GM's (maybe even the owner). Being that they largely dictate and influence turnover, sales processes, and their own work schedules. You see, management becomes weak in the knees when they have a guy selling 30+ cars. It's like that dream diet pill that sheds off the water weight.
Sadly, the results are not permanent. I know. It sucks.
The dealer I work for has had two sacred cows which affected the sales force. During the course of the first sacred cows run we lost 5 good sales people (I define good as selling 12-16 a month). Sadly, not long after they quit the sacred cow moved on to a greener pasture. We were left with disgruntled cattle which was utterly chaotic. (sorry had too).
The cattle calmed down. BUT, just a few months later the new diet pill arrived. This new and improved diet pill completely revamped the sales processes (AGAIN!!), and who knows how long this one will last.
All that to say, YES - there will always be a small percentage of people that have drive and will work harder. That does not mean, however that dealer GM's should not stand their grounds. And develop the staff adopting the newer technology. BUT, again, that requires work. I mean, seriously, it is much easier to just try a new diet pill each cycle!
Here is one solution to this problem that I have integrated this past month:
1. Look at your sales force. Map out where s/he stands in so far as experience & performance. Understanding that each sales rep have different strengths/weaknesses. At that point, after mapping out where s/he stands you can phase in and integrate more efficient ways of handling things. Such as lead volume, response quality, etc.
One of the newest items we have since added (and the sacred cow uses) is texting - One day I went to the cow and said "hey - you already took the time to book the appointments, right? To which he said "Yes."
I could tell he was getting frustrated saying "Can you get to the point."
So, I told him if he sat down for just 5 more minutes a day and texting his customers reminding them of their appointments (using the template) it would increase his show rate, which means that he would sell at least 5-6 more sales a month.
He agreed, and well his show rate was at 72% - bottom line, you just have to talk reason with them in a way that translates. At the end of the day they are human. I am not saying it will work every time. It does not hurt to give it a shot, though.
