Over the years public perception of car salespeople has been generally negative. There are contributing reasons for this. One is that most states have no formal regulation in terms of licensure, continuing education or best practices (code of ethics). The second is greed. TV ads speak of “best deals”, having your vehicle “in stock”, “bad credit? No problem!,” etc. The vast majority of advertising still centers on the transaction and not the customer’s individual circumstances, needs, or personal goals. Most dealers see this as all about profit… today!

You’ll notice that dealers run blanket ads to attract new hires, on line or in the newspaper. Most will rush the new hire into duty without proper training or real understanding that old ways of selling won’t sustain. They’ll have you contact all the people you know over your first few months, milk you for all you are worth… and when the list comes to an end, most salespeople ultimately rely on the unpredictable flow of floor traffic.

Sadly 81% of people hired to sell automobiles this year won’t be here in twelve months. To make matters worse dealers recognize this and actually plan for the impending turnover- running yet another ad to continue the self fulfilling prophecy.

We routinely hear dealer managers and principals say that turnover “comes with the territory.” If that’s the case why do some dealers retain 90+% of their staff while others are a virtual revolving door? The answer is simple; competent business managers know that turnover costs up to ten times more than developing an employee right the first time. Developing and retaining personnel has more of an impact to the long term success of a dealer organization than any monthly push for sales revenue.

The reality of this was most certainly a contributing factor to the number of dealer closings during our recent recession. Successful dealers go out of their way to see their salespeople and managers succeed. It’s no accident that happy, financially satisfied employees tend to stay at their jobs. So if you are planning to succeed shouldn’t you look at a dealer that views you as an asset versus a commodity?