Digital Dealer - January 2019 - 33

TRAINING IS NEVER 'ONE AND DONE.' NO ONE
IS EVER COMPLETELY TRAINED-RATHER, IT IS AN
ONGOING CAREER-LONG PROCESS."
Zanan wraps up the book
with the Ten Commandments of Success. Three
of them focus on personnel
development:
 Remember, automotive retail is a career, not a
temporary gig.
I believe techs get it, and
they've made a huge investment in their tools to further
their careers. I think the biggest challenge dealers have
with techs is keeping them
at your dealership. Working
conditions, work load (read
that as not enough work
to do), production-based
pay plans, and continuing
training are all potential
deal breakers. Lube techs
and service advisors often
view their jobs as less of
a long-term career path.
These folks are way too

and they will build your
business. Don't get cynical
because of a handful of
jerks that don't want to grow
and get better. Most of your
people are good people that
want to do better; they aspire to more-more money,
more responsibility, more
productivity, more respect.
 Attract a better
workforce by having better
pay plans, schedules, and
training.
I get the part about pay
plans and training, but
schedules? I'm motivated
by money and I thrive on a
production-based pay plan,
but not everyone does.
There is a growing segment
of the workforce that values
time off and flexible schedules. They aren't lazy, they
don't want something for

ATTRACT A BETTER
WORKFORCE BY HAVING
BETTER PAY PLANS,
SCHEDULES, AND
TRAINING."
transient and often bounce
from dealership to dealership. I am truly amazed at
the turnover of advisors. If
a guy is an order-taker at
the Toyota store, then he'll
be an order-taker if he gets
hired at the Ford dealership
across town.
 Focus on employee
development that provides
a path for career growth.
Remember what Zig
says: build your people

nothing, they just want it on
their schedule. A three-day
weekend and two Saturdays off per month might be
a game-changer for these
folks. As a manager, don't
have an attitude that says,
"hey, I'm in charge and my
people will work when I tell
them to work." At least look
into what motivates your
people and see if you can
accommodate them. Maybe
you could tie sales produc-

tion to flex-time off. Going
back to pay plans, I've seen
dozens of advisors that
believe the only way to get
a raise is to move to a different dealership. Tragically,
all too often, they're right.
Just when they start making
good money, the pay plan

com)
 You might also want to
check out all the service advisor sales training resources provided by Jeff Cowan
(automotiveservicetraining.
com). Jeff has an amazing ability to simplify word
tracks that advisors can use

IF YOU INVEST IN
YOUR PEOPLE, DEVELOP
THEM, AND HELP THEM
TO GROW, THEN THEY
WILL BUILD YOUR FIXED
OPERATIONS BUSINESS."
changes and out the door
they go.
ACTION POINTS:

 You must be intentional
with your training. Schedule
a service sales meeting with
all fixed ops personnel once
a month. Make it a big deal
where you feed everyone,
celebrate victories, and
reward production.
 Train your service
advisors on how to sell. I'd
suggest 15-30 minutes per
week. Consistently reinforce the message. Spend
half the time reviewing last
week's training and the
remainder on new material.
 If you're hung up on
exactly what to do, then
subscribe to a blog, podcast, or video series from
Dave Anderson. Show one
clip at each weekly training
session. Give your team
access to Dave's library of
free resources (learntolead.
D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

to close the sale.
 Lastly, I work with a
team of over 700 fixed ops
trainers spread out across
North America. Let me
know if you'd like to connect
with one of them for live
in-dealership training.
If you build your people
in 2019, if you invest in their
development and growth,
then they will build your
fixed ops department into a
vibrant revenue stream for
your dealership.
Happy sales to you and
Happy New Year!
CHARLIE POLSTON is an
Automotive Customer Retention and Profitability Consultant
with BG Products, Inc. Charlie
has been with BG's Fixed
Operations Division for over
36 years. He has trained over
7,500 dealers, managers, and
technicians - and has been a
frequent workshop leader at
NADA's annual convention.
EMAIL: cpolston@bglsi.com

JANUARY 2019

33
http://learntolead.com http://automotiveservicetraining.com http://learntolead.com http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Digital Dealer - January 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - January 2019
