REMEMBER THIS PHRASE:
"SHOOT, MOVE, COMMUNICATE."
• RE-THINK • RE-GROUP • RE-ORGANIZE
• RE-BRAND • RE-TRAIN • RE-EXECUTE
• RE-LOAD • RE-ENGAGE
OUR INDUSTRY'S 4 BIGGEST "MISCALCULATIONS" SINCE WWII:
1- POOR HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
• Virtually no long term sales/management staff retention plans to foster long term repeat and referral business. (Read the Larry Merritt reference in PROLOUGE Part 2)
• Failure to provide proper ongoing training and career development internal mechanisms to retain the 20 Salespeople who could sell 20 (to 50?) units per month for 20 years or longer, at the SAME store?
• Oftentimes, we hired and managed the "wrong" people based upon "the abused orphan" principle.
• "UP BUS" WELFARE DEPENDENCY was our biggest miscalculation - failure to hire entrepreneurs vs. "dogs with notes in their mouths." Our industry started as direct marketers, entrepreneurs who hung their "shingles under the larger shingle." Again, review the vintage Ford Sales Training film linked above and here.
2- LACK OF AND INCONSISTENT (INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL) BRANDING COMMUNICATION - Too much focus on short term profits and not long term overall success.
• Brand, core value and mission statement evidence was clearly lacking and inconsistent from the majority of our industry's dealerships. Supporting the local little league, although important, was only a small measure and not enough to clearly convey, internally (staff) and externally (consumers) why we were different than the rest!
• We forgot about our role in being a tremendous value to what being an American means in America, and to the World, in terms of freedom, liberty, and MOBILITY & TRAVEL. Was this ever communicated?
• We misplaced our emphasis on bringing value to the table of what we sell and market to the consumer. How did we probably better people's living conditions overall? Was this ever communicated?
3- IMPROPER PLANNING IN DEFENSE (& OFFENSE) OF OUR FUTURE. Those that don't learn from history are condemned to repeat the past. Move now!
4- Our dealerships have exhibited typically too much EGO, not enough GRACE. Merriam-Webster defines GRACE as the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful; disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency.
Synonyms for GRACE include:
benevolence
courtesy
favor
indulgence
kindness
mercy
service
Do I need to "debate" this with anyone? With you?
Relax, your "ruler" is far bigger than mine, correct? Let's giggle together and continue, if we may....
... and naturally your response could be that "Rob, we are currently at war, and you want to talk about 'Grace'?"
The greatest of all Generals and Leaders found a correlation in victory by balancing the two concepts and merging them simultaneously.
“Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.”
- Winston Churchill
"It is more important to outhink your enemy, than to outfight him."
- Sun Tzu
"If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time."
- Zig Ziglar
DON'T BELIEVE ME (YET)?
Simply have your sales staff take this Quik Quiz (15 minutes?) and then let's both review their answers.
click here:
https://form.jotform.com/233644238103147
YES, YOU ARE AT WAR!
AT THIS POINT, SHOULD YOU CONSIDER MORE MANUEVER AND LESS SLAUGHTER?
The US Military trains the weapons course like this...
"Shoot, Move, Communicate."
In an active war zone:
A soldier that is not shooting at the enemy, cannot defeat the enemy that is constantly shooting at them.
A soldier that is standing still, exposed in the open, is a dead soldier.
A soldier that is not communicating, is a soldier without leadership, without a plan, without a goal, without tactics, and without a strategy.
Why not "shoot me" your direct contact info for a healthy conversation?
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
RIGHT?