Cultivating a network for salespeople to strategize and learn from one another, as well as find training resources can make all the difference in their career. In today’s segment, Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by Dave Benson, author, dealership sales coach, and co-founder of The Sales Hustlers, to talk about taking your dealership sales to the next level.
Originally from Australia, Dave has spent the better part of the last five years traveling the world to help salespeople reach their full potential. Success in sales isn’t something you’re born with, anyone can learn the skill with the right training and the right motivation. Dave started selling cars 17 years ago for GM, and within the last few years, Sales Hustler has grown tremendously. Now, the company’s mission is focusing on bettering the automotive industry by using sales techniques outside of the industry and adapting them for car sales.
With a partner, Dave co-founded The Sales Hustlers about one year ago, and they decided that their goal would be to find the fastest way to help salespeople. There’s only so much time you can go from dealership to dealership, so they moved their network to an online platform. Turns out, they found a massive training need for salespeople who had never been trained in dealerships.
What once began as a simple Facebook group, quickly grew to over 12,000 members on their own web portal, and as of now, it is completely free to be a member. Part of the group’s mission is to use their platform to eradicate negative stigmas surrounding car salesmen and women.
Recently, The Sales Hustlers put on a Hustle and Grind Convention in Orlando, FL, where speakers and participants brainstormed innovative new strategies for sales in a fun atmosphere. Jonathan Dawson and Shaka Dyson were among the notable speakers as well as keynote speaker, Eric Thomas. It was important to Dave and The Sales Hustlers team that the 500 attendants not only improve as car salesmen but also become better people in general.
So, why do dealerships often not invested in training their sales staff as much as they should? Dave thinks that once the salesman starts performing well and develops a level of personal branding, then he might get poached by other dealerships. Personal branding in auto retail is a win-win for both salesman and dealer. A salesman with a strong personal brand can attract more consumers to the dealership.
If you are consistent in doing the things that we know work, practice the sales language every day, and have at least four new inquiries a day, then each salesperson should be able to sell at least one car a day.