Many sales teams have not fully adapted to the changes in the retail automotive space after the pandemic. In today’s episode of Mind Your Own Business, host Jonathan Dawson dives into the core fundamentals necessary to accelerate your business and team’s success.
Post-Pandemic Challenges in Sales
Many leaders are identifying a growing gap in the essential skills that drive sales success. During the pandemic, an influx of new salespeople—often called “COVID-babies“—entered the workforce. These individuals started their careers in a unique market characterized by reduced inventory and high consumer demand.
Now, as the industry returns to a more competitive and customer-driven market, many of these sales professionals are struggling to adapt. Leaders are left navigating teams that may lack alignment on basic principles crucial to sustained success.
Asking the Right Questions
Dawson recommends that leaders take a deep dive into their business operations with their teams, using insightful questions to identify gaps in knowledge and skill. A strong foundation starts with these core questions:
Do you know your numbers?
Sales teams must have a firm grasp of their numbers, not just in terms of quantity but also quality.It’s easy to focus on the number of vehicles sold, but success is about more than hitting a target. Quality metrics include the type of customers attracted, the nature of the sales experiences created, and the sources of your sales.
For instance, a salesperson could sell 20 cars in a month and still struggle financially if most of those sales stem from lower-margin sources such as digital retail marketing, e-commerce marketing, or BDC efforts.
What is the source of your sales?
High-quality, transactional customers—those who come through referrals or repeat business—are more likely to create lasting value for your dealership. These relationships lead to higher retention rates and more profitable transactions. Salespeople need to be skilled in cultivating these connections.
Leaders need to examine how strong their teams follow-up practices are. Building and maintaining interpersonal relationships is critical, and effective follow-up ensures that customers remain loyal and return for future purchases.
Shifting the Focus from Quantity to Quality
Dawson emphasizes that dealerships cannot win simply by investing in marketing initiatives or chasing short-term goals. Instead, leaders must foster a shift in mindset within their teams. Goals should prioritize the quality of interactions and relationships, not just the quantity of sales.
One practical approach is to break down the previous month’s traffic and analyze its sources. Where did your leads and customers come from? Repeating this exercise each month helps teams identify trends and make informed adjustments to their strategies.
Building a Sustainable Sales Culture
Success ultimately stems from creating a culture where salespeople understand and value the quality of their performance as much as the numbers they achieve. When teams can confidently answer insightful questions and invest in developing their interpersonal skills, dealerships position themselves for long-term success.
"The basics is knowing how many customers are coming to you because of you... This business is a people business." – Jonathan Dawson
