There will be car dealers, managers, and general car-biz folk that say, 'why is this guy telling our secrets?' and 'isn't he on our side?' or 'he's selling us out!' Sure, I have heard that before, and I am unaffected. I am unaffected simply because of the fact that I have proven many times that you can do business with integrity and still win. Actually, I am on the side of doing good business with integrity. And, yes, I am that car business anomaly that has stepped away from the profession for a moment and decided that I have had my good reputation (and sanity) compromised time and again because I answered to some of the most incompetent people in the businessworld with a title. The automobile business offers up compensation to performers in the business that they could never hope to make in any other field - and most will do anything necessary to grab every dime at their disposal.
It is crucial for me to start with some basic, fundamental premises, however:
1) The automobile business is a for-profit enterprise.
2) The vast majority of personnel are not well-educated.
3) Managerial oversight of integrity violations is most often lackluster.
4) Many dealers have poor employee satisfaction.
5) Dealer principals are often closed-minded to any change.
6) Dealers are far often more concerned with your perception rather than reality.
7) Training is often non-existent.
8) Many personnel are scam artists.
9) Many dealers do not believe they can get results while exercising high-integrity.
10) The automobile business is a for-profit enterprise. (I know... I said it twice)
In defense of the automobile business, it is important to note that dealers are in business to make money and to be profitable. Dealerships are a fairly high-risk enterprise that require millions of dollars in inventory, very expensive service tools, sizable staffs, costly insurance, payrolls, and infrastructure. Certainly, some dealerships are larger than others, and I have worked in small, medium, and large companies, but all require a budget that comes out of someone's pocket. And having worked in the business for some time, there can be a ridiculous prevailing attitude amongst customers that dealerships are somehow beholden to their every whim, responsible for everything that breaks, required to honor ludicrous purchase offers, etc. That is another article, though.
A dealership is a for-profit business and rightly so. But, there is a line not to be crossed for the sake of being 'profitable'. The problem is that too many dealers cannot establish their own boundaries with respect to what is acceptable (and legal) let alone ethical. And the truth is that most customers, while wanting to believe that they have expertise in dealing with car dealers, are far from effective in winning that battle. Why? Because, you are simply not armed with the insider information. I am.
From my observations in dealerships, I have seen forgery, bank fraud, identity fraud, straw purchases, conversion, and theft just to name a few legal incursions. And while these are clearly serious legal issues on both the state and federal levels, it is absolutely amazing how so many dealer principals either turn their head in denial, won't terminate the individual(s) involved, or more blatantly and seemingly more often hire someone with a reputation for perpetuating these types of illegal behavioral patterns. What's even better is seeing a dealer re-hire someone previously terminated for illegal or unethical behavior. I know! Really?
This transitions into our second issue of concern - the issue of educated personnel.
How much money can a car salesman make in a month for example? Newsflash: many make over $10,000 per month. Were you aware of that? Many don't, but many do. Is that wrong? No... All who work should make all they can make if that is what drives them. However, it is commonplace that the 'salesman' with whom you are dealing may or may not have finished high school, may have a criminal record, may engage in underhanded business tactics and practices, and is generally not a person of integrity. Moreover, it has often been the case that I and my associate managers didn't even want the person on-staff, but were forced to 'deal with it'.
Lest we forget managers! Wow... I have to say that my observations of managers in the car business has been anything but stellar. Uneducated, low-class, low moral fiber, criminal, substance abusers, ex-cons. Dealing with so many of these folks not only has frustrated me, but made me want to leave the business altogether. Oh, and before you take for granted that the guy with his name on the sign is any saint, think again. In all fairness, I have worked with a small handful of managers and subordinates in the business that were intelligent, driven, scrupulous, good people, but they are far and few between in my opinion.
It's worth mentioning one case as an example with respect to a dealer principal of note.
Most of you have probably heard his name. It is definitely out there and prevalent, and he is well-known. But he is just as guilty as the lowest form of car scum who was engaging in illegal activity and money laundering while using the cash to fund his auto empire only to have his right-hand man take the fall for him and do jail time. His right-hand man has been set for life ever since. And his auto empire continues to grow at an expansive rate to this day. And you keep funding his opulent lifestyle.
Which brings us to the lack of managerial oversight with regards to illicit behavior and unethical activity. I mean, how can one expect a criminal to teach anything but something criminal? Oh yes, the illustrious 'sales manager', the god-like 'used car manager', the benevolent 'general sales manager', blah, blah, blah. Oh how these guys love their titles. LOL. Yet, you would be hard-pressed to have one of them recite a 12-step sales process or give you a synopsis of a privacy act notice. Most of these guys were terribly ineffective sale professionals, but have somehow kissed enough asses to become 'managers'. It is incredible to watch. Trickle Up Stupidity.
Of course, from what I have witnessed, how in the world can a dealer purport to run such a great organization when nearly everyone within its ranks are bundles of drama and misery? I will refer you to my article, "The Car Business Merry-Go-Round" for a review of employee turnover in the industry. In short, many car dealerships are cesspools of bad language, bad attitudes, high drama, sexual harassment, violations of employment laws, overworking, underpaying, low rent, low budget living with a posturing happy face. If your employees aren't satisfied and happy, can you actually expect customer satisfaction?
The tragedy for me has always been that it does not have to be this way. Poor leadership...
Like anything else, issues ensue in business. Change is inevitable. Why, then, do car dealers refuse to change? This is one of the most frustrating aspects of my experience with car dealers. No matter how many times I have sat in front of a dealer principle or CEO and expounded upon the incessant need for them to change their methodologies, one thing has been constant: complete failure to follow sound advice. Probably because it wasn't their I suspect.
The car business and ego go hand in hand. If you think Donald Trump has an ego, try dealing with one of these local car gurus. It is laughable to say the least. You really cannot imagine the self-aggrandizing attitude that some of these people have in the business. Oh, and I get it. I'm an actor and a well-known musician as well as an auto expert, so I know plenty about egos. Maybe that is why I am so utterly amused by what I have seen in the car business.
In other words, after presenting well-thought, researched, statistically viable action-plans to dealers who requested my advice, I have most often received the unimaginable retort that they, all of a sudden, think they 'are doing pretty good' the way they do things. Ego...
What is most troubling for me and even more troubling for them is that I do not recall ever being wrong in exercising a prediction of failure for an automotive company. Yes, I have truthfully been right 100% of the time when I have predicted company failure. Ego...
Which leads us to the fact that if it weren't for an undue ego and posturing to give the perception of everything being perfect, dealers may not be so prone to all the negative connotations. No gourmet coffee, shoe shine stand, massage chair, or artisan pastry is going to save your company just because you are trying to optimize perception. For as many times as we hear that 'perception is reality', it is often the case that perception is not reality at all. As I raised the point in "The Car Business Merry-Go-Round", if your employees won't stay, then how can you expect observant customers to believe that you are stable? And that is only one perception issue.
Like anything else, if your people are not properly trained and astute at everything from general customer service principles to current legal issues affecting customer interactions, your propensity to fail rises. Yet, I can't stress enough how little this potential of failure seems to affect car dealers. It is a dangerous course to travel. It's almost as if many dealers simply blow a wish down into the rabbit hole and hope for immortality. It does not and never will work that way.
I have always been a big proponent of training. I hold (18) ASE Certifications through Ford Motor Company and Northwoods University besides my business university education. Most of that training was done of my own volition, while some was required. The point being that having that level of training for me has paid many dividends, both monetarily and personally. Customers like to deal with professionals. They feel a sense of comfort in knowing that they are being catered to by a professional and, frankly, are usually more willing to pay for it. However, whilst not trying to be negative, I have supervised many subordinate employees (not by my own choice) who could barely complete a credit application for a customer or complete coherent sentences. They haven't been properly trained, and failure to train is a management failure to say the least.
But is training going to help the inherent scam artist? What consumers overwhelmingly expressed to me for years is that they deplore fast-talking, shady salespeople. They hate it to the point that they don't want to get out of their car for fear of being attacked by the bespectacled flimflam artists wearing sunglasses on a string, the Cutter and Buck pullover, and khakis. It is one of their main fears in life. I don't blame them.
Acquiring employees is not at the top of the car dealer list these days. Hold on, I retract. Acquiring employees is very much at the top of the list, as you may not see anyone advertising for employees, but you always see an ad for a car dealership purporting the huge commissions to be made in just a short period of time. Acquiring someone other than a warm body is the issue.
Car dealers are always hiring, and they will pretty much hire anyone from what I have seen. This has caused the business many, many problems and has certainly affected me, personally. I have had scores of employees thrown in my lap - and I didn't want the majority of them. Not that I am unwilling to give someone a chance, but one does need to have a bit of talent in human resources to hire the right people. Dealers need people who have a good work ethic, a passable background, the tools to succeed, and a winning attitude. However, it is and has been so often the case that I have watched managers hire very undesirable candidates that compromised the overall perception of the dealership. Moreover, some of the most frustrating times in the business for me have been instances where I and my customers were simply within an earshot of a fellow employee who was not presentable in any way, shape, form, or regard. Sound judgmental? Probably, but better vetting of candidates makes sense.
Again, I have to mention Trickle Up Stupidity.
I have dealt with many general managers in my career. Honestly, most of them were failures - either personally, in the business, or many times in both. Hey, I am no saint, and I have had my fun, but how most of these guys got their jobs and made the kind of money I saw them make is unfathomable. Of course, I could point out all of their shortcomings, but the main thing is that I have always felt that to be in that particular position, you should really have worked in or have a very clear understanding of every department in the dealership to properly lead.
Naturally, unlike many managers in the business, I believe in surrounding myself with talented people and delegating responsibility as necessary and prudent while maintaining a strong self-accountability mechanism and providing strong support, motivation, and leadership. Whereas, the vast majority of GM's that I have encountered are isolationists; they are scared to death to lose their jobs and prepared to sacrifice all lambs to avoid it. This tends to be the starting point for the incessant turnover, constant instability, and unpredictable forecast results. But again, it does rest upon the judgment of the man or woman about that person deciding who will ultimately lead their team. Thus, Trickle Up Stupidity.
It may sound cliché, but leadership does start from the very top. Look at a guy like Richard Branson. He is very involved in his ventures, he sets high, but attainable standards, he loves creating excitement, not only for consumers, but for employees, and we wants to win rather than just coveting money. Has he failed? Of course! In the case of car dealerships, unfortunately, I will have to use an overused cliché because it is so applicable: those who continue to do the same things over and over expecting a different result do define insanity.
It is a true statement no matter how many times I hear it.
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