Column: September 2005

SALES FLOOR  Meet smart
Getting the most out of the sales meeting.

By Eric Minton

Larry Bonorato, general manager, Saturn of Greenville (S.C.), spends 90 minutes preparing for his 45-minute Saturday-morning meetings. “I never have a meeting without an agenda.” Typically, his meetings begin with inventory reports, a financial services rundown, current promos, and automaker updates. Then he turns to the main topic—performance reviews, incentives, or training pointers.

Distribute agendas ahead of time, says Randy Brenckman, NADA Dealer Academy management instructor/marketing director for dealership operations. With regularly scheduled meetings, “there’s no reason you can’t have a month or two of agendas ready to go.”

Meeting management: Making the time count

PICTURE THIS
“People see and read in pictures,” says Jim Butler, vice president, Westcott Automotive Group, Burlington, N.C., so his meetings feature lots of visuals, including videos and key words written on a dry-erase board. “When you just stand up and talk, people nod off.”

For its used-car inventory meetings, the sales team at Tom O’Brien Hyundai, Quincy, Mass., goes out to the lot to “make sure everybody has touched the cars,” says general manager Elizabeth O’Brien. Mar-Kee Consulting Group, Inc., president David Martin recommends handouts outlining key points. This “helps [memory] retention, helps maintain focus, allows the sales consultant to review the material, and serves as a playbook.” 

Most of the best ideas are “hidden in our employees’ minds,” says NADA’s Brenckman. To dig them out, some dealers schedule open discussion for the meetings.

Butler chooses different salespeople to moderate the meetings, which lets managers spot future leaders, says Brenckman. Consultant Martin suggests attendees role-play doing walk-around presentations or handling customer objections: “Other salespeople may pick up tips or better phrasing, and senior sales staff or managers can address inaccuracies and shortcomings.”

PLAY BY THE CLOCK
No one will care how long a meeting lasts, as long it is informative and motivational, says Martin. “If it’s not, it’s the longest 30 minutes of their lives.” Butler’s Saturday-morning meetings last an hour; Bonorato’s, 45 minutes. “If it goes long, they all start having flashbacks to high school and ‘When is the bell going to ring?’” says O’Brien.

A prompt start is just as important. Bobby White, general manager, Woody Anderson Ford, Huntsville, Ala., locks the meeting-room door precisely at 8:30. “It’s disrespectful to everyone else to come in late,” he says. Late arrivals to Bonorato’s meetings are left out of the day’s special incentive: “If it costs them in their pocket, they learn in a hurry.”

Most of all, stay positive, says Martin. “Public berating can ruin a salesperson’s attitude, and that’s their strongest attribute.” Controversial issues must be addressed, adds Brenckman, but always “start and end on a positive note.” And Bonorato’s meetings routinely include a training tip each salesperson can use right away—“something they can make money with that day.”