WOMEN DEALERS: STAYING FLEXIBLE WITH CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES

Women dealers: How to better manage customers and employees

February 9, 2008—“Three-year-olds make great salespeople because they don’t take no for an answer and they don’t care if you like them or not,” author, comedian, and human resource professional Connie Podesta told attendees at the annual women dealers’ breakfast Saturday.

To really excel at sales, though, “you have to understand the psychology of human behavior in others and in yourself,” Podesta added. She described various personalities, including stubborn types, floormats, and “those who rely on post-its to get through the day.” Each type requires a different approach, whether you’re selling to them or managing them in the workplace.

Today’s managers must also contend with employees “whose number one complaint is that ‘they actually make me work here,’ ” says Podesta.  “The response to that is, ‘Work isn’t supposed to be fun. That’s why they pay us, because they knew we wouldn’t like it.’”

But it’s not that employees have bad attitudes and work ethics, says Podesta. “Management isn’t expecting from employees what was expected 20 years ago, and they’re living up to our expectations.

“As leaders, we have a right to set expectations high,” she told dealers. “If you keep paying poorly performing employees, then they’re not the ones who have a problem.”