A Game Plan for Success
By Richard F. Libin, President, APB, rlibin@apb.cc, www.apb.cc
Apathy can permeate a business in any economy. Managers, not knowing what else to do, simply throw more resources at their people in an effort to help them ‘improve’ – courses, books, tapes, DVDs, blogs, portals, lectures, podcasts and many more; you name it – there’s probably even an “App” for that.  When managers look for the “quick fix,” or “magic pixie dust,” or the hottest trend, they lose sight of their direction and goals.
Instead of jumping on the bandwagon of the latest trend, managers should step back and develop and execute a plan of ongoing, consistent training and education, a program that addresses the needs of the entire team as well as individuals.  Tuned-in managers use this plan to guide and give direction. They focus their energy on moving forward by coaching and developing their salespeople so they can perform more effectively. They offer support and pass on information and expertise. In doing so, managers put their salespeople in a position to succeed, whether it’s selling one more vehicle a month, increasing service opportunities, or building a database of prospects.
Before successful training and educational programs can be implemented, managers must complete three basic steps.
 Define success by creating an overall goal for the business.  In an ideal world, what would the dealership be, how would it function?  This should encompass the company’s brand image and awareness in the community, customer loyalty, the organization’s culture, sales execution, employee performance and turn-over in every department. 
Set personal professional goals.  As a manager, what is your vision for your role in the organization?  What are your weaknesses?  How will you measure your effectiveness as a leader, coach and manager?  What path will you take to achieve these goals and to ensure the team is on track to achieve the overall business goal?
Secure, analyze and understand performance data for the business as a whole, for each department and for each individual, and monitor it continually.  This is crucial in developing an effective and relevant training and education program that will help people improve and focus on achieving the overall business goal.  Only by identifying areas that need improvement can a manager seek to address their own weaknesses and coach their people toward success.
Managers who are on top of their game think differently. They understand that their job is to help each of their salespeople succeed.  Only when they succeed, does the manager succeed.  And, if the salespeople fail, the manager fails as well. 
A Manager’s Job
A manager’s primary job is to develop the abilities of others to perform and produce specific outcomes. Managers must help each individual establish attainable goals and objectives that are aligned with the needs of the business. They should help each person define the expected outcomes of what success looks like. Then, they can step back and let their people work, providing coaching, guidance and additional training and education along the way to help them continuously improve.
But, what does ‘improving’ mean? That depends on each person’s circumstance, goals, and challenges. For example, it can mean building better relationships with colleagues and customers. It can mean closing more sales at higher profits. It can mean learning to prospect. It can mean developing people to grow or any number of things.  Performance data will help identify exactly what this means for each individual.
While straightforward, many managers in the rush of everyday business overlook the following five basic steps that are imperative in helping their people develop action plans for improvement.
Step 1 – Career goals: The first step is to understand what the salesperson’s long term goals are and how the progression along this path, fits into your business. Be honest. Work together. Listen. Develop an attainable working game plan.
Step 2 – Self-assessment or a personal S.W.A.T (Strengths, Weaknesses, Attitude, Threats): The next step is to help the employee conduct an honest self-evaluation. A good tool is the same one used to assess businesses, but applied personally, the S.W.A.T. analysis. From a professional perspective, have the salesperson make a list of their individual attributes using one page for each of the following topics:
Strengths – characteristics that give them an advantage
Weaknesses – characteristics that place them at a disadvantage
Attitude – what beliefs, feelings, values and dispositions exist that influence the individual to act in a certain way
Threats – elements that might interfere with the opportunities to improve
As part of this process, managers should ask employees to answer the question, “Why do you work here?” In other words, why this business instead of one down the street?  It should be more than just getting a paycheck.
Step 3 – Guide employees and as they establish a plan based on SMART goals…

Letter

Major Term

S

Specific

M

Measurable

A

Attainable

R

Relevant

T

Time-based

Goals should address three phases of career development.
Short-term should focus on the first year
Mid-term spans two to five years
Long-term extends five years or more
Step 4 – Feedback: Keep track of performance to enable employees to see how effective they have been in attaining the goals. Without proper feedback channels it is impossible to adapt or adjust to the required behavior. Ask questions that guide them through a self-evaluation. The goal is to have a conversation where employees identify and talk about the areas where they need to improve and the manager provides guidance and coaching.
Step 5 – Adjust and Reward: Adjust the plan to ensure it meets the desired outcome. Don’t wait for quarterly, bi-annual or annual reviews; work with employees weekly if not daily to assess and steer them in the right direction. As goals are attained, reward the employee for their efforts and to motive them to continue their improvement.
Not every employee is motivated in the same way, or seeks to be #1 – and that’s ok. A manager’s job is to work with each person to determine what “growing in their role,” means so they can contribute to the performance the organization. For some people, it may mean reaching for a promotion; for others, it means expanding the current job. Managers with winning teams understand and appreciate the diversity of the people in their business. They know how to create “heroes in every role.” They recognize that since everyone has unique strengths, helping people become more of whom they already are, often may be the best way to improve their performance.
Managers Who Are On Top of Their Game Drive Remarkable Results
Even with a plan in place, the process of improving doesn’t happen automatically, and when management is not committed to helping and developing their people, it may never happen at all. But, when managers build a finely tuned team through goal setting, training, educating, and coaching, they will put the business on the road to success. Remember, if your people were capable of being managers, you’d be working for them. To learn more, read Who Stopped the Sale? – www.whostoppedthesale.com, visit us at www.apb.cc, call 508.626.9200 or email, rlibin@apb.cc.
Richard F. Libin is the author of the book, “Who Stopped the Sale?” (www.whostoppedthesale.com) and president of APB-Automotive Profit Builders, Inc., a firm with more than 48 years experience working with both sales and service on customer satisfaction and maximizing gross profits through personnel development and technology. He can be reached at rlibin@apb.cc or 508-626-9200 or www.apb.cc.