Confessions of a Sales Manager - Vol 3.

Every deal is different. 

David O'Leary told me that as a new sales manager. 

As I recall, he told me this after I dug my heels in during negotiations with a customer, somewhat unnecessarily. I think I even let the customer leave because in the moment, I felt there was no middle ground and no path to an agreement. 

He likely saw my frustration and asked me about the deal. I explained all the ways the customer was wrong and I was right. I explained how we priced our vehicles, I explained how we appraised their trade, I made concessions and asked for the business. I brought up third party information about how the market for their future vehicle looked, I shared the CarFax report for the vehicle, and I explained why they should buy here today. 

I couldn’t believe they wouldn’t buy and that they didn’t see the value in this purchase. I was frustrated they wanted more from me. I was stubbornly sticking to what I wanted to accomplish in the deal, and despite what I was telling myself, I wasn’t being flexible and I certainly didn’t properly prioritize the customer’s experience. In hindsight, it was obvious why the customer didn’t buy from me. 

However Dave O’Leary listened to everything I said. He didn’t point out every mistake I made during the negotiation, and as you can likely tell, there were many. He heard me out, paused and then he told me: Every deal is different. 

What he wanted me to know was that you can not have this preconceived end point to your negotiations. What you have done during other negotiations has no bearing on the next. You can’t assume that the value you place on something will be the same value someone else has. The concessions that seem fair and meaningful to you, can be meaningless to someone else. Every customer, every deal, and every negotiation - is different. But that one deal or any deal wasn’t what was important. 

The important part was the process. 

As a new sales manager, I wanted to be active and close every deal I could. Naively I felt that the biggest impact I could have as a sales manager was to get out and help my team with as many deals as possible. I wanted to be the hero, and I thought that was what my team needed. That was not what my team needed. 

What my team needed was process. As the sales manager, my focus shouldn’t have been on closing deals, but instead my focus should have been on following the process our dealership put in place, and holding the staff accountable to that process. A strong and consistent process would ensure our success - not winning one negotiation for one deal. 

He empowered me to worry less about the results while I was new, and focus on what would help us and our team grow over time. Once I was able to finally shift my mindset (and it took some time) the team began to click at a much higher level. 

Because he had an active interest in my development. 

Because process is what is important. 

Because every deal is different.

---

Brandon is a Sales Manager at Steele Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia - the #1 GM Store in Atlantic Canada. He is also one of the founding captains of the Strategy Mob, a network of content creators created to give dealers and people in the automotive industry access to original content, thought-provoking conversations, and best practices for the betterment of the entire automotive industry.

For more incredible content from some of the best minds and content creators in the automotive industry, check out the Strategy Mob.

If you're in the market for a new or used vehicle anywhere in Atlantic Canada, check out Steele Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac for all your vehicle needs!