A General Manager's Survival Guide

Ask yourself the following.

Whenever a dealer principle/dealer group decides to "make a General Manager change" at their store it is usually for the following reasons:

1) ROI is not meeting expectations

2) Personnel turnover has reached unacceptable levels

3) Customer satisfaction/Google.com reviews are at an all time low

4) Poor work ethic/attendance

5) Complacency/Entitlement

6) Non-involvement/poor department interaction

So, if you are a General Manager/GSM/Director reading this and your store is not running as smoothly as you would like, here are some questions. But, before I go on please understand that I am only speaking from experience. I have been guilty of the above mentioned "trespasses". Continuously learning from my failures and shortcomings has aided me over the years. So, let's address each aforementioned problem and I will share what has worked for me. This will be a cursory discussion and each suggestion has sub discussions which for brevity sake we will not pursue.

ROI is not meeting expectations: First, identify the areas of opportunity. If your front end PRU is below par, take a look at your sales rep's skill sets and processes. Are they all certified? Do they look like they can "afford what they are selling"? In other words, are they "presentable"? Are they allowed to skip steps from your selling process? Have you reviewed your selling process to make sure it is up to date and relevant? Do you use "addendum stickers" highlighting both soft and hard adds? Do your sales reps practice "the silent appraisal" on trades? Is your appraisal process consistent and do you invite other managers to "put their two cents" in? Do you review your missed appraisal list daily and review with your managers/sales reps? How close are you and your managers to the 100% TO standard? Do you and your staff use the CRM tools fully? Does every guest get logged? Do you or your managers conduct daily "one on one's with your sales staff? Do you personally call unsold traffic? Do you pencil at "list" in your 4 square presentation? Is your initial pencil professionally structured? Are you on a one to one pace for both new and used? Do you have an effective appraisal process and do you use a pricing/marketing tool such as vAuto? Are your vehicles staged professionally online? Are they clean and does your lot look great? Do you exert the extra effort to provide compelling descriptions for your online listings? Do you factory certify your pre-owned? Do you data mine using such tools as AutoAlert? Do you have dedicated sales reps working the service lane?

Are your Business Managers conducting a "flying TO"? Are "cash" customers being finance TO'd? Are all your customers being offered ArmorAll/Simonez on the showroom floor via video? Do you have a car(s) on the floor with "hard ads" on display? Does your pencil/deal structure tool have a built in add on lease money factors? Do your business managers produce a regional medium PRU and product penetration? Are they compliant and presenting 100% of the products 100% of the time to 100% of your customers? Do they present a menu 100% of the time? Is their pay plan structured so they can attain reasonable goals and expectations? Do your sales reps provide the business managers with the proper documentation and information necessary to "spot" or otherwise streamline the approval/delivery? Do you have a strict CIT deadline?

Is your BDC performing? Are you listening to their phone calls (both out going and incoming)? Do you "live and die" by the appointments scheduled for the day? Do you train or arrange training for your BDC? Do you have contests, etc. to make it fun? Does your BDC take online inquiries seriously and respond promptly? Is it mandatory for all staff answering incoming sales calls to use a script?

Is your digital presence compelling? Is your website current with factory/manufacturer incentive/rebates/etc? Is your staff page professional with all sales reps/managers/service-support staff smiling and photographed neatly and inviting? Do you make SEO/SEM a priority? Do you practice any form of "geo fencing"?

Are you tuned into your office and making sure all factory rebates are being paid promptly? Could you undergo a factory audit and come out "squeaky clean"? Do you meet daily with your office manager/controller and have a great, working and respectful relationship?

In "fixed ops" are your advisers conducting a "walk around"? Are they presenting the MPI with a consulting approach rather than a "hard sell approach"? When they hear "not now" are they following up at a later date? Are your customers greeted promptly rather than forced to wait until an adviser "notices" them? Are you scheduling correctly? Who is calling "missed appointments"? Do you have anyone consistently phoning "recalls"? Are you monitoring your "unapplied time" statement line? Are the sales reps scheduling the "first service appointment" with an adviser? Are you reconditioning "trades" promptly and judiciously? Are you meeting with your advisers and discussing hours per RO? Does your service manager TO? Do you spend time in the service lane? Do you pull a sampling of RO's and search for trends in declines? Do you request a "lost sales" report from your service director and review this with your parts manager?

Are you monitoring overtime? Are you truly watching expenses? Are you aware of advertising expenditures and tracking what is effective? Are you looking at your statement and questioning "what" and "why"? Are you contacting vendors and exploring "adjustments" and price concessions? If you belong to a dealer group, are you contacting the GM at the most successful in your group and reviewing your expenses?

Personnel Turnover has reached unacceptable levels: Unfortunately, our industry has great turnover. So, I have a few questions which may help reduce this costly trend. Are you accessible? Can anyone talk to you about anything business related during the day? Does everyone have your cell number and do you have theirs? Do you "discipline" in private and "praise" in public? Do you meet with your staff each and every day? Do you walk the dealership and visit all departments every day? Are you looking for signs of "check out" or discontentment? Are you hiring wisely? Do you hire by committee? Do you not play "favorites" and treat everyone equally and with respect? Do you control your temper? Do you think twice before reacting? Are your pay plans designed to inspire and attain goals? Do you do your best to promote from within? Do you provide meaningful training either in house or offsite to your staff? Does your staff see an opportunity to perhaps have your job someday? Is it all work and "no play" at your store? Do you have employee recognition initiatives? Do you celebrate birthdays and employee hiring anniversaries? Do you reward employee retention? Do you host "entire store" meetings? Most importantly, do have a "happy face" on everyday?

Customer Satisfaction/Google.com reviews are at an all time low: I have always believed that customer satisfaction must be "earned" and that it is an everyday endeavor. We have countless interactions with customers per day. Each interaction can go one way or the other. The Golden Rule "treat others as you would like to be treated" is a motto I try and follow. If you are having problems here ask yourself the following.

Are we nice to our customers? Do we say "hello" to everyone that enters our store no matter what the reason? Do we have a "no profanity" rule in place? Do we keep our promises? Do we deliver all our vehicles clean, gassed and fully operational? Do we "pair their phones", set radio stations, set up the first service appointment and go over their warranty/owners manuals and maintenance schedules? Do we provide two sets of keys to both new and pre-owned customers. Do our managers "exit" interview every delivery and thank them for their business and ask if they have earned a "perfect survey"? Are they proactive when the answer is "no"? Are we all asking for Google.com reviews? Do the sales managers place a call the next day to all prior day's deliveries. Do we take women customers seriously?

Do our techs really road test the vehicles after servicing? Are service cars presented to our customers clean and fully operational? Do we keep our service customers informed if there are delays or unforeseen obstacles? Do we greet all our service customers promptly even if we are busy? Are service customers always called the next day to ensure satisfaction? Are "heat" cases taken seriously and addressed immediately by department heads? Is customer parking easily accessible? Are all signage, banners and promotional material current and up to date? Is your service drive/lounge inviting with current magazines, TV, etc? Is it clean and all furniture presentable? Do you have a service shuttle and are sales reps available to take a customer home or to the office, mall etc. if needed? Do you have enough loaner cars and do you have a great relationship with Enterprise or other car rental company? Do we host "owner clinics"?

On a regular basis do we meet with our staff and go over all the reviews and surveys....both "good" and "bad"? Do we reward staff for excellent reviews on Google.com, DealerRater, Edmunds, Yelp, CarsGuru, etc or manufacturer surveys? Do we tie their pay plans to this activity?

Is our store clean? Are the floors polished and windows washed? Do we have amenities? Are the restrooms stocked and clean? Are our work stations orderly and bereft of customer information, etc? Are the showroom cars clean and presentable? Are all indoor and out door lights working?

Poor Work Ethic/Attendance:Though I can honestly say I have never been guilty of this transgression, I have seen it first hand when I was coming up through the ranks. So, one must ask do I lead by example? Do I work as hard as my fellow managers? Do I have a late night or two or three? Am I there on Saturdays or on Sundays? Do I lend a hand when one is needed or do I take my title to mean that certain tasks are "beneath me"? Do I desk deals? Do I TO? Do I handle "heat" cases personally? Do I help train the staff? Do I set the pace for the dealership? Is my door always open to everyone and anyone? Do I manage my time well? Do I pay attention to the DOC and immediately address wayward trends? Do I remember what it was like to be a "newbie"? Do I recall what upset me during those days and how I felt? Do I smile and have fun? Do I "earn" by my demeanor and leadership; or, do I "demand" respect through intimidation and innuendo? Is there a noticeable change in my behavior when the dealer principle is on premises; or, am I myself and a good example if he/she is present or not? Do I truly believe that assisting my fellow employees in their career aspirations is also good for me in the long run? Finally, am I a team player? Do I subscribe to the axiom that "what is good for the team is good for me"?

Complacency/Entitlement: Of all the transgressions we can commit, this is the "sleeper"! This is the SBD (silent but deadly) sin that will blindside you. The first question one need ask is "Do I make a difference"? In other words, if I left tomorrow would it make a difference in store operations/profits/employee retention/customer satisfaction scores, etc? Would the owner or dealer group have a hard time replacing me? Am I a good manager? Do I deserve my job? Or, do I feel "they owe" me? Do I feel I deserve to be able to "sit back" and enjoy the fruits of my labor? Or, perhaps, due to my tenure, they will never replace me! Maybe we feel that since we had a few good months the owner/CEO will be happy. The biggest lie we tell ourselves is this: "Everyone else had a lousy few months so I am okay. After all, no one else has been doing well." If you start thinking this way, you better believe your replacement is already being sought.

In the end you need ask yourself one question (preferably looking in the mirror). "Can I honestly say I gave it my best and worked to the best of my ability". This is a tough one. When I first attained my GM title, a seasoned colleague remarked "just remember, having the GM title means you are the first one out when things go wrong"! I believe that is true only when you have ignored the many questions aforementioned. Smart owners/CEO's know when they have a winner who has heart, vision and a desire to win. The ones that do not believe this you would not want to work for anyways!

Non-Involvement/poor department interaction - This issue is really about communication. Do your various departments communicate with each other or are they at odds? Do you hold department head meetings every week at a set time? Do you go over the DOC/Reports with them? Do you have a mutually agreeable agenda? Do you track goals with them on a weekly basis? Do you invite open discussion as to the "state of the department" with them? Do you openly invite suggestions from them? Do you settle disputes quickly and as fairly as possible? Are you proactive regarding concerns? Do you view each department as an important integral part of the dealership? And if so, do you let them know? Do you invite the head of the detail department to the meetings? If not...why not? Do you provide a "working lunch" venue for these meetings with dealer provided refreshments/pizza/sandwiches, etc? Do you have someone take minutes and notes?

No one General Manager/Platform Director has all the answers. And, I do not pretend to have all the answers myself. I humbly offer this article more as a testament to what I believe we should all question. If we don't ask the questions, we will never seek the answers.

So, take this written offering for what it is worth. If you see a few things that may spark some interest, then it was not a waste of time. The auto business, while being one of the most lucrative, is ever demanding and changing. Sometimes, we all need to take a step back and ask some basic questions. Your comments, suggestions and insights are very much welcome!