Topics and resources dedicated to improving your worth as a leader.
The Six Secrets to Accountability Accountability is a word that gets tossed around so much in business that it’s become a cliché or a punchline. It’s become meaningless! At the first sign of lackluster results, those at the top announce: “We need some accountability!” Or “We need to start holding our people accountable!” Great idea… […]
What the Auto Industry is Getting Wrong About the Carvana Experiment Many in the automotive industry are not surprised at Carvana’s downfall. (I’ve been writing about the reasons they would fail and the absurd comparisons to Amazon since 2017.) A few, like Jim Zeigler, were vocal about their doubts very early on. Many, however, are […]
Turn Your Order-Takers Back Into Sales Pros Let’s be honest. Since about August or September 2020, your salespeople have had it pretty easy. Your cars, trucks, and SUVs have been selling themselves… often at prices above MSRP for new cars and at historically elevated prices for used. Most salespeople became order-takers. They quit making calls, […]
It’s the Perfect Time to Start Leading Again Yesterday, I wrote about how the inventory shortages presented a perfect time to restart your sales processes. Because, of course, once inventories begin to normalize, you’ll want solid sales processes in place if you plan to grow market share and hold more gross than your neighboring dealers. […]
It’s Time to Revisit Sales Processes Congratulations! You and your team have likely enjoyed the greatest run of net profitability in the history of your store! Of course, so has every other (non-Carvana) dealer in America. What a great (and weird) time it was to be a car dealer. Tight inventories created discipline at the […]
Just Don’t Screw It Up: The Key to Delivering a Great Customer Experience in 2022 I’ve written before about how Chick-fil-A’s reputation for delivering a great customer experience is not about solving issues, it’s about avoiding issues in the first place. Add in some manners, speed, and efficiency, and you’ve got Chick-fil-A’s secret recipe for […]
What’s Your Plan When Inventories Normalize? Today (if you’re like most dealers) you’re selling everything you stock and you’re making the highest grosses on both new and used vehicles that you’ve made in years; perhaps decades; perhaps ever. Of course, while many sales managers will chalk this up to their superior desking skills, the truth […]
Managing Expectations: Going from Happy Customers to Raving Fans A 5-minute wait. Is a 5-minute wait short or long? Of course, the answer depends on the circumstances. Waiting five minutes for a waiter in a busy restaurant to bring the pre-dinner drinks to your party of six is nothing. Waiting five minutes for a hotel […]
(Wrap One’s Head Around is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) Wrap One’s Head Around Physically impossible and impossibly annoying. This […]
(What Keeps You Up at Night is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) What Keeps You Up at Night When you […]
(Up to Speed is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) Up to Speed You’ve just been added to an existing team […]
(Troops is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) Troops While the irritating, PC-driven evolution of employees becoming known as associates, tribe, […]
(Total-Total is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) Total-Total Total-total is to net-net what a solar eclipse is to a light […]
(Thought Leader is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) Thought Leader You may want to argue that thought leader is just […]
(Think Outside the Box is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) Think Outside the Box Likely the most infamous of annoying […]
(That Said is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) That Said Merely unnecessary filler, that said can and should be stricken […]
(So is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) So To be clear, so has a necessary place in the English language. […]
(Show the Seams is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) Show the Seams It seems some annoying managers are obsessed with […]
(Run Interference is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) Run Interference The precise meaning on this one is not always clear. […]
(Pass Muster is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.) Pass Muster Yes, we realize we just referenced the television series Cheers […]