Attributes of a Great Automotive Sales Manager

The role of an automotive sales manager is to build and manage a successful sales team. Unfortunately, your team can struggle when you don’t have new inventory. This is why it’s important that you continue to build relationships with your customers and develop strategies to improve the sales process. Here are some practices that you should keep in mind!

Stay up to date with product knowledge

Due to the rise of the internet, customers are more knowledgeable about vehicles than ever before. They expect your sales team to answer their questions immediately and thoroughly. One of the most important factors that your team should consider is whether or not they’re walking the used car lot regularly.

Most customers buy a different vehicle than they originally wanted due to the lack of inventory. This is why it’s important that your team members are constantly studying the products that they sell. This will allow them to provide effective and efficient service to their customers.

Be sure to know the basics

Due to the lack of new inventory, your team members may need to improve their skills to meet their customers’ needs. They should also be knowledgeable about digital retailing, price negotiations, and F&I presentations. You should also know how to follow up on leads pertaining to digital retailing. You should be able to look at the information that was given online and pick up where they left off.

Invite your buyers into the showroom

Although it may seem counterintuitive, it’s important that you still build relationships with your potential customers. One of the most important factors that you should consider is how you’re willing to go the extra mile to get them into a new vehicle. This will allow you to create a long-term relationship with them. Inviting people into the showroom can be incredibly helpful, especially since, more often than not, people buy a different vehicle than the one they came for.

The lack of inventory will not only affect your potential customers, but it will also be visible in the other dealerships that they’ll go to. Instead of hiding from it, talk about the issue and show them used vehicles that can help them get through a tight time. This will allow them to make an informed decision, leading to the purchase of a car, whether that’s a different vehicle than they came for, a used vehicle, or a deposit for delivery.

In addition to creating effective strategies and procedures, a good Automotive Sales Manager can also help their team members improve their performance. These tips can help boost their productivity.

-

-

About John Schibi

John Schibi is recognized as a forward-thinking business professional. Throughout his impressive career, he has gained extensive experience as a general manager of new and used car dealerships. John’s reputation for success is based on numerous factors, such as his creative marketing campaigns, sustained growth in profitability, and high employee morale. John is a highly regarded manager who delivers clear and concise short- and long-term goals, builds effective teams, and creates incentive programs for his employees to succeed.

John attended Kennesaw State University. He earned a business degree before moving on to his first job as a Sales Manager at Chrysler. John earned multiple promotions due to his exemplary performance and rapidly climbed the ladder of managerial positions at numerous dealerships. During this time, John Schibi learned about automotive sales, inventory management, budget administration, sales predictions, recruiting/hiring employees, evaluating performances, designing marketing campaigns, and generating employee incentive programs.

John has been routinely recognized for his ability to increase profitability in every location he’s assigned. He received the Honda President’s Club Award. He played a significant role in helping the dealership become recognized as a Top 25 Revenue Dealership, achieving a top-3 score in the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), as well as being named the second-most lucrative location for seven consecutive years.

In addition to being an outstanding salesman and marketing genius, John is a perpetual student who stays current with the latest technological automotive dealership trends. One piece of software he consistently uses is VAuto’s Stockwave platform, making inventory storage and retrieval practically effortless. Wholesale vehicle acquisition is triggered by real-time updates based on sales speed and the intended length of time for inventory. Stockwave recommends the appropriate inventory levels for each dealership, model by model. General managers like John Schibi save valuable time and money by accessing reliable sources about the car buying industry.

To learn more about John Schibi’s career, visit his website at johnschibi.net.