This Facebook post in a dealership group got me thinking about what kinds of attitudes salespeople might have toward the ownership or management team.
This poster wrote:
"So, my fellow car sales people, I got fired this week for as best that could be explained to me, "we can’t elaborate, but we decided to go another way." I am almost always in the top 3 of sales each month out of 11 people, so my productivity wasn’t a problem.
The spineless GM didn’t have the balls to do it himself cause he’s a 60 something drunk who like to run his suck hole making mealymouthed comments and passive aggressive snide remarks until someone stands up to him…so he had the service manager and one of the owner’s lackey finance managers do his dirty work…so what are some reasons you got fired for despite being a top producer for the dealership?"
As always, I will do my best to ignore the terrible grammar of this poster and remember that they are on social media and not writing a business letter.
What struck me most about this post is the author’s disbelief that one can get fired even if he is a top producer at the dealership.
I have fired salespeople, even top producers, for reasons unrelated to their position on the leaderboard. Here are a few:
Poor customer follow-up.
If a majority of this person’s sales result in phone calls from the customer to the Manager because promised accessories or services were never delivered. Or, even worse, finding out years later that a customer has chosen to not do business with the dealership because they were promised something that they never received and therefore feel that they were lied to by a crooked dealership.
(Be thankful for the complaint calls you get and be concerned about the angry customers who never give you a chance to make it right. I always thank the upset customer for calling and sharing his concerns. I tell him that this gives me a chance to correct the error and find solutions.)
If the salesperson in question delivers 20 cars per month because he is a great closer but angers half of them, there is little benefit to the dealership. The 10 upset customers will tell 10 other people, and pretty soon, hundreds of potential customers are under the impression that your dealership is crooked and lies to customers. I prefer a 10-car guy who provides exceptional customer service and creates 10 loyal customers.
Incomplete paperwork
There is a lot more to running a dealership than selling cars.
- Once the customer has agreed to purchase the vehicle, the salesperson needs to work with the Sales Manager to accomplish the tasks that must be done to forward it to the Finance Department.
- The salesperson must also provide the F & I, Manager with complete and accurate information, so they have what is needed to provide the customer with the best information that will help them protect their vehicle.
- The salesperson must communicate with the detail department about the vehicle and delivery expectations.
If the salesperson is unable or unwilling to take part in these many steps, he creates much more work for the rest of the dealership.
Attendance
A great salesperson who is often late for work, takes unauthorized long lunches, leaves before his shift is done, or disappears during the sales day without permission is creating a poor work environment. This is especially true if management ignores this lousy behavior and allows it to continue simply because this person is a top performer.
Attitude
I think a terrible attitude will cause me to fire you more quickly than the other reasons listed.
Based on the evidence available, I surmise that his poor attitude was the reason for our salesperson’s dismissal.
Specifically, if you think it’s ok to refer to your General Manager as
- spineless
- "doesn’t have the balls to do it himself"
- a 60 something drunk
- [someone] who like to run his suck hole
- making mealymouthed comments and passive aggressive snide remarks
And also refers to the owner’s management team as lackeys, which leads me to believe that this salesperson has expressed these opinions before his dismissal, and his bad attitude and lack of respect for management is well known.
Other Duties
If the salesperson could also be a poor performer in other ways
- Refusal to use the CRM
- Does not participate in snow removal
- Doesn’t park cars where and when asked
- Ignores dirty or unfueled vehicles
- and so many others
Conclusion
Yes. Having a top performer is lovely. But, having a top performer who makes dealership life miserable for others is a liability.
