Process Discipline

In a sales environment like a dealership there are lot of things happening at once. The swirl of the business lends itself to the creation of rules or processes to keep the organization on track, focused and keeping the main thing the main thing, which is selling vehicles. I want to warn all of the managers who are reading this article that I may be a little hard on you as you read on. I’m not too worried – I know you can take it.

Now I ask you to please think about your dealership, your sales process, your F&I process, your delivery process and so on, how disciplined you and those around you are in following your processes. The level of discipline in the processes of a dealership can determine if the dealership has a bad month, a good month, or a great month. Only you can judge if your dealership has process discipline or if it needs some work.

Process is at the foundation of any sales organization, and dealerships are no different. How important is process in dealerships in our current market conditions?  I think it is always important, but now it may be more of a priority than ever. Here’s why. We have just recently come out of an unprecedented seller’s market. Record dealership profits and a take-it-or-leave-it sales process have created some bad habits in many dealerships as it pertains to sales process, and even wholesale abandonment of what was a traditional sales process in some others.  Now there is plenty of inventory. Customers know it and are reverting to their old ways of shopping around for the best deal.  Sales volume is down year-over-year, and gross profit is down, as well. We now find ourselves in a buyer’s market. Add in higher interest rates and limited factory programs, and if you read the tea leaves, I think you find they are telling you that you better be on your game if you want to win in today’s market, whether it’s cars and trucks, RVs or power-sports.

Processes, when well mapped out, can enhance the customer experience by shortening the sales procedure and making it more efficient for dealership sales teams and F&I managers, as well as the customers. The best sales and F&I processes are customer-focused and invite the customer to be involved and have some control of the process versus just being subjected to it.

A good process is well-defined and can be explained to the customer in terms of why every aspect of it is essential but at the same time leaves some room to accommodate the customer’s needs or expectations.

Some other benchmarks of a good process: It doesn’t overcomplicate tasks within it. A good process is always being evaluated and measured. And at its heart, it is clear, concise and consistent communication between all stakeholders.

And lastly, the most important component of a good process is disciplined leadership who believe in the process and have convinced their teams that it is proven to be the best and most efficient way to a “yes” from the customer. Leadership has a responsibility to inspect what they expect every single day to ensure the process is being followed and are informed when a salesperson or F&I manager wants to deviate from it. They hold their teams accountable to the process. They also constantly train on the process.

If your processes are not being followed consistently, you may want to consider a change. But before you do, determine if it is a lack of discipline on the part of leadership in holding people accountable, or that the process no longer works because it is outdated or too complex. Maybe it’s a combination of both.  If you want to fix it, I encourage you to map out your process, making it visual. Look for the causes of the process breakdown. Determine what needs to be done to fix it, then create a plan to implement the change, communicate it and train on it. And lastly, get buy-in from all of the managers so that this time you will have the process discipline and accountability to make it work.

John Tabar serves as executive director of training for Brown & Brown.

LEARN MORE: The Future of Car Dealer Documents