Improvement Via Goal Setting, Accuracy, and Tracking

If you and your employer are completely satisfied with the results you are currently getting, don’t change a thing. If, however, improvements are sought, something different has to happen or the same results will continue to occur, of course.

I’m often surprised (after asking a Business Manager what sort of goals they have) that they haven’t sought to determine what changes may be necessary to achieve different results.

Identifying what needs to change is the obvious first step. To set a goal is to effect a change. The two most common stated goals I hear are…speeding up the process and improving productivity/income.

Regarding how fast you are processing your deals…what can be done to help? I have covered a proven way to improve time utilization.

You may wonder how adding this step to your process improves efficiency. Done correctly, the interview process will only
require 3-5 minutes but could save 10x that amount of time. Remember, not only is this step critical to discovery, it ensures accuracy, and is an unbelievably effective rapport building exercise.

Obviously, gains had regarding our rapport development will improve our productivity/income, but what else can we do?

Again, I am often surprised when I ask a Business Manager how their month is going and the response is a general “not bad”, “pretty good”, or some other sort of gut feeling response. Many times I’ll even hear, “I don’t look at the numbers regularly because I don’t want to”…”jinx myself”, “get depressed”, etc. You can’t improve it if you don’t measure and track it.

Additionally, when I work with folks and ask what sort of productivity / income goals they have in mind, they are often surprised to learn how obtainable it may be. For example, (depending on the individual pay plan) perhaps a 30% increase in pay could be had with a strategic improvement in productivity of 15%. Take a careful look at your pay plan and consider this point. You’re likely to see what I’m referring to here. Work your pay plan. It was written (by your Dealer Principal, GM, and/or Finance Director) to encourage focus in certain areas for a reason. A little additional attention, to these details, will pay huge dividends. Track where you are throughout the month so that you only need to adjust fire in small increments and aren’t surprised when your check arrives.

Probably most importantly, as always, you’ll increase your effectiveness at addressing your guest’s needs and providing them with the reasons to say yes to what you have to offer. After all, “Results have shown that our HAPPIEST customers are those who don’t have to pay for ANY of their repairs, for ALL covered PARTS and LABOR, less their deductible, of course!!!”

Give it a try.

Good luck and good selling!

Erik Landrum
F&I Performance Coach at Conley Insurance Group

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