What’s Really Going On in an Open Floor?

Let’s get to the point

May dealers can argue against a Modern Sales Floor (closed or managed floor) is very basic. The aggressive guys will be stifled and the dealership will lose sales. Meanwhile, the mediocre guys may get more chances but could lose some deals for lack of natural sales ability.

The facts are, many managers at dealerships are sending their employees mixed messages. On the one hand, salespeople get yelled at if the sales manager sees a customer on the lot wandering with nobody helping them. On the other hand, sales managers see the “to-dos” in the CRM piling up because the salespeople aren’t making follow–up calls. So what is a salesperson to do?

Most pay plans at dealerships revolve around commissions on sales. This means, salespeople would rather take the immediate sale – the one standing on your lot – than nurture the prospects. Why? Because that’s how they make a paycheck. Instant gratification isn’t anything new. It’s much more exciting to have a customer standing in front of you than making 25 follow-up calls.

There’s more to the story.

When you get a group of people whose livelihood is directly attributed to that car pulling into the driveway, dynamics change. We can yell “Go Team” all day long. But the fact is, many salespeople still actively seek to give themselves advantages over the others. We used to call this “taking them off the market.” Think about it.

There’s a group of salespeople standing outside all calling “ups.” The unspoken rule is that whoever calls the “up” first gets to help the customer. There are lots of tricks that salespeople use to take each other off the market. From engaging each other in conversation and ensuring the other salesperson’s back is turned to arguing so that they leave altogether.

For those that have been around, you know this happens. It probably doesn’t happen in front of you, but it still does.

What About That aggressive guy?

You know, your eagle. The one who is selling 25 cars a month? Perhaps it’s only because he’s good at taking others off the market. Maybe it’s because he’s quick at identifying incoming cars. Do you really know WHY they are your eagle? Maybe they’re burning ups. Cherry picking customers. TO’ing customers after they’ve determined – in their minds – that they aren’t “now” buyers.

That paper log in your office won’t tell you that. Neither will your CRM as the average compliance in logging customers hovers around the 40% range. But that’s another post altogether. Maybe you have more eagles than you think you do but the only reason they aren’t succeeding is for lack of opportunities.

How many opportunities are you missing?

Find Out! Click below to calculate how many opportunities your sales team is throwing away.

Click to Calculate

The whole purpose of a Modern Sales Floor is to figure this out.

Not only does Nextup identify the strengths and weaknesses of each person on your sales floor, but it also satisfies the two demands you have on your salespeople. It helps them with covering the lot and making follow up calls. You can’t wait until the last 3 days of the month to start scouring the CRM for missed deals. It’s simply too late.

We know that salespeople aren’t in front of customers, on average, 5.5 hours per day. There is ample time for them to make their follow up calls, respond to customer questions and nurture those leads. In this era of transparency and instant information, the customer isn’t going to wait. They will simply contact another dealership.

A Modern Sales Floor isn’t meant to stifle aggressiveness nor will it. Your aggressive salespeople will still be aggressive. Instead, they just transfer some of that drive towards following up with customers. The salespeople who don’t get many opportunities will be able to show you what they can REALLY do.

In addition, you’ll have quantifiable data on what, where, and how customers are interacting with your dealership. Additionally, you’ll have insight into any weaknesses in your sales process, and your sales team. Only then can you effectively manage and improve each person and the department.

Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s bad.

Stop being scared of change. Technology isn’t here to prevent success. It’s here to help your dealership succeed. A Modern Sales Floor not only solves all of your pain points but it also provides for a better customer experience.

There was a time when dealers didn’t think they needed websites. Then came the transition from Rolodexes to CRMs. Now, we couldn’t live without them. Get away from that “We’ve always done it this way” mentality. Use an open mind and you’ll see that a Modern Sales Floor offers more benefits than a Traditional Floor ever will. The only thing standing in your way is you.