Friday, March 14, 2008

Your "Friends" at Work

Some of my best friends are people I sell cars with. You know the stats--you spend more time with the people at work than you do at home with your family. I can honestly say that I know more about the people who sit next to me than my own wife.

Let me state something else. Some of my worst enemies are the people I work with. You know what else? My best friends and my worst enemies overlap--they are one of the same.

I know what you're thinking--man, you're warped, Marv! Well, I'm not. When I say that they are my worst enemies, I really don't mean that we hate each other but that we...

...Tell you what. Let me define "enemy" before I call my good friends enemies. In a war, an enemy is someone who is against your ultimate goal of winning a war. In a movie, the good guy's enemy is the person who keeps him from doing what he is supposed to do in the movie. Darth Vader didn't want Luke to blow up the death star, did he? Therefore, he was Luke's enemy even though, through the process of amazing coincidences, he was actually Luke's dad, made C-3P0, used to own R2-D2 and was also Princess Leah's dad. Uh... yeah right.

So, using my definition of "enemy", are my good friends--those who keep me from reaching my goals, that of selling cars and providing for my family.

OK--how can my good "enemy" friends keep me from doing that? Let me give some examples just from the last couple of weeks.

I called off of work on Wednesday because I had a bad cold. My wife had it, my daughter had it (and missed school--something she never wants to do) and my little baby-boy had it. I had a bad sore throat and slept in until 11:00 (something I rarely ever do) and thought I was blowing my brains out with all the snot in my nose. Now, granted, I could have been a "trooper" and went to work but I would have sat there all day and not tried to sell anything--I wouldn't have felt like it. Also, just the fact that everyone in my family was sick told me something--whatever we had was catchy! But, whenever I call off, people always assume that I'm faking it and run their mouths about it. A girl was running her mouth saying that she thought I was faking and finally I had to tell her to worry about herself and mind her own business.

We have to make follow up calls at work and I fallen behind and the same huddle asked me how many calls I had left to make and they asked it in front of my manager--the same manager that told me in the sales meeting that I needed to catch up on the calls. My problem is, I don't call everyone on the list that they provide--I call the ones on my own list--the ones that I think I would stand a better chance to sell (and I sold 3 of them in the last 2 days.) So, even though I was salesperson of the month last month and am leading this month (or at least tied for 1st) all I get is grief about my calls I need to make--from people who are selling fewer cars than me. You know what I told them? Mind their own business and worry about themselves.

One of my good friends told my boss today that the reason I miss a lot of work and never want to be there is because I have this "computer business" and plan on doing that for a living. I'll be honest--if it ever gets to the point where I can support my family selling my software, I would do it in a heartbeat. Why wouldn't I? I "bad" day at home with my kids beats any "good" day at work and I'm almost 41 years old--I don't want to "broom snow" the rest of my life and work 55-65 hours a week the rest of my life and watch people control my destiny the rest of my life (like strikers for example ) and I certainly would like to see my kids more. But--I'm not there...yet! Needless to say, my good friend telling my boss that led to a confrontation today that quite frankly, was unneeded--and put me in a pretty bad mood that could have cost me a sale. I had to assure him that until my numbers say otherwise, assume that I'm there to sell cars but I also had to make it clear that if a dealership ever told me that I couldn't run my business on the side, I wouldn't work for them. So--I had to be put in a bad situation that should never have happened--all because of a "good friend" and I still don't know who it is.

I've had "good friends" try to skate me a million times. Once, in Tennessee, a girl came up 5 minutes before we opened (I wasn't there yet--I always manage to be 1 minute late to work--not matter what time I get up!) and said her mom told her to see the "guy from Michigan." Well, I was the only guy from Michigan and everyone let me know it (they called me Damn Yankee every day) but that day, my good buddy Tinker played Ronald Reagan being questioned about Iran Contra--he didn't know a thing and had no idea that there was even a state called Michigan, let alone someone from there selling cars at the dealership! Tinker and I are still buddies--I just understand that shit like that goes with selling cars and don't take it personal. We still joke about it when I go down there to visit--pretty funny stuff!

I had a customer a few weeks ago try to call me while I was out to lunch. I wasn't there so he called back on a "phone up." Another salesperson took the call and the customer said, "Marv never answers his phone. I want to deal with you." (her words) so she just decided to start working the customer. Now me, I would have told the customer something like this. "I assure you, Marv answers his calls but I think he's out to lunch. I know he would like to talk to you and he is a pretty good guy so let me get your number and I'll make sure he calls you the moment he gets back." I would have said something like that in a heartbeat. I have no interest in working other people's customers and I hate working customers for half-a-deal. But--this person decided to work this customer and started talking prices with the customer over the phone.

Needless to say, the salesperson told me what happened and I said, "When is my customer coming in?" She said, "at 12:00--we'll both work him." I instantly went to the manager and told what happened and said, "This is my customer. I generated the call and they called for me and I want to work them." The manager said, "Well, let her work the customer and take 1/2 the deal." I said, "No--my customer I want to work him." So--the customer's wife comes in and I was with another customer so I didn't have a chance to cut her off at the pass. The salesperson I work with catches her and starts working her. I go to the manager again and she sees me so she comes over and asks, "What do you want to do?" I said, "I don't want to put the customer in an awkward position. Ask her what she wants to do." So, the salesperson goes up to the customer and says, "Marv is right over there and I know you've been dealing with him. Do you want to deal with him or with me." Then she adds, with big puppy dog eyes, "It really doesn't matter." It does matter--to me! I hit the roof and she knew it by the look on my face so she finally did what she should have done to begin with--she made an excuse about why the customer should go to me and excused herself from the customer. Needless to say, I already had great rapport with the customer (it was her husband who got mad at me for going out to lunch on a day that I worked 13.5 hours) so I sold her a car. When her husband came up later, I even cracked a joke--I patted my fat gut and said, "Sorry I missed your call but I love to eat--I was out to lunch." He laughed and everything was cool. I have no hard feelings towards the other salesperson--she is a cool girl and a great salesperson. I just told her how I would have handled the situation and that is exactly how I handle it--I always make the other salesperson look like God's gift to great deals and that they should go ahead and deal with them. I honestly think she was put in an awkward situation but the customer and I don't think she intended to skate me--I think she just handled it wrong--at least from my standpoint.

I could go on and on. Here are some facts about the huddle that I have learned in my 12 years selling cars.

If you are rocking and rolling and someone isn't, there is a great chance that they will run their mouths being your back about how you "get all the house deals" and poop like that. Hell, I had one guy tell the manager that I had a "bad closing ratio" during a month where I out-sold the 2nd place salesperson by 5 cars. "He sucks--he's only closing X amount of people." Uh--at the end of the month, don't managers just look at your total sales? Also--I tend to log everyone so of course I'm going to have a lower closing ratio than someone who logs, for example, only their sales.

If a good friend of yours is doing bad and you're doing good, there is a good chance that they will try to bring you down to their level so they don't feel all alone. They don't do it consciously--they just do it.

If you are in the huddle with a bunch of underachievers, they will talk about how bad the business is, how the programs suck, how we have no inventory, how the bosses are jerks, how the used car manager doesn't put enough in their trade, etc. In other words, they will justify their underachieving and try to get you to believe all of it!

I work with a few smokers. A couple came in the other day and a smoker was standing next to the door when a young couple headed towards the showroom. I was getting up to greet them and saw the smoker there (he wasn't smoking at the time). I asked him, "Hey--are you catching them? I don't want to step in front of you." He looked towards his buddy (they were on their way out to smoke) and told me "No" because at that time, it was more important for him to smoke with his buddy than greet a customer. Needless to say, I caught the people and even though it took me 4 days, they just left in their new truck today and I made enough $$$ to buy 10 cartons of smokes (they are expensive in Michigan, by the way--not that I smoke because I don't.)

OK--the moral of this article.

  • Stay away from the huddles or only stay in them for up to 10 seconds. If you are in a huddle and the talk gets negative about anything--get out!
  • I still B.S. at work but I don't let it consume me.
  • Stay away from people who have the "stink of death" on them--you know which ones I mean. The ones who are not selling any cars and have the fear of being fired. The ones who always volunteer to fill the brochure racks and put out the balloons and get the managers lunch and coffee, etc. The ones who think that doing all of that stuff will help them keep their job that is probably paying them only $0.50 an hour since they aren't selling anything. Stay the #$%&@ away from them! You have your own problems to worry about and don't need to hear theirs. It's strange over the years--I've been on full commission for 12 years straight--no salary, no draw for the last five, etc. I've seen people go month after month only selling 1-3 cars and they stick with it--making probably the $0.50 per hour and they refuse to quit and get bummed when they get fired. I wonder why they stick around--perhaps the security of a job even if it isn't paying anything--is better than not having a job? Hmmmm--always wondered about that.
  • I'm guilty of it too but don't gossip. It will get back to the person one day and they will find out that it was you who helped spread the gossip.
  • If you sell a car, don't go tell an underachiever about it--first of all, they are already in the dumps and all they will do is start running their mouths about how it was a house-deal. I worked with a guy who used to say this to me every time he saw me sell a car and he would say it sarcastically. "Another 'lay-down' for Marv!" I would say this back to him--"They are all lay downs if you know what you're doing--maybe you should learn how to sell cars."
  • If someone has something bad to talk about, find any reason in the world to excuse yourself. "My dog's uncle broke his leg and can't pay his bills." Uh--"Excuse me--I have to go to the bathroom."
  • Mind your own business and tell people to mind theirs.
  • Don't read the newspaper or watch the local news. There is nothing uplifting in either of those mediums. If someone wants to tell you some bad news, excuse yourself or just act indifferent and put the shit out of your head. "Man--gas is high." Uh--excuse me--I have to go get a root canal? "Man--it sucks that my house is only worth $10,000 now." Uh--excuse me--I have to go get my prostate exam'd? "I don't know what were going to do with the strike going on." Uh--excuse me--I'm going to join up and go to Iraq.
Well, did I bore you enough today? I think so--I'm going to bed. Good night, y'all.

Marv




1 comment:

randy said...

Here's some of my "car sales 101" rules I live by.

1. Stay out of the dope rings.

2. Car Sales is not a team sport. Deal with it.

3. The playing field will never be level. Deal with it.

4. Don't take shortcuts in the sales process.

5. You can go from hero to zero within 1 month. Deal with it.

6. Stuff happens. Deal with it.

I've got a lot of these type of rules of the road but the point is to stay focused on why your there which is to sell cars and make money.