Fire the Driver!
by: Jim Richter
It’s time to upgrade the position!
A few years ago I was visiting a client during the summer and I noticed a scruffy looking young man loading parts onto one of the delivery trucks. He wore frayed shorts with a faded tee shirt and sandals; his hat was turned sideways and an assortment of facial piercings completed his wardrobe. I asked the parts manager who he was and was informed that he was “summer help”. When I inquired why he hired this fellow I was told it was the office manager’s son and he had no choice. Imagine my surprise when this young person hopped into the truck and proceeded out to make deliveries!
Later that day, the dealer and I discussed what I had seen and he was very upset that this was how his business was being represented to his wholesale customers. The office manager was called in and was told that either the son was cleaned up by the next day or he could find work somewhere else.
The message behind this story is that one of the lowest paying positions in many stores has among the highest customer contact ratios. They greet customers all day long, handle cash in many instances, determine what parts are returned to the warehouse, and work largely unsupervised. Who do we typically hire to fill this position? All too often we have a ‘Driver’, not the Outside Salesperson we should have. This person often has limited experience in parts, or anything else for that matter, yet we entrust to them thousands of dollars in parts both going out to the customers, and coming back on returns. Let’s take a look at what they should be doing.
1. Delivery of parts is only the first step toward customer development. This person should also be able to discuss additional needs while they are there, inspect returns before they are loaded onto their vehicle, and be capable of collecting payment whenever possible.
2. This person should have a professional appearance and be in company attire so they are readily identified as a representative of the store.
3. They should be charged with the responsibility of identifying shops that you currently do not do business with and visiting them with the express purpose of soliciting future orders for your products. They should have business cards and be capable of discussing your services, but not prices.
Inspect what you expect.
As I mentioned earlier this position operates largely unsupervised, so how do you expect to achieve the desired results? There are some measures you can take to both coach this person in their daily activities, and to measure the results.
1. Make sure you have a very clear and specific Job Description/Function which spells out what is expected on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, not only in terms of actions but objectives as well. Have frequent coaching meetings to ensure success or identify mis-hires early on in the process.
2. Institute a Daily Route Sheet and Prospect Log which identify what new businesses have been visited, along with key contact information for follow-up. Set up a visit plan, daily, based on existing orders or a territory you need to penetrate.
3. Establish a Pay Plan which rewards this person for starting new customers. I suggest a commission for one year for every new client they bring onboard, based on their purchases.
4. Follow-up with your customers, just like you do with retail service customers. If problems crop up like slow paying of bills or increased returns, don’t wait for it to “work itself out.” See if it’s the client or the ‘Driver.’ It wouldn’t be the first time a ‘Driver’s’ attitude spoiled a good customer.
Caution!
I’m seeing a trend developing recently which is a direct result of dealer’s and consolidator’s efforts to reduce operating expenses by contracting this service to outside vendors. I’ve seen all sorts of people and vehicles performing delivery tasks and, to be honest with you, many of them were pretty shabby. Their appearance, both personally as well as their vehicles, was not something I feel represented the store properly. Once again these were ‘Drivers’, not Sales and Delivery people which means we wasted another opportunity to increase sales with an existing customer, or identify and cultivate a new one.
If you need help with the Pay Plan or the Prospect Log, please contact me and I’ll be happy to help you put one together. Meanwhile, as you experience turnover in this position don’t rehire a ‘Driver’, upgrade to the Outside Salesperson you really need. |
We'd like to introduce our newest member to the M5™ team: Jim Richter. Jim is a management professional with over 40 years of experience working with Importers, Distributors, and Dealers in North America and Europe. Jim started with Volvo, moved onto Renault and then BMW when it was taken over from the Distributor. He was responsible for Fixed Operations Business Development for the private Mazda Distributor in the 1990’s and has extensive experience training District Managers as well as dealership personnel. He has been writing for Dealer Magazine since 2004 specializing in Parts Management. He has been in the Coaching/Consulting business since 1999 working in the Automotive, Power Sports, and Marine industries.