What do you do if your Automotive Sales team lacks strong leadership skills for the future?

I recommend conducting this assessment based on objective data, such as sales statistics, rather than relying solely on personal opinions. Additionally, consider providing training and support where needed, and involve more successful team members in contributing to the training process. This approach ensures a more effective and tailored development strategy for enhancing leadership skills within your automotive sales team.

I believe most leadership failures in the "car business" translate to a couple common points. 1- Ownership is disconnected from their people as well as business in general. Seen a lot of owners who only show up to get a check, change demos, or yell at sales managers when sales are down. 2- Managers are promoted because of successful sales but have no leadership skills. And often don't desire to develop any and/or the dealership doesn't offer any training. Leading is hard but at car lot where personalities vary so much, and everyone is always under high stress.. it takes real leaders. It takes more to lead people than being good at the "road to the sale". So Many managers just in it for income and title only.

Si eres un líder, es importante saber que no todas las personas están calificadas e incluso interesadas en fortalecer su liderazgo, por tanto, es de suma importancia evaluar en base a las capacidades y a su interés adquirir las herramientas necesarias.

Investing in your team's development not only boosts immediate performance but also helps long-term growth and adaptability in the automotive sales industry. In this field, there's an expectation for professionals to possess certain understanding of the products and services they're selling. I mean it is there chosen career and pays the bills. To ensure lasting impact, consider incorporating regular office-based updates or competitions that reinforce the lessons learned during training sessions. This helps prevent important skills and concepts from being forgotten too quickly and keeps the team motivated to apply their newfound knowledge in their day-to-day

Clave que las empresas se interesen en invertir en el desarrollo de su fuerza de venta, las fuerzas de venta de alto rendimiento tienen mayor capacidad y entrenamiento que el promedio, cada dia es mas importante el aportar valor tanto a los colaboradores y por consecuencia esto aporta valor a todos los clientes.

Let me first say that i speak from years of experience in the industry. Real mentorship is not very prevalent in most areas of business, even less in the auto industry. Most "mentoring" is a sales manager picking a favorite and basically doing their job for them while they learn. I'm ok with that, if not for the fact it causes the person who is being "groomed" for management to be completely disconnected from what the people he will lead one day go through. The biggest leadership problem in the car industry is too many people are promoted because they were a "top" salesperson. Leading and selling are two very different skills and having one doesn't mean you have the other. If i don't truly desire to serve, I will manage not mentor!

Primero considero que es muy importante cuales son las aspiraciones y deseos de cada uno. Luego de conocerlos, brindarles la libertad y confianza para que tomen sus propias decisiones y aprendan en el proceso. Siempre siendo acompañados. Aprendiendo del ejemplo.

El empoderamiento no es solo una estrategia, es una transformación. Es la llave que abre las puertas al liderazgo innato de cada miembro de tu equipo. Cuando les otorgas autonomía y responsabilidad, les das la oportunidad de desplegar sus alas y volar alto. Confía en ellos. Encomiéndales tareas importantes y dales la libertad de tomar decisiones. Verás cómo su confianza se dispara y sus habilidades de liderazgo florecen. Un equipo empoderado es un equipo imparable. Sus integrantes se convierten en protagonistas activos, tomando la iniciativa y comprometiéndose con el éxito del grupo.

Another critical aspect to consider is empowering the line manager to hire their own staff . Often, sales executives are hired by higher-level management and thrown into the mix without much input from their direct supervisors. This can lead to mismatches in skills and expectations. By allowing the line manager to be involved in the hiring process, they can ensure that the new hires align with the team's culture and goals. Additionally, the line manager can provide valuable insights into the specific skills and qualities needed for success in their team.

I think its harder and harder to find true leaders who would actually prefer the car business. Every year the manufacturers do more and more to make it harder to make money. They are trying to eventually sell direct to the public, let's be honest about that. So the stress that comes with the "what have you done for me lately" relentlessness that is the car business doesn't pay real leaders enough to consider it. Not when great leadership skills give them other industry opportunities.