If you love sports, particularly football, January is one of the best months of the year. Things start off with great college Bowl games and the National Championship and then the NFL playoffs kick into gear. More than any other sport, football involves detailed preparation and execution, and even if you are not a football fan, you can learn some useful tactics to better run your business and sell more cars.

Prepare for the Big Day: Some of the most successful coaches of all time say games are won in practices the week leading up to the big game. The same is true when selling cars. Preparation by your staff, specifically knowing everything a customer will ask about the cars on your lot will instill confidence that you are an expert in your field and can offer a true solution instead of just selling a car.

Execute Your Game Plan: When it comes to your goals for leads and sales, what are you looking to sell every month? Week? Day? Put your plan together and everything you and your team does should be with that goal in mind, just like a team executes the coach’s vision for game day.

Put Everyone in a Place to Succeed: A football team is filled with athletes that have different skill sets and abilities. The quarterback gets most of the glory when the team scores (just like the salesperson gets the credit for a sales), but a good coach knows that the quarterback is only successful if all the other players are doing their jobs as well. You too know that the work of your support staff makes the dealership run smoothly, so make sure the right people are in the right places and that you recognize their hard work.

Avoid Distractions: Players that are not completely focused on the field are more likely to make costly errors. Make sure your staff is focused on their jobs, leaving any issues and problems behind. If your team does not have their heads in the game, work with them to figure out the best way to get them back on track.

Consistency is Key: Players do best when they know what is expected of them at all times and that the coach is delivering a consistent message that resonates through everything the team does. Your auto-selling solution should be a consistent message as well, one that runs through marketing and advertising through the dealership environment and sales experience.

Building an effective game plan to maximize your team’s ability to sell cars is the best way to turn your dealership into a championship squad. But coaching doesn’t end with you developing your sales team. Tune in next time to catch some top techniques your salespeople can use to coach your customers through the buying process.

In the meantime, get more tips and tricks to build better relationships with your customers, in our new EBook Break The Ice With A Nicer, Newer Customer: 5 Ways To Attract More Customers Without Spending More On Advertising. You can download it for FREE right now. Just click here to get your FREE copy.