In the previous article, we revealed four ways you can sustain success even in these uncertain times. In this post, we’re going to tackle five more ways you can bounce back.
5. Embrace Criticism
Building a successful business means being visible. Not everyone is going to get what you’re doing, and people are critical of what they don’t understand. But before you change for these critics, remember SAME IS LAME! Being unique, standing out and offering a valuable experience is what will help you pull things back together and get back on top.
4. Refine Systems
Rebuilding a business is a lot like spinning plates. Just as you get one plate going nice and steady, you have to move on to the next—from traffic you move on to sales and from sales you move on to F&I and so on and so forth until you’ve, hopefully, constructed systems in every area of your business. But just like plate spinning, that doesn’t mean your work is finished. Just as a plate spinner must return to the first plates to give them a little push, you must routinely inspect and refine the systems and process within your business. This is even more important as everything tightens up. You need to make sure you have all your plates spinning so you can take full advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
3. Don’t Wait. Terminate!
You know who they are—the lazy, unmotivated salespeople, the ineffective managers, the negative Nancy’s who fight you every step of the way. Perhaps you let it slide for a while because they’ve been with you for so long or because who needs to add recruiting to your plate when lockdown has shuttered your dealership. But with unemployment numbers higher than they’ve ever been, prime talent that was unavailable to you before is now ripe for the picking. This could be just the opportunity you need to level up your talent.
2. Squash Culture Creep
If you don’t create the culture in your dealership, someone else will. And culture is one of the most important components of maintaining a successful business because a good culture provides purpose, vision and satisfaction, even in uncertain times. When things are in flux, it’s easy for negativity to creep in, people to get scared. They get lazy, and it makes it easy for old habits to slip back into the day-to-day grind. But having a positive culture that overflows into your customers’ experience has never been more critical.
1. Give Value First
In uncertain times, most people reflexively get more selfish. They spend their days and nights thinking about themselves–how they can get by, how they can get more, how this is affecting them. If you really want to withstand the current crisis and avoid an economic fall out afterward, you need to do the opposite. Instead focus on how you can give you customers more. More options, more value, more solutions, more help. These things will increase their perceived value of you exponentially. And offering these things without asking for a thing in exchange will show them that you are on their side and there to help.
Conclusion
Admittedly, things are a little crazy right now. Even as some states start to ease lockdown restrictions and economies start to open back up, we still have a long road to get back to where we were. We wish we could tell you how long it’s going to take and exactly what will happen next. But if you genuinely want to come out of this as strong as you were before, or better yet experience growth, you have to work at it every day. Adapt. Adjust. Learn. Grow. Lead. Hopefully the tips we’ve provided in this series will give you an idea of where to start this work, so you can continue growing and surpassing your goals.