What qualities should car dealers look for when hiring new staff members?

On the latest episode of Mind Your Own Business, host Jonathan Dawson discusses problems associated with personnel development in the automotive industry. Dealers often have to deal with new employees who attempt to avoid training or disregard social media as a platform to promote business. This stunts their growth as a member of the team and can hurt the overall business in a short amount of time. 

As discussed in a previous episode, Dawson reminds viewers to view problems as patterns. While problems may seem difficult to tackle, patterns can be quickly identified and changed. Dawson says these challenges can be overcome by proactively monitoring methods of recruitment, hiring, and onboarding new employees. 

Dawson believes dealers must find a starting point for setting qualifications for prospects. Dealers who set a low standard in recruiting stunt their business from properly growing. Prioritizing qualities to look for in every candidate is a key element of building the right team. Once the appropriate people are identified, dealers are best positioned to develop their staff.

Buy-in from candidates has to come before they are brought on board, not afterward. Too many dealers try to avoid promoting the training they offer to candidates. When prospective salespeople are presented with the resources and tools that will help them be successful, they become excited and confident about the position before they are offered the job. This helps them understand the standard and culture before accepting the offer.

Dawson says that dealers should take it a step further by incorporating the culture of training in the actual interview process. Dealers should introduce training resources in the interview and ask candidates to showcase how well they can put what is shown into action. This will help separate the candidates who can process training and turn it into results from the candidates who are not right for the position.

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