In retail and bored?? Read this

[campgottagopee]

Hard to tell, we can only hope. I think summer 2010 is a realistic time frame of when the scales will tip towards the majority viewing that the economy is okay again.

Hear ya---let's meet in the middle and say Fall of 2009????

 

[Warp Daddy]

Camp gotta tell ya -- the attitude -- straight from Lombardi !! When the going gets tuff the tuff get going ! except with a smile and an upbeat positive MOJO

Camp I'd of been PROUD to be on YOUR team pardner -- hang tuff !

 

[campgottagopee]

Camp gotta tell ya -- the attitude -- straight from Lombardi !! When the going gets tuff the tuff get going ! except with a smile and an upbeat positive MOJO

Camp I'd of been PROUD to be on YOUR team pardner -- hang tuff !

It's just time to lace 'em up and go to work is all

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

We have our end of the year meeting tomorrow...2008 was our busiest year ever..but we still have the occasional deadbeat customer..lol..

 

[trtaylor]

My wife works in retail and her store is beating last year's numbers and plan. Hmmmm...

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

It's all about satisfying the customer..

 

[Warp Daddy]

It's all about satisfying the customer..

Yeah BUT STEEZE YOU get to BURY your mistakes

 

[ctenidae]

It's just time to lace 'em up and go to work is all

Too true. And not just in retail. We're facing a huge headwind trying to get people to invest, at all, in general, and with us, in particular. And we're not negatively impacted by the current environment. In fact, we're benefiting in many ways. We have capital, invest long term, and will catch the commodity upside at the end of this cycle. What more could you want?

 

[Johnskiismore]

I went over this w/ my guys earlier today---no matter what you sell you can relate.


If I hear one more person give another reason why they can't sell cars I am going to punch them in the mouth.

"The banks aren't buying" - Yes they are, just not like they were, so change what you are doing.

"There are less customers looking" - So get out of your office and work the ones you have harder.

"The deals aren't as good" - Says who? Cars have always been expensive and they have always cost more than the customer told you they wanted to pay...so now you are going to start believing the customer?

"We cant lease anymore" - yes you can...there just aren't giveaways that any no talent order-taker could give away, so maybe you should quit and we’ll get a salesperson who can do the job.

Guess what... We sold cars when interest rates were 18%... We sold cars when they would blow up...we sold cars that flipped over...we sold cars in recessions...we sold cars that were uglier than a monkey’s armpit and broke down on delivery...we sold cars from empty showrooms...we sold Yugo's, and Daewoos, and Pinto's, and K-cars for god's sake, and Suburbans when gas was $4 a gallon.

How? Because we SOLD them. We inquired about our customers needs and wants, their budget, their family, their jobs, their travel habits. We made friends and sold the snot out of the right vehicle that met all of their needs. We didn't sell the deal, we made the deal sell. We didn't believe them when they told them the car was too much...because we selected a vehicle that wasn’t too much; and, when they chose a more expensive model...we told them it was more expensive and they would pay more. We sold them on the idea of putting money down so they wouldn't be buried with debt so that cash down wasn't a burden but a benefit - and they always found more money for the car we made them want...because we made them want it...we made them need it...and they loved us for it.

We didn't lie or cheat, we didn't fudge the numbers, and trick them into paying more...we sold the sizzle...and we made money doing it and our customers loved us when we were done. And they told their friends how great we were to do business with.

When I was a salesperson I loved the rain. I loved it because the other salespeople would hide in their office convinced that they were not going to sell anything because nobody was going to come out in the rain. So I stood on the lot under my umbrella and waited, 'cause I knew that if somebody did show up...they were there to buy something.

Today the news media is pumping bad weather into everybody's living room and it is raining bad news. Today I want to be a salesperson again standing in the showroom waiting for the customer who is going to walk in despite everything they have heard because they are looking for someone to say, "its OK to buy," and I would be there in my tie with a warm handshake and a smile ready to make it OK to part with a few thousand dollars...and I would make it fun too.

Yes, it is true that dealers will close. Banks will go under. The car business is changing. This is the time when we will undergo an economic housecleaning. We will see the weak salespeople who survived in this business out of sheer dumb luck find their true place in McDonalds dunking fries. We will see the sales managers who forgot how to sell, and who never knew how to motivate and train professionals, move on to telemarketing gig's or make that career change they have “talked” about for so long.

Good riddance. This business is not for the weak or faint of heart. Here only the strong survive. When all is said and done only the best will be left standing. We will be sipping our coffee, and cashing our big checks, and rolling steel.

I will be here with my umbrella, my tie, a warm handshake and a smile. I say bring it on.

I fully agree! It's what you're going to make of the situation, not vice versa. I spend maybe three hours a week in my office now, if the customers don't come to you, go out and find the customers! Got a new shell, had my Real Estate logo put on as well as one of the local developments' logo. Two to three people approach me each day I'm on the mountain...... great way to mix business with recreation!

 

[Philpug]

Great post and way to look forward. The whole auto industry needs a house cleaning.

 

[campgottagopee]

The whole auto industry needs a house cleaning.

Very true, but Im REAL glad to be running a Nissan-Subie store and not one of the "big 3"

 

[Hawkshot99]

The news makes it seem so much worse than it really is. Dont get me wrong, everything is not great, but if i went off just what the news is saying, it is WAY worse.