What are you looking at?

The next time you get to work and floor traffic is not as great as you want it to be;

the next time you place an ad for salespeople because turnover is off the charts;

the next time you run your monthly numbers and profit seems to be slip sliding away:

don’t integrate another computer tracking program,

don’t increase your advertising budget,

don’t invent another inventory reduction sale,

don’t hire another consultant………..instead, go to the bathroom.

Go into the bathroom, look in the mirror and shout  “WHAT  HAVE  I  DONE  TO  CREATE  THIS  PROBLEM?”

There are reasons that floor traffic is down.  There are reasons you can’t keep salespeople.  There are reasons that profit is not as great as it should be.

BUT….until you are willing to go into the bathroom, face your sweet little self in the mirror and say out loud, “What have I done to create this problem,” you will always blame someone or something else.

Here’s how it usually shakes out:  the owner blames the managers.  The managers blame the salespeople.  The salespeople blame the customers.

At many dealerships, there is usually one time a month when owners, managers and salespeople are all on the same page.  That is when they agree that it is the manufacturers who are the cause of all their troubles.  Or it is the weather; it is the industry; it is the media; it’s the hold back; it’s the advertising program; it’s the new manager; it’s the war; it’s the county fair; it’s vacations, it’s back to school.  Once a month, just about everyone agrees that someone else is to blame.

And as long as we’re willing to blame someone else, we never have to change anything.  Why should we change?  It’s not our fault.  Someone else, something else is causing all these problems……….it’s the poor little me syndrome and it goes like this:

Other industries don’t have these problems.  Other industries don’t have to fight with the manufacturers.  Other industries don’t have trouble finding customers.  Other industries don’t have problems keeping salespeople.  Other industries have it easy, compared to the car business. 

Isn’t it ridiculous, the lies we are willing to tell ourselves when we won’t accept responsibility for where we are and for what we are doing.

The truth is, other industries look at the car business and say, “My oh my, what I could do with that business.”

Go to the bathroom, look in the mirror and for once, decide to stop blaming everyone else for your problems.  Funny thing, how clear everything will seem when you stop blaming everyone else.

It’s not your wife; it’s not your husband; it’s not the kids; it’s not the school; it’s not the neighbors; it’s not the weather; it’s not the manufacturers; it’s not the economy; it’s not the president; it’s not the managers; it’s not the sales- people - - -  it’s you.  You have been making the mistake that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, always finding someone else to blame.

Making the decision to stop blaming others will clear the horizon like nothing else will.  Assuming personal responsibility will change everything in your life, and in your business. 

An owner who accepts responsibility will shortly thereafter have managers who accept responsibility.  Managers who accept personality responsibility for their thoughts, beliefs, words, actions and behavior will soon have a group of salespeople who accept personal responsibility.

Acceptance of responsibility is contagious.  Once the leader makes the leap, others will follow.   

About all an owner has to do to have a group of managers who actually produce real, genuine, honest profit is to accept the responsibility to be real, genuine and honest with the managers.

About all a manager has to do to have a group of dedicated, loyal, hard-working salespeople is to accept the responsibility to be a dedicated, loyal, hardworking manager.

For lo these many years, we have come to believe that if we just find ourselves better salespeople, things will turn around, business will be better, we’ll make more money and life will be sweet.

Earth to owners - - - h-e-l-l-o………..it’s not your managers, it’s not your salespeople.  Baby, it’s you.  You are the problem.  It’s your belief system, not theirs.  It’s your attitude, not theirs.  It’s your behavior, not theirs.

If you want to change the way your managers manage, if you want to change the way your salespeople sell, run, don’t walk to your bathroom, look in the mirror and shout, don’t whisper:  WHAT  HAVE  I  DONE  TO  CREATE  THIS  PROBLEM?

John Brentlinger

Author of The Little Blue Book of Selling