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Accountability rules them all...

1/10/2025

Content May Be King Online, but Accountability Still Rules the Showroom
Do You Inspect What You Expect?

These days, it seems like every vendor that sits in front of me says the same catchphrase: “Content is king.” While I’m sure that’s true in the online world, today I want to talk about a different king—one that rules the showroom. At the dealership, I have a saying I’ve repeated thousands of times over the years: “Accountability is king” or in other words Inspect what you expect!

But there’s a difference between repeating that phrase and actually practicing it.

Too often, we look only at the results of an employee’s performance and assume we know the activities that led to those results—whether positive or negative. For example, we might assume that a salesperson who sells 20 cars a month must be diligent about following their daily work plan. Conversely, we might assume a low-performing salesperson isn’t putting in the effort.

Here’s the hard truth: a lack of accountability is an all-too-common issue in the car business.

If your dealership has accountability down to a science, I applaud you! But after 30-plus years in showrooms, I speak from experience when I say that most of us—including myself—can get sidetracked. We all get busy, and it’s easy to lose track of the day. Many managers simply nod as their salespeople check out with a casual “Good night, boss,” without taking the time to inspect their activities.

When this kind of "check-out" process goes unchecked, we end up scrambling at the end of the month to find those last few deals that might save us from a slow performance.

The Reality: Preparation and Accountability Win the Month
The truth is, there are no “slow months.” What we’re dealing with is often a lack of preparation, follow-up, and consistent management to hold our teams accountable for their production.

Our people rely on us to keep them on track and help them earn a living. That’s why it’s our responsibility as managers to:

Ensure they have clear and easily understood goals.
Review those goals with them regularly.
Inspect their progress daily to ensure they’re working toward their objectives.

Plan the Work, Then Work the Plan
Before the end of the current month, next month’s activities should be planned out. For retail salespeople on the floor, this means projecting how many ups, demos, and write-ups they’ll need to reach their goals—and, most importantly, identifying how they’ll create those opportunities.

For internet salespeople, the steps are similar: managing how many leads, phone calls, appointments, demos, and write-ups they need to hit their targets.

It’s crucial to use your CRM daily to monitor what your team is—and isn’t—doing. Then, follow up with them to provide praise for what’s going well and guidance where improvement is needed.

If you see someone performing well on the sales tracker, don’t just assume they’re doing a stellar job across the board. Look into it. If they’re excelling, praise them! If they’re falling short in some areas, challenge them to imagine how much better their results could be with consistent follow-up.

For low performers, dig deeper. If someone is taking plenty of ups but not getting to the demo stage, help them work on that. If they’re doing great at demos but aren’t asking for the sale, that’s the focus of your next coaching session.

Inspect, Guide, and Elevate
I’m not breaking any revolutionary new ground here, but these are reminders worth repeating! Fire up your CRM, inspect the activities of your team, and hold them to a higher level of accountability. That’s how you find more deals, improve performance, and create a winning month—every month.

Until next time: Sell something

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