2 minute read
Good Leaders Get More Sales
from NOLN - April 2023
by EndeavorBusinessMedia-VehicleRepairGroup
BY MIKE BAUER, BG LEAD BGU INSTRUCTOR AND SALES FIELD TRAINER US & CANADA
Recently, I was visiting a shop to do some training and found I had stepped into major chaos! No process, no direction, and no accountability! Why, you ask? When I began asking questions, I found one manager had to check with another, who had to check with another! Too many cooks in the kitchen, without all the ingredients… and they were absolutely lost. Where’s the leadership? Without it, you end up with a very bad, negative atmosphere.
Most would think that management must be the appointed leader. There is truth in that, but it’s not absolute as there can be many different leaders other than the given hierarchy. While they are the ones that should steer the ship, a good leader is simply one that others will trust and follow. A good leader is flexible and can adapt when necessary. A good leader has good communication skills and listens!
Implement a Process
I’m a very process-driven leader, which I believe helped me to be successful as a Fixed Operations Director, and I had amazing mentors that guided me along the way. As a young service manager, I felt I had to do it all. Just like most leaders, I learned a lot the hard way. I guess you could say I had control issues. If it wasn’t done exactly the way I wanted, I would just do it myself. I realized later that this was not good leadership.
Delegate Leadership
One of my mentors suggested I delegate leadership. Delegate leadership? My mentor explained to me it was important to appoint someone to help carry out my vision. It was much easier to communicate my plan to one individual rather than the whole shop
Picking the right person is critical. There’s always that one in the shop who’s got everybody’s ear. The “natural leader.” The goal is to get them to share in the vision by empowering them to add some creative input, thus owning the vision and being part of the process.
Get the Process to Catch Fire
The next step is getting our first follower(s). Although you will educate everyone on the new process, you will want to spend your time working with one or two of your most engaged team members to prove out the process. Have the leader and the first follower(s) consistently implementing the process, modifying where needed, and delivering results. But how do we know the others will fall in? Have you ever been out to dinner or a bar and the band is playing but no one’s dancing? Everyone is waiting for someone to start, right? Finally, one couple hits the floor, eventually another couple joins and the next thing you know, the dance floor is packed! It takes a leader and a follower to start the movement.
Great Leadership in Action
I took my vehicle into a quick lube the other day and their process was extremely impressive. They waved me in and then I was greeted promptly by the team leader. With one under my car and another under my hood, they did all the checks and were calling them out to the team leader. It was so well choreographed; I was blown away by their teamwork. Each person knew their role and performed it with pride and a great attitude. Kudos to this leader; he empowered each of his team members to own the process and joined them on the dance floor.
