There is no secret sauce to success that will work for every dealership, every time. Each dealership is unique and operates in a distinctive geography with different customers who each have their own individual needs, goals and business objectives. At Van Wall, we have found a formula that works best for us, and one that I think is scalable and work at any level.

What drives the success of a sales department? There are 6 main objectives for any dealership sales department — image, sales, gross margins, expenses, used turnover and new turnover.

Ryan Polete, sales manager at H&R Agri-Power made a profound opening statement about sales compensation and motivations. “What I’m showing is really not a compensation plan that motivates people, but it will push their direction in the right way. That’s about all we can hope for on that. Money,” he says, “should motivate our sales force.”

Fred Titensor, COO, has 8 salespeople among his 4 stores, with average service of 15 years. “When I walk in the door, I see familiar faces,” notes the fourth-generation dealer about what may perhaps be a unique situation, “and they know what the goals are and what we want to do.”

“It was the best of plans; it was the worst of plans.” To borrow from the words of Charles Dickens’, what may seem a no-brainer for the company’s well-being may feel like a penalty for the greenback-motivated salesman.

Presented at the 2019 Dealership Minds Summit, Fred Titensor C.O.O., Valley Implement explained his dealership’s sales compensation plan.