Although all of us would like to believe the current success rate in the retail automotive world will last for another five, 10 or 15 years, our history tells us otherwise. The industry has experienced fantastic growth since 2009, with only a few dips along the way. Often though, the biggest detriment to success is success. History has always shown ups and downs in sales volume and profitability. What we do in prosperous times will dictate our ability to weather the storm of the “shift.”

As leaders and managers, we have a responsibility to our people to prepare them for a potential slowdown. In fact, our job is to do three things consistently to ensure their continued success no matter what the current market conditions. These three things are Education, Motivation and Accountability.

Education is a must for continued growth. We should consistently educate our processes, values, vision and expected behavior habits. If management is constantly reviewing what we believe is truth and expecting consistent growth, we should not be as affected if the business slows down.

Motivation in the good times is easy. Motivation in the slowdown is a different story. It has been said that there is no better motivator for you than you. Our responsibility as leaders is to eliminate all the negative things around our people that affect their personal motivation. It is also our responsibility to help them grow. One way to do this is to consistently perform one-on-ones with our staff. Four areas should be addressed: personal issues, things done right, areas of improvement and effective follow-up procedures. All four areas focus on your involvement in your employees’ lives and success.

We all use the word Accountability too much, without action. Our job as managers and leaders is to hold our people accountable to our company processes, values, vision and successful behavior attributes, as stated earlier. However, for true continued growth with and in our people, we must hold them accountable for what they want to accomplish in their businesses and lives. That being said, we have to truly know them and understand their goals, motivators and expectations.

Remember, when we focus on these three objectives, we are focusing on the growth of our business and more importantly the growth of our people. No matter what the market conditions, we can grow with intentional, focused behavior.

Ethos Group partners with dealers to promote an ethical, customer-focused approach to the sale, financing and servicing of automobiles. For more information, contact Lance Graves at lgraves@ethosgroup.com or (402) 960-0538.