"Looking for Managers in all the wrong places" - The Business of Furniture 4/13/16 - Stephen Says

Dear Stephen:

I own a furniture dealership in the Ohio River Valley. The business is growing, and I'm the sole Principal. We are big enough now so that I need a sales manager. Hiring someone for this position will also make us look bigger to customers, and the manufacturers we represent are pushing me to hire a real pro. Plus, I really need someone to help me manage the sales team. In the past, I've elevated major sales producers here at my own company who sell a lot and have been somewhat successful in managing a team of account managers, project managers, and assistants. They've been great coaches and trainers for my staff as well as good role models. Still, I haven't found any "real" managers who can grow my business, or are strategic thinkers. They were more like baby sitters. The problem is they're great salespeople do not always make great managers, even though they aspire to that. Then it's very difficult to get them to relinquish any of their accounts in order to focus on becoming full time sales managers. I guess I can't really blame them, since they don't want to lose the revenue stream they've created with their customers. I've tried everything; I tried hiring regional sales managers from every manufacturer, but to me they can't seem to cut it at a dealer. I'm looking for a manager who can help my salespeople develop relationships in the local real estate community, develop an A&D team, and also develop another team that can work with end-users. I am leaning towards a manager who will also handle some accounts, yet like I said then that becomes an issue. I know all the competition in my area. I know all the sales managers, as well as most of the senior salespeople, none of which I want. They're all terrible. I know most of the manufacturers' sales reps in my area, and regional managers, and I don't think any of them are capable of being a sales manager here, and I feel the same way about most of the independent reps. Yet, I'm desperate for a sales manager. The major manufacturer we represent is pressuring me to hire a pro to grow and coach my sales team. I've gone to a headhunter like you and they don't know anybody that I don't know. I have also run ​ads, and networked. Same problem...all the same people keep coming my way. Should I relocate someone? Where do I turn?

~ Looking for Managers in all the wrong place
 

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Dear Wrong Places:

You're giving me the classic one-liner that every dealer principal gives me as an excuse about why they cannot recruit a good sales or general manager. Dealer owners always seem to think that they "know everybody" in their local area. Everyone really? Just saying! Could it be that you're just cynical and egocentric? It makes me fume when I hear a dealer Principal tell me that they know every single salesperson and sales manager in their marketplace and that they're all garbage. How is that possible? Your competitors are not out of business and they have managers. Do you really spend your entire day focusing on what your competition is doing and not running your business? Otherwise how could you know everyone? Do you think it's possible that someone who you might have known years ago has improved or changed their skill set since you last saw them? And are you narrow-minded enough to think that every single sales manager from a manufacturer is just a lazy, expense-account signing, discount denying stooge? (Don't misunderstand me, many are,

but not ALL of them!) Or is it that you really cannot justify paying a salary to someone who is not generating direct revenue? Maybe you do not see the value in having someone coach, train, and hire staff. I'm here to tell you though that is usually a six figure salary on its own, with no sales attached to it! Sorry, but "managing" alone is a real job. Sooner or later, I hear this story from virtually every dealer owner from every part of the country who contacts me to recruit a manager. While you're driving to work in your expensive Tesla and taking long vacations, you still think that you know every single person in your marketplace. That simply can't be. However, whether you hired a recruiter or did the search on your own, part of what you're paying for is the research to examine who is in the marketplace. Let the headhunter be your eyes and ears, so when that window of opportunity does open up, and it always does, someone is there to snag that person for you. And for those of you, who do not want to hire some sales manager from a manufacturer because you think they will not work hard enough, here is an eye opener for you: almost 40% of all dealer principals today are former executives from major manufacturers. So everyone from a manufacturer can't be as stupid as you seem to think. They may be competing against you right now at another

dealer. And they own the joint. So the secret is, it is simply a matter of identifying candidates that you may have known from the past who have evolved. Be patient and take another look. Yes, people can and do get better at their jobs!

One other thing. Make up your mind on what you really want! Do you want a real sales manager who is going to coach, train, and recruit your sales team? Or do you want a glorified Senior Sales Rep that also has to train people for you. You cannot have it both ways. It kills me how much money you dealer owners tell me you are making today, and how cheap you are when it comes to paying someone to professionally run your sales team for you. A good sales manager at a dealership should not be competing for customers with their salespeople any more than an owner should. Give up those accounts, you're making enough money. Ever heard of having your cake and eating it too? Well, what you're asking for is a world-class baker to make you a cake and then feed it to you while you sit on your tacky faux-gold throne. Really, ladies and gentlemen, your egos are as big as your Teslas when they should be as big as their carbon footprint.

Stephen

BoF