Five signs of entrepreneurial dealership salespeople

As an entrepreneur, it's clear to me. Dealership salespeople, in general, are order-takers. Some are well-trained order takers. Some are high-performing order-takers. But most are order-takers. They are like most sales people.

It's easy to identify an entrepreneurial dealer salespeople. They generate business. They:

1. Join business networking clubs to meet people that might buy their products
2. Use LinkedIn and other social media to make connections
3. Mine their client list to make sure clients are satisfied and to learn of referrals
4. Conduct their own sales events. For example, they invite their customers to dealership to see new product or just to thank them
5. Keep ongoing communication with their clients and prospects. For example, they may have their own newsletter or if nothing else they send press clippings of new products when appropriate to this list.

An entrepreneurial salesperson is gold--and they make gold. The bad news is most salespeople are order-takers. The good news is if you're an entrepreneurial one, you're going to beat the others left and right. And if you're a manufacturer with an entrepreneurial sales force, you're an unstoppable force.

Barry laBov
LaBov and Beyond
www'labov.com

Chrysler's $200k "Thank You" Ads Uproar

Chrysler just received their billions from our government and shared the good news with the nation--in the form of print ads in the Wall Street Journal and other pubs. Conservative estimates put the cost of placing those ads at $200k each--for a total of at least $600k.

Now, there is an uproar against this waste of money and I think that's valid. It is a waste, especially with economic experts predicting that Chrysler cannot survive much longer than three or months. But...

To Chrysler's credit, they are trying to show gratitude. They are simply not used to thinking "small" like entrepreneurs do everyday. They're used to big, slow, plodding, uncreative bloated actions like an ad in the WSJ. What else was on their wish list--a multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad thanking America? You might be surprised.

Let's not crucify Chrysler. We're witnessing that money alone will not save a company, opening their minds to new thinking will have to happen. They still have the chance to succeed.