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6 Ways to Make Auto Sales Uniforms Less Uniform

Posted by Heather Brautman | Wed, Jul 31, 2013 @ 10:00 AM
SuitNameTagJustin Timberlake sings about loving his suit and tie– whether your salespeople feel the same may be another story. If they got paid $20 million a year to wear their finery, they may feel like JT too, but chances are, your commission structure isn’t at that level yet. Whether your auto sales uniform is suits and ties or logo polos, your folks may be “singing” some grumbles about looking like everyone else. You know, uniformity. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can encourage a bit of flair on the sales floor without much hit to your bottom line, and may even see an upswing in morale and excitement.

1. Spirit Days

Remember back in high school when you had theme days? Maybe it was “hippie” clothes where you dug out your tie-dye (or wore them for the first time around!), or school colors. You can up the spirit of the dealership with easy-to-join-in themes. Halloween, for example, provides the opportunity for salespeople to accessorize with orange and black ties or scarves, for example, or even costumes. Santa hats and reindeer ears can provide a laugh and, more importantly, that essential ice breaker when a nervous buyer steps onto your lot.

2. Go Team

If you have large-screen televisions in your dealership, chances are you’ve noticed your salespeople congregating around them during any Big Game. Over here in Northern California, there’ve been many cheers (and a couple of heart-broken gasps) as our San Francisco Giants or 49ers play. Let the salespeople rally around their favorites on special days with team gear such as jerseys and caps, or team-colored long sleeve shirts under their polos. Some good-natured ribbing between home team supporters and other team fans can get juices running in a sluggish environment. Consumers, supporters or rival, are sure to join in.

3. Show Some Support

AutoPoloWhether your dealership partners in charitable events such as Ford’s Drive One 4 UR School program or employees have their own pet projects, one way to liven up a uniform is to allow for small signs of support. Cloisonné pins and logo patches on a polo or Oxford can draw customers’ eyes, as well as open up lines of communication. You’ll have to set some boundaries (for example, you may want to encourage employees to avoid showing support for religious or political organizations, simply to prevent putting off prospective buyers), but pins for children’s, animal, and health charities may be the magic connection between your team and the people come to buy.

4. Working for It

By nature, car salespeople are competitive. Whether or not you operate on an “up” system, they’ve got their eyes on the floor and the door and they want that next prospect. Turn that revved up nature into something that can work for both of you with a reward system. You’ve probably seen achievement awards in other retail environments such as restaurants, where a server is given something to wear on his uniform after a customer compliment or excellent sales month. When you choose just one person (“Salesperson of the Month”) or distinguish epaulets for tiers of achievement (“20 cars a month club”), this small, inexpensive touch will let salespeople wear their hearts – and successes – on their sleeves.

5. Tag, They’re It

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Tagging isn’t just for children’s games and social media. The basic salesperson nametag takes on a whole new concept when you let employees personalize it. Along with name and otherrequired dealership details such as the store logo, consider letting each salesperson add a favorite quote or a line about his hobbies, such as “Ask me about my Golden Retrievers!” or “Go Michigan Wolverines!” Or have each salesperson bring in a photo of himself as a child, scan it in, and add it to your nametag document. When printed, they’ll have a fun photo to strike up some interest when buyers ask, “Who’s that?”

6. Have Some Fun

Whether you choose to implement some, all, or none of these ideas, you can still have some fun out there in your uniforms, even on the slowest traffic days. Digital Dealer’s open invitation for dealerships to recreate the Harlem Shake video was one way to get everyone involved in a can’t-help-but-crack-up caper. As shown by the contestants, there was nothing uniform about shaking it Harlem style! This may translate to implementing a fun dance to your morning meeting (“Gangnam Style” or the always-a-pleaser “Electric Slide,” maybe?) or an afternoon rev up to get everyone back into to groove after their lunch breaks. And if customers catch the team in action? Ask them to join in!

What's the de rigeur dress code at your dealership? Do you support it? Please share some suggestions on how you've broken out of uniformity and revved up the ol' suit and tie or polo shirts! And while you're here, download our brand new C.A.R.S. remote deposit capture guide, sure to get your check processing engines revved!

 

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Topics: Auto Dealerships

Written by Heather Brautman