You Can Learn A Lot From A Used Car Salesman: That's The Way We Dooz It

One of my favorite TV shows is King of Cars on A&E.  And it is not just because they have the greatest theme song since the Miami Vice TV show's theme song.  The show is about Towbin Dodge in Las Vegas that is the #1 used car dealer in the country.  It follows the daily activities of Josh "Chop" Towbin  a.k.a "The King of Cars" and his sales team.  Chop became famous for the unusual bi-weekly infomercial featuring his sales team as some rather strange characters to say the least.  Chop and his show have a very interesting story and although not everyone is a fan of his techniques you do have to say the show is entertaining.

However, this article isn't about selling used cars or about being entertaining.  It is about managing, developing, and motivating your employees.  Chop shows a rather unique management style and ability to develop and get the most from his employees.

Watch the show and you'll see a number of themes expressed repeatedly and in a number of ways:

• have a passion for your work;
• work can be fun (who wouldn't want to have a "Blue Genie" as a salesman);
• you need to give people clear goals and hold them accountable;
• you need to give people the proper tools, training and support to learn a new job;
• attitude is a major component of success;
• treat your employees as individuals and remember the each have their own goals, feeling and motivators;
• give your employees a chance (or even a second chance) to try something new if they are willing to put in the effort;
• employees will rise to the expectations you have of them if you encourage them and provide them the help and support;
• don't be afraid to do something different just because it isn't "normal"  (Towbin Dodge is definitely not the "normal" car dealership);
• competition if done properly is a great motivator;
• metrics (e.g. the number of "ups" and sales) are an important to both management and the employee as a way of motivating people and as a source of pride in accomplishment;
• and perhaps most importantly, at the end of the day it is all about results.

Take a look when you get a chance, if not for the management tips then at least for the cool theme song.  As Chop would say, "That's the way we dooz it."

Where are the more unusual places where you've learned some valuable management tips?

If this topic was of interest, you might also like these:

• Another Day In Paradise?
• What Color Are Your Employees?
• Scaling the Heights
• Or the posts in the "Organizational Development" category