Don’t Be Invisible: Car Dealership Managers Must Participate in Customer Interactions

The following is adapted from Fearless.

Too many sales managers in car dealerships are invisible—that is, they don’t make their presence known to the customer or even the salesperson they’re supposed to be supporting.

If you struggle with customer interactions, that’s okay; a lot of leaders in car dealerships find it awkward and unappealing to act as the go-between for their salesperson and the customer, especially the newbies, but also for plenty of veteran sales leaders. 

Leadership is needed for much more than acting as an obstructive middleman. You’re there to serve as a representative of authority for the customer and provide support to your salesperson. When it comes to customer interactions, there are some that simply must be had by the manager and others that may or may not be necessary. Getting involved and becoming more visible will help you to recognize both and be well-equipped to excel at them. 

Why Get Involved

Managers who expect deals to go through without any interaction on their part will make the customer’s experience less than exceptional. The more the customer sees manager involvement in a deal, the better they feel about it—not unlike the feeling you get when a restaurant manager comes to your table to make sure you’re happy with your service and meal. Interaction with a higher authority makes customers feel important. 

Your people need you to manage them from a place of helpfulness and availability, which builds a culture of teamwork and gives the customers what they need. That’s the balance you have to learn to strike.

When you interact with a customer at these touchpoints, you will find out whether your salespeople are following the processes you laid out, where they need more training, and ways you can coach them to achieve success in that moment. You’ll know whether the customer has driven the car, if the salespeople have skipped the walk-around, or if the salesperson has even asked for the sale. It’s a real-time look at where training and improvement are needed. 

Every deal should have your fingerprints on it, but not from you grabbing on at the end and trying to white-knuckle them. Management involvement should happen—early and often—in the form of higher authority. You’re not taking over the deal and becoming the salesperson, but you’re backing them up every step of the way. It’s a fine line that is learned over time.  

Nonnegotiable Management Interactions

To help prioritize your time, you can break potential management touchpoints into two categories: non-negotiable and negotiable. Getting involved isn’t about your salesperson’s capabilities or trust levels—some touchpoints are necessary to create a smooth, consistent experience for your customers. 

Touchpoints keep the momentum of the sale moving and make customers feel valued and appreciated without having to escalate to, “Can I speak to the manager?” Make sure you’re in it with them from the get-go.

The two touchpoints to make happen every single time are the early management flyby and the manager’s pre-negotiation interview.

1. The early management flyby. When a customer comes onto the lot, they should hear from a manager within the first five minutes. Say hello, thank them for stopping by, and build credibility in your salesperson. Talk them up. Set up the pre-demo trade walk, offer to do a free professional appraisal for them whether they buy or not, and then get lost.
2. If you stick around for too long, you’ll slip right back into sales mode. That’s not the goal. The goal is to make sure the customer feels seen and heard on all levels as soon as possible. That will go a long way in them building trust with your dealership and the people who are there to help them navigate their big decision.
3. The manager’s pre-negotiation interview. After the demo, when the customer has committed to get the vehicle but hasn’t yet started to work out the numbers, sit down with them for a couple minutes. Have a conversation about the car. Find out what they loved about it, and talk about how they’re feeling. Get a chuckle from them—How’d Jamie do, you think I should keep her around?—and break the ice.
4. Tee up the negotiation—I’m going to get you some information on the best way to fit your new vehicle into your budget, and Jamie will come back and present it to you. Through light and easy conversation, you’re looking for their commitment level and any other experiential details that will show you how to approach the negotiation stage of the deal.

By stepping in at key points, managers can shift the dynamics of a deal from stressful to supported. It allows you to keep a temperature check on the progress of the deal and to hit the defuse button at key stress points. Introduce yourself, find common ground with them, set the expectations, and get that first pencil writing as soon as possible. 

Negotiable Management Interactions

Some management interactions are inevitable. Others may not always come up, but being prepared for every situation will give you the confidence needed to succeed. These are situational interactions, and they are just as important to understand as the ones that are routine.

As with the nonnegotiable touchpoints, your intention isn’t to take over the deal. Rather, you want to check in frequently (but not too often) and situationally to understand what the customer’s motivation is and how their experience has been.

1. Vehicle selection. Sometimes the customer hits the lot knowing exactly what they want, the salesperson knows exactly how to find it, and there’s no reason to look at anything else.

The manager doesn’t need to step in there—but we all know this isn’t always the case. I like to have the salesperson touch the desk any time they’re going to show a customer a car. It’s a great point for them to check in and let you know where they’re at on the deal, and for you to know whether you need to step in and help them choose a car.

2. Pre-demo indecision. When a salesperson can’t land the customer on a car—for any reason—the deal isn’t quite over. No one should leave the lot until the manager has stepped in to attempt to save it, but it happens all too often. You look up from another deal or step out of your office to see that the customer is gone. The salesperson shrugs and says, “We didn’t have anything they were looking for, and they left.”

Train your people to come to you the second they feel like they’re losing control or aren’t connecting with the customer well. The rule should be that, “No one walks until a manager talks.”

3. Post-demo indecision. After a salesperson has demoed the car with a customer and they’re working hard to secure the commitment, everyone’s emotions are high. Salespeople are often afraid to ask for the sale at that point. Whoever wins the battle in that moment is going to win the war—what if they get an objection they can’t overcome?

If they’ve missed out on building value, or if the customer doesn’t want the vehicle, many salespeople can sense they’re about to lose the deal and are afraid to ask for the sale. You’ve got to be available and prepared to jump in at that point to help them make the deal. 

4. Negotiation touchpoints. The golden rule of negotiation is that the person who cares least about a deal wins. When your salesperson is struggling, you can be that person who cares least. If they come back to you after the demo and you can see they aren’t up for it—glassy eyes, unconfident, worn down, fearful of losing the deal—don’t let them present the numbers.

An emotionally attached salesperson is going to become a customer advocate instead of creating a win-win deal. Don’t send them back out; if you do, then you’re just setting them up for failure. Instead, take the numbers out and make them feel comfortable and confident that you’ve got their back.

The same is true for a salesperson who’s doing great but can’t get the customer to budge, or if you know there’s still a couple hundred left on the table that you can secure.

As a manager, you’re not just there to approve the deal—you’re part of the deal, so you can improve volume and gross. 

Approach with Confidence

When it comes to customer interactions, I believe most managers have good intentions to start with, but over time, they lose their mojo and fear holds them back, whether they are humble enough to admit it or not. You are the leader, so make your presence known and support your people. In the long run, they will respect you so much more than if you just let them have free reign.

Now that you know more about your role as a leader in the customer experience of your dealership, get started right away. Stop being invisible and dive right into talking with customers in a way that helps them to feel comfortable and assists your salesperson in closing the deal.

Your participation won’t be perfect at first, but with each interaction, your influence will become better and better. Approach with confidence every time and soon, the results will be a better overall customer experience and a happier, more successful sales team. 

For more advice on why car dealership managers must participate in customer interactions, you can find Fearless on Amazon.

Tim Kintz is the author of the Amazon bestseller, Frictionless, and president of The Kintz Group, the automotive industry’s premier sales and management training company. A graduate of the NADA Dealer Academy, Tim has worked in almost every position in the dealership. He delivers hands-on coaching, workshops, and presentations throughout the world, teaching universal sales and management strategies that have proven effective in every business sector. As a strong believer in the power of a great leader, Tim helps managers anticipate change, adapt to challenges, and focus on the individual.