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10 Ways Companies Drive Away Talent

Joe, remember that Nordsrums pays commissions. My daughter runs a Brooks Brothers store and they pay like $8.50/hr. All are part time without benefits. Dealers have, for obvious reasons, wanted to replace salespeople with clerks for years. With the average customer shopping only 1.2 stores before buying, you better have someone that can close a deal. What I have seen, especially over the last 3 to 5 years, is a weak Sales Manager group and pay drastically drop for salespeople. There are still some stores that pay salespeople well but they are in the minority. These stores only hire experienced pros and not green peas. In my youth, I had some crappy jobs. I have fried chicken, unloaded trucks at the Piggly Wiggly, strung barbed wire, hauled hay and did roofing. I would discourage any young person, entering the car business, today. Either get an education or learn a trade. I can't think of another job that sucks more if they pay isn't there.
 

✨ AI Highlights

# Summary Automotive dealers struggle to attract and retain quality salespeople despite offering top-90th percentile retail salaries, with the industry losing 87% of new sales hires within a year. The discussion identifies root causes including poor training, an outdated "alpha male" recruitment model that alienates younger talent, dealerships treating salespeople as expendable, and a toxic industry culture that doesn't make car sales an appealing career path. The key insight is that money alone won't solve the talent problem—dealers must fundamentally reimagine how they recruit, train, and value their workforce while building a compelling brand experience that makes employees feel integral to the organization, not just commission-driven transactional workers.

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