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My New Adventure - Al West Nissan

2. Not agreed with sharing hire/fire decision making. You have a small team, they are looking to you to make them successful. If your payplan is team oriented, then this happens organically: "we ARE, in fact, a team fighting in the trenches together"
I've just always found people buy in more when they are part of the decision. I'm more interested in the culture aspect than being the alpha.
 
Having input from the remaining sales team I think was a good move. I would image your team is fully aware you have the final say in the decision but by allowing them to share their input means you value your team. This is also a decision that effects them directly in a time where you need buy in and this would turn into a source of motivation as well. Worst case scenario, you have to make an adjustment which you've already mentioned you'd be transparent about.
This is you understanding my philosophy perfectly.
 
Sometimes it amazes me how some things seem more like common sense than process. Things like taking the customers word for miles on a car, not driving a car that was a sight unseen trade appraisal when the customer arrives, and being told by the service department that a customer wanting an appraisal is there because of $1,700 worth of work and then just putting $1,700 worth of recon on the appraisal. It's teaching me that I can't assume that anything is known here.
 

✨ AI Highlights

BillVaughnKMC announces his new partnership role at Al West Nissan and invites the DealerRefresh community to follow his journey and share advice as he tackles unfamiliar business challenges. Community members congratulate him and offer practical suggestions focused on customer service excellence—including empowering salespeople with discretionary budgets for guest experiences, respecting customer communication preferences, leading by example, and gathering employee feedback. The emerging consensus is that competing on service quality and customer experience, rather than price alone, combined with staff empowerment and internal culture, will be key to his dealership's success.

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