The way you use the tower can make or break your business and the ability of your team to close. The days when the tower was the be all and end all in the business have long gone. Why? Because the Internet has become the tool of choice for ups wanting car and dealer information and you aren’t seen as the last word anymore, you are just seen as the last word there.

If you keep in mind that the problems occurring on the floor may well be due to the customer being better informed than the team, you can start to change your approach.

Understand the role of the tower

The role of the tower in any dealership is not to oversee a kingdom and step in to seal deals or save the day. Rather than view it as the castle in the sky with the ultimate leader, you need to recognize that the tower’s role is more akin to a control tower.

You have to be on the ball to coordinate the team to support the ground effort. By developing predictive abilities that are backed by voucher performance, you can turn the tower into a supporting resource that will drive up your numbers quickly.

Don’t use it to spy, use it to predict

The classic tower story is the one where the team receives the call from above where they are berated for standing around and not noticing that the up bus has arrived. Well, that is a fine way to waste your energy and build up resentment in your team, not to mention to create a high tension atmosphere on the floor that will communicate it to a customer.

Nothing says that a sales person isn’t to be trusted then their having the pitch interrupted by the tower. You need to change your attitude about how to handle what you see below. Since your team makes voucher on signing on ups, it should be assumed that if they don’t respond to their entrance it’s because they can’t see them.

That’s not the teams fault; it’s yours for only paying attention to their marks after the customer is there. You need to know your high sales times and know when it is important to make sure the floor is staged.

Don’t react to what is going on; be proactive to prevent it from happening. Designate wait and break areas with the same care you designate your marks.

Communication is key

How you communicate is going to be key. Not just in making the connection to your team member but in your awareness of how tower to floor communication transmits to an outsider.

The time to express your frustration or to have a pep talk isn’t when there is a dance going on the floor. You need to shift from direct leadership to the voice of guidance. Get behind your sales team as a support to help them be confident on the floor.

Set clear boundaries for when to pass an up on and set a pattern of communicating to the next to approach before letting the first know so they can handle a seamless transition better.