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We've all heard the joke, "Floggings will continue until morale improves." The thing about it, though, is sometimes it's really not a joke. In tough economic times like these, it's easy to get stressed by your car dealership's low sales numbers. It’s even easier to take that stress out on your employees, who then take it out on each other and the customers. This can create a really hostile work environment very quickly.

If you want to make it, sell more cars, and improve your numbers, even when the economy is down, you need to do whatever you can to make your car dealership a positive environment for your employees. It’s not their fault that we’re in a recession, but, if you give them the opportunity, they can keep you afloat and profiting through it. Here are a few tips for motivating your employees to get you through this slump.

Morning Pump-Up Meetings

It sounds cheesy, but if you call a five-minute meeting every morning to get your sales team, mechanics, and administrative staff pumped for the day, you’ll notice a difference in short order. Note, we didn’t just say get your sales people together. Everyone who works for you is part of the team. They’re all helping to keep this car dealership going, and they all need to work together. Grab a box of doughnuts and some coffee on your way to work, share a few inspirational words, and make everyone feel that they’re in this together.

Incentives

You’ll attract more bees with honey than vinegar. Don’t point out poor performance. Rather, reward great performance. If someone is having trouble with their sales, make sure that you take them aside and make them feel safe to air any grievances with you. The problem could be an issue that you can help them with.

Encourage Comments

Put out an anonymous comments box and encourage your employees to make suggestions there or to you in person. If they feel that they’re really a part of the team, they’ll give you good feedback and help you improve. If you implement a change thanks to someone’s suggestion or comment, give them the credit they deserve. It doesn’t matter whether it was a salesperson, an administrative assistant, a service tech, or a custodian.

If you listen to your employees and make them feel valued, it will immediately show in their relations with customers. When customers see how much your people are invested in your car dealership, they’ll be much more likely to invest in a car with you.