4 Ways to Increase Productivity

As much as we like to believe a business is driven by its customers, the employees helping those customers are the ones who determine what customers come back and how customers feel when they leave your business with their products or resources. Having motivated and productive employees is essential to any business, if a customer comes in and doesn’t like the people who work there or how they were treated, it can cause a business to lose that customer and others connected to the customer. In this article, we discuss 2 ways to improve productivity among salesmen, and also 2 ways to improve productivity in your Business Development Center.

IMPROVE EMPLOYEE MORAL

When dealership traffic is slow, or when the month has not been its best, it can bring down everyone who is out trying to make sales. One way to keep the energy going, no matter what else is going on, is to show your appreciation to your salesmen. One client we have has recently implemented a “Family Fun Day”. Once a year, they hold an event at their business for everyone who works there and their family members. They hold the event on a Sunday afternoon and have food, games, prizes, and awards for all of the employees and family member. It has been a great event in the past for them. It really brings everyone together and give the managers and owners a chance to show their appreciation to their employees.

HAVE A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT

No one wants to walk into a business where everyone is cold and unwelcoming, and no one wants to work for someone like that. We believe that it is very important to have a welcoming atmosphere and attitude in any business you are conducing. It is what keeps the employees happy, which in turn keep customers coming back. There is always a time and a place to have a stern voice and hand, but sometimes that needs to be turned down to welcome feedback and opinions from employees on ways to improve the business.

FOCUS IN THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

We have clients who have tested many different options on how to keep their BDC agents productive and focused. One thing that really helped was taking cell phones out of the office. Cell phones are a huge distraction to anyone today, I think we are all guilty of checking it one too many times throughout the work day. We have seen large improvements in productivity since cell phone have been removed, it is a task to get used to at first, but we think that it will greatly improve your agents productivity.

BREAKS FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENTS

Sitting in an office with 5 or 6 other people, making call after call, for 8 ours a day can become very tiring and definitely make someone lose their focus. One way we have seen focus improve is by giving agents a few more breaks than other employees. It could be as simple as giving a 5 minute break after an agent has passed a certain goal set for them. Breaking up the day into certain goals and breaks can really improve focus and productivity.