A solid on-boarding plan for new salespeople will help thwart bad habits well before they have an opportunity to form. In this information packed panel, dealers share their strategies for on-boarding and continued training for their sales teams.

Kyle Schneider, Stotz Equipment, Avondale, Ariz. (2013 Dealership of the Year) — As the John Deere dealership’s used equipment manager, Schneider helps on-board all new salespeople. “During on-boarding we ask every new sales person — outside or inside — to figure out the gross margin on a unit. It’s simple arithmetic. I’ve yet to meet a salesperson who knows how to do it,” he says.

Using a quick, nuts and bolts style of on-boarding, Stotz ($380 million in sales in 2018) gets new staff on the right page and ready for their first sale. Schneider says they make sure to do the sales on-boarding in the first day. “The longer we wait, the worse their habits become and we want to avoid mistakes.”Mark Kreps, V.P. Sales — Agriculture, RDO Equipment Co.

Mark Kreps, RDO Equipment, Fargo, N.D. (2010 Dealership of the Year) — With over 25 years of farm equipment sales experience, Kreps is the vice president of sales — agriculture for the 34-store operation. He encourages his sales team to get out of the dealership and onto their farms, and stresses “The Girl Scout who knocks on the most doors, sells the most cookies.”

RDO considers training a core strength. Its initiative includes multiple opportunities for all team members, and an impressive curriculum to bring along the next generation of management talent. This focus on training has contributed to the John Deere dealership’s ag divisions revenues of $750 million.

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The 2019 Dealership Minds Summit Video Replay is brought to you by DeLaval.